This relatively small country, which in earlier centuries was one of the European great powers, offers a wide range of both scenic and cultural tourist attractions which are still relatively little known.
The mainland has an 832km/520 mile Atlantic coastline, the finest parts of which are to be found at its climatically favored southern end, in
the Algarve, with its beautiful sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. The country's cosmopolitan capital, Lisbon, on the broad estuary of the Tagus, is one of the most strikingly situated cities in the world.
In the interior of the country, too, tourists will find many culturally and historically interesting towns, villages and abbeys, as well as a wide range of varied and beautiful scenery - hills, valleys and plateaus - in every region of Portugal.
The Portuguese mainland lies in the extreme south-west of Europe. Portugal has a common frontier of some 1300km/800 miles - more than half its total length of frontier - with Spain, its only neighboring state, with the other half formed by the Atlantic Ocean. Mainland Portugal has preserved its frontiers unchanged for almost eight centuries - a circumstance which can be attributed mainly to its geographic situation.
Also included within the territory of Portugal are the two Atlantic archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores, and the former colony of Macao on the southern coast of China, which is administered by Portugal but enjoys self-government in internal affairs.
Print this page
Add to Favorites
