Portugal

Its people speak their own language and have deep cultural traditions. Small as it is, Portugal has played a role in world history for centuries. It holds very different worlds within it, with dynamic regions and others that seem frozen in time. The south is very varied: the Algarve, with its splendid beaches and gentle climate, has become a favourite with many visitors.

Two great rivers, the Tagus and the Douro, rise in Spain and flow west across Portugal to the Atlantic, deeply shaping the landscape. The country is almost rectangular, about 560 kilometres from north to south and on average about 150 wide. The Tagus separates the mountainous north from the largely flat centre and south. The north continues the Iberian Central Range, which culminates in the Serra da Estrela (Torre, 1,993 metres, the highest point on the Portuguese mainland), and is cut by the deep Douro valley.

At the mouths of the Tagus and the Douro stand Lisbon and Porto, the two main cities. Elsewhere towns are smaller: from fishing communities on the Atlantic to the medieval villages of the Alentejo and the mountainous heart of the Beiras. Out in the Atlantic lie two distant archipelagos, autonomous regions of Portugal: Madeira, off the coast of Morocco, and the Azores, nine green volcanic islands halfway between Lisbon and North America.

The coast offers refined resorts, while the capital has everything city lovers could want. The countryside charms with small towns that have changed very little in centuries. Portugal is a land of beautiful music, starting with fado, fine wine, nightlife and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, where the greatest passion is savouring life slowly. A corner of old Europe to visit at least once: enjoy your holiday in Portugal!

This guide, online since 2002, covers every part of the country: the nine regions, from the Lisbon region to the Azores, all 308 municipalities and over a hundred destinations, as well as Portugal today, its music, azulejos, architecture, UNESCO heritage and natural parks. To set off, see when to go and itineraries; to stay, moving to Portugal and studying in Portugal.