About Portugal

Portugal

 

Located in the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal is a small country with much more to offer than its size might seem. The highly praised Sintra, the Algarve and Vicentine Coast beaches – Sagres, Lagos, Albufeira and Vila Nova de Milfontes -, the Peneda-Gerês National Park, the Braga and Coimbra university towns, the historic center of Porto, the Douro River , the capital Lisbon and the Cascais line, medieval Évora, the rock engravings of Foz Côa, the charming Óbidos, the Azores islands, the beaches of Porto Santo and the Levadas of Madeira – plenty of reasons to travel to Portugal.

Travel destination: Portugal

Facts about the country

Capital: Lisbon

Population: 10.5 million

Official Language: Portuguese

Time zone: Portugal has two time zones. On the mainland, the official time is GMT time; in the islands of the Azores and Madeira, the time is GMT -1

International Dialing Code: +351

Land border: Spain

Oficial tourism site

Climate / when to go

High season runs from mid-June to mid-September, when average temperatures are around 25 degrees celcius. July and August are the hottest months, especially in the Algarve, in the Alentejo, in the Douro valley and in the transmontane plateau, where the thermometer arrives easily at 40 degrees.

To escape the crowds and enjoy the mild temperatures, the best time to visit Portugal is spring. The late summer and early fall is also a very pleasant time and an opportunity to watch the vintage in one of the wine regions of the country, especially in the Douro and Alentejo.

climate conditions

What to visit

As for tourism, these are some of the best destinations to include in a travel itinerary to Portugal:

• Açores
  • Ilha de Santa Maria
  • Ilha do Faial
  • Ilha do Pico
• Alentejo
  • Alcácer do Sal
  • Évora
  • Mértola
  • Setúbal
• Algarve
  • Castro Marim
  • Faro
  • Lagos
  • Loulé
  • Olhão
  • Tavira
  • Vila Real de Santo António
• Amarante
• Aveiro
• Braga
• Castelo de Vide
• Chaves
• Coimbra
• Costa Vicentina
• Douro
• Fátima
• Fundão
• Guimarães
• Leiria
• Lisboa
• Lourinhã
• Luso
• Madeira
  • Funchal
  • Porto Santo
• Matosinhos
• Minho
  • Ponte de Lima
• Óbidos
• Penafiel
• Peneda-Gerês
• Porto
• Serra da Estrela
• Sintra
• Tomar
• Trás-os-Montes
• Valença
• Vila Nova de Gaia

Currency: Euro (EUR) • View exchange rates

ATM: Easy to find everywhere, not only outside banks but also in supermarkets, shopping malls, gas stations, etc,.

Credit cards: These are widely accepted in general shops. Just do not expect to be able to use them in small spaces and restaurants and in the more remote villages of the country. The most popular networks are Visa and MasterCard.

World Heritage

Know places classified as  World Heritage Sites in Portugal

Source: https://www.almadeviajante.com/viagens/portugal/