Portugal Tourism - Travel to Portugal
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Lisbon |
| Government | parliamentary democracy |
| Currency | euro (EUR) |
| Area | total: 92,391 sq km land: 91,951 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands water: 440 sq km |
| Population | 10,084,245 (July 2002 est.) |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Religion | No official religon, with most of the popultion being Roman Catholic, some Protestant or other religions and sects, non practitoners and atheists. |
Portugal shares the Iberian peninsula at the western tip of Europe with Spain. Geographically and culturally somewhat isolated from its neighbors, Portugal has a rich, unique culture and beautiful countryside. Although it was once one of the poorest countries in Europe, its incorporation into the European Union has meant increased prosperity -- and increased prices for travelers. Still, it may be one of the best value destinations on the Continent.
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Regions in Portugal
- Alentejo
- Algarve
- The Azores Islands
- Beira Alta
- Beira Baixa
- Estremadura
- Madeira Islands
- Minho
- Tras-os-Montes
Cities in Portugal
Understand Portugal Tourism
Get into Portugal
Travel to Portugal By Plane
Travel to Portugal By Train
Travel to Portugal By car
Travel to Portugal By Bus
Travel to Portugal By Boat
Get around in Portugal
Portugal Talk
The official language of Portugal is Portuguese. Although it's somewhat related to Spanish, Italian, and other Romance languages, it's not identical. Spanish-speakers may be able to make themselves understood, but considering that Spaniards play the tourist role here more even than English-speakers, you won't really be making much of a cultural connection. English is spoken in many tourist areas, but is far from ubiquitous.
People familar with the Brazilian dialect of Portuguese should be completely intelligible, if slightly strange-sounding, to Portuguese listeners.
See also: Portuguese phrasebook
Buy
Portugal is part of the Eurozone and uses the euro as its currency (symbol: €).
Eat - Travel to Portugal
Drink
Portugal and the city of Porto are known the world over for the sweet, dense wine known as port. Available in a boggling array of colors, ages, processes and vintages, the wine can be found in any cafe or restaurant in the country. White port makes a nice accompaniment to fruit, cheese, or as an aperitif; tawny and ruby ports are better for after dinner.
Although port gets most of the glory world-wide, one of the great delights of first-time visitors to Portugal is its amazing array of delicious and inexpensive wines (vinho). Portugal has a huge wine industry, but it's mostly for domestic consumption and very little of the product is actually exported. All the better for the country's visitors: a drinkable liter of wine can be had in a corner shop for 2-3 (really), and even the finer-quality stuff is usually under 15 in a restaurant. Especially tasty is vinho verde ("green wine"), a young sparkling wine that (despite the name) comes in white and red varieties, and makes an especially nice dinner or evening accompaniment.
There are other drinks travelers may not be familiar with. One is cachaça, a hangover-inducing rotgut liquor originally from Brazil and made from sugar-cane, used to make caipirinha cocktails. Another is absinthe, a green, licorice-flavored liqueur infused with wormwood, a mildly psychotropic herb. Absinthe has been banned in many countries of the world, but it remains legal in Portugal. No spoons or sugar cubes here: it's normally drunk with tonic water, orange juice, or in shots.
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