Portugal

Understand

Portugal sits on the western edge of the Iberian peninsula, with two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite its small land area, it has many landforms and climates between the Atlantic coast and the mountains.

People The people of Portugal (Portuguese pronunciation: /puɾ.tu.ˈgaɫ/, poor-too-GAHL) today have a heritage drawn from many parts of the globe. Portugal, although it has close ties with the Spanish people, has a distinct cultural and linguistic heritage. The oldest known Iberian peoples left markings and cave paintings more than 50,000 years ago. The Iberian peninsula was a natural resources rich area with heavily wooded forests, wild life, horses and live stock. Mining of minerals such as, gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, tungsten and mercury was well known to exist in antiquity. The Celts and Iberians mixed with North Africans, Phoenicians, Middle Easterners and Greeks and according to academic research, these people being accomplished seafarers, become prominent traders spreading as far afield as the British isles among other European places, leaving traceable links with the Irish, Cornish and Welsh people's heritage. The later Lusitanian tribes dominated large areas of Western Iberia for over a thousand years and were noted for their high quality iron and steel working expertise and excellent horse rearing and riding capabilities until the Romans arrived during the Punic Wars and colonised most of the peninsula, almost eradicating all traces of the previous civilisations through genocide and assimilation practices. After the fall of Rome, Germanic and Frankish people moved west and also settled in Iberia and Northwest Africa. After the arrival and spread of Christianity, conflict between Pagan tribes and new Christian chieftains in the 7th and 8t

See

Historic towns & architecture Once a mighty colonial nation, many of Portugal's lively cities still have an atmosphere reminding of those Old World times. They're packed with remarkable monuments and with just a little bit of effort, you'll discover traditional cafés and craftsmen whose families have run their businesses for generations. When visiting cities in Portugal and former Portuguese colonies, look out for the distinctive Portuguese pavement, which consists of small flat pieces of stones arranged to form a pattern or image, and the distinctive blue and white ceramic tiles on the walls and facades of buildings known as azulejos. Head to the delightful riverside town of Porto to linger along the picture-perfect Cais da Ribeira. Recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site, this beautiful riverfront area is cha

Getting there

Portugal is a member of the Schengen Agreement. See Travelling around the Schengen Area for more information on how the scheme works, what countries are members and what the requirements are for your nationality. In summary:

There are normally no immigration controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty; there may be such controls temporarily, such as in connection with important events and various crises. The operators may carry out identity checks before passengers board international flights, ferries or trains, even between Schengen countries. Citizens of the EEA countries and Switzerland do not need visas to travel in the Schengen area, and may stay up to 90 days with no requirements other than having a valid ID card or passport. See European Union#EEA citizens. Normal visas granted by any Schengen member are valid in all countries that have signed and implemented the treaty (with exceptions for some overseas territories). The granting country may offer additional rights (such as longer stays or right to work) that apply only locally. In addition, citizens of Andorra may enter and reside in Portugal indefinitely without a visa.

By plane

Portugal has five airports with scheduled international passenger traffic:

Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS IATA) is the main aviation hub, with many intercontinental connections with the Americas and Africa (mainly operated by flag carrier TAP Air Portugal and its Star Alliance partners), as well as a dense network of connections within Europe operated by both full-service and low-fare airlines Porto Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport (OPO IATA), serving Portugal's second-largest city and the entire northern part of the country, also has some intercontinental connections with Americas and Africa, and has a compa

Getting around

By plane While not the most popular way to travel within Continental Portugal, you can consider flying TAP Air Portugal between Lisbon (LIS IATA), Porto (OPO IATA), and Faro (FAO IATA). Sevenair provides service to smaller airports at Bragança (BGC IATA), Cascais (CAT IATA), Portimão (PRM IATA), Vila Real (VRL IATA), and Viseu (VSE IATA). Ryanair fly Porto-Faro and Porto-Madeira. Airplane is the main and fastest way to reach Madeira and the Azores. It's also the best way to travel within the archipelagos. In addition to TAP, island service is provided by Azores Airlines & SATA Air Açores. Island airports include:

Madeira: Funchal (FNC IATA) and Porto Santo (PXO IATA) Azores: Ponta Delgada (PDL IATA), Terceira (TER IATA), Horta (HOR IATA), Santa Maria (SMA IATA), Flores (FLW IATA), Pico (PIX IATA), São Jorge (SJZ IATA), Graciosa (GRW IATA), and Corvo (CVU IATA).

By train

Rail travel in Portugal is usually slightly faster than travel by bus on most routes, but services are less frequent and cost more. The immediate areas surrounding Lisbon and Porto are reasonably well-served by suburban rail services. The rail connections between the main regions of Portugal are good. As a rule of thumb, if one is travelling by rail within Portugal or internationally, the main railway junction is at Entroncamento; from here all the main lines branch out and all passing trains stop. The Alfa-Pendular high-speed trains are comfortable, and first class is excellent. Operating up to speeds of 220 km/h, Alfa-Pendular trains only stop at main city stations like Braga, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon, and Faro. It's recommended to purchase your tickets in advance, due to high demand. If booked at least five days in advance there's a very generous 40% discount. Interci