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the rough guide to portugal written and researched by jules brown mark ellingham john fisher matthew hancock and graham kenyon new york · london · delhi www.roughguides.com[close]
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contents colour section 124 contexts 613650 introduction 5 where to go 9 when to go 11 things not to miss 14 history 615 chronology of monuments and arts 631 music 634 books 644 intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go basics 2572 language 651664 pronunciation 653 portuguese words and phrases 654 menu reader 657 glossary of portuguese words 663 getting there 27 getting around 33 accommodation 40 food and drink 45 the media 53 festivals 54 sports and outdoor activities 56 shopping 59 travelling with children 62 travel essentials 63 travel store 665666 small print index 667680 guide 73612 portuguese azulejos colour section following p.216 1 lisbon and around 75 2 estremadura and 3 coimbra and the ribatejo 169 4 mountain beiras 275 5 porto and the douro 319 6 the minho 375 7 trás-os-montes 443 8 alentejo 487 9 the algarve 543 beira litoral 225 coastal portugal colour section following p.352 port wine colour section following p.536 3 lisbon s praça do comércio high summer nazaré[close]
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intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go introduction to portugal portugal is an astonishingly beautiful country the rivers forests and lush valleys of the centre and north are a splendid contrast to its contorted southern coastline of beaches cliffs and coves and even the arid plains of the alentejo region are tempered by vast groves of olive oranges cork and vines spring comes early everywhere when dazzling flowers carpet hillsides across the country and summer departs late with sea-bathing possible deep into the autumn it s a country that demands unhurried exploration indeed portuguese talk of their nation as a land of brandos costumes or gentle ways for so small a country portugal sports a tremendous cultural and social diversity there are highly sophisticated resorts along the lisbon and estremaduran coast as well as on the southern algarve upon which european tourists have been descending for fifty years lisbon itself in its idiosyncratic way has more than enough diversions to please city devotees firmly locked into contemporary europe without quite jettisoning its most endearing rather old-fashioned qualities but in the rural areas the alentejo the mountainous beiras or northern trás-os-montes this is often still a conspicuously underdeveloped country tourism and european union membership have changed many regions most notably in the north where new roadbuilding scythes through the countryside but for anyone wanting to get off the beaten track there are limitless opportunities to experience smaller towns and hamlets that still seem rooted in earlier centuries differences between the north and south are particularly striking above a roughly sketched line more or less corresponding with the course 5[close]
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cork groves alentejo intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go 6 of the rio tejo river tagus the people are of predominantly celtic and germanic stock it was here in the north at guimarães that the lusitanian nation was born following the christian reconquest from the north african moors south of the tagus where the roman and then the moorish the golden age for over a hundred years in the period spanning the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries portugal was one of the richest countries in the world an economic powerhouse that controlled a trading empire spreading from brazil in the west to macau in the east it was vasco da gama s discovery of a sea route to india in 1498 that kick-started the spice trade shooting portugal already doing well from african gold and slavery into the top league of wealthy nations its maritime empire reached a peak during the reign of manuel i the fortunate 1495 1521 the so-called golden age that also produced luís de camões and gil vicente two of portugal s greatest writers along with the new exuberant manueline architectural style portugal was to hit the jackpot again in the seventeenth century when enormous gold reserves were discovered in brazil but changing markets and over-indulgence soon reduced its financial clout and after the great earthquake of 1755 the country sank into economic obscurity nevertheless the physical legacy of portugal s empire remains in the surviving buildings and monuments of the golden age such as lisbon s torre de belém and mosteiro dos jerónimos while portuguese itself is the world s fifth most-spoken language.[close]
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civilizations were most established people tend to maintain more of a mediterranean lifestyle though the portuguese coastline is in fact entirely atlantic life follows an easy pace especially in the dog days of summer when the sweltering heat restricts activity agriculture reflects this divide as well with oranges figs and cork in the south and more elemental corn and potatoes in the north indeed in places in the north the methods of farming date back to pre-christian days based on a mass of tiny plots divided and subdivided over the generations more recent events are also woven into the pattern the 1974 revolution which brought to an end 48 years of dictatorship came from the south an area of vast estates rich landowners and a dependent workforce while the later conservative backlash came from the north with its powerful religious cafe brasileira lisbon fact file · portugal is the most southwesterly country in mainland europe its only neighbour is spain with which it shares one of the longest and most established borders in europe · the country occupies an area of approximately 92,000 square kilometres with a surprisingly diverse landscape from the steep mountains of the north to the arid plains of the alentejo and the wetlands of the southeast coast the entire coastline of 1,793km gives on to the atlantic ocean · tourism is the country s largest industry though the greatest proportion of the population works in agriculture twentysix percent of land remains arable with a further thirty-six percent made up of forests and woodland portugal s most important exports are textiles wine especially port from the north of the country and cork over fifty percent of the world s wine corks come from portugal · apart from brief periods of spanish occupancy portugal has been an independent country since 1140 it became a republic in 1910 and is now a parliamentary democracy divided into eighteen regions together with two autonomous regions the islands of madeira and the azores it joined the eu in 1986 and despite rapid economic growth remains one of the eu s poorest countries with a gdp of around sixty-six percent that of the four leading european economies 7 intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go[close]
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authorities and individual smallholders wary of change but more profoundly even than the revolution it is emigration that has altered people s attitudes and the appearance of the countryside after lisbon the largest portuguese community is in paris and there are migrant workers spread throughout europe and north america returning these emigrants have brought in modern ideas and challenged many traditional rural values new cultural influences have arrived too through portugal s own immigrants from the old african colonies of cape verde mozambique and angola while the country s close ties with brazil are also conspicuously obvious the greatest of all portuguese influences however is the sea the atlantic dominates the land not only physically producing the consistently temperate climate but mentally and historically too the portuguese are very conscious of themselves as a seafaring race mariners like vasco da gama led the way in intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go 8 food from afar portugal s former status as an important trading nation has had a far greater influence on world cuisine than is often realized the tempura method of deep-frying food was introduced to the japanese by sixteenth-century portuguese traders and missionaries while the fiery curry-house mainstay vindaloo derives from a vinho wine and alho garlic sauce popular in portuguese goa indeed the use of chillis in the east only began when the portuguese started to import them from mexico bacalhau dried salt cod now a staple in diverse european countries and fashionable restaurants alike started life as a way of preserving fish on board the portuguese voyages of exploration another less exotic portuguese export is marmalade although portuguese marmelada is actually made from quince despite this historic global culinary influence however it is only recently that the portuguese themselves have embraced foreign tastes pizza pasta and bland chinese food are the best that most towns can muster though you will find restaurants specializing in dishes deriving from portugal s former colonies keep an eye out for angolan mufete beans with palm oil and fish chicken piri piri chicken with chilli sauce which originated in angola and mozambique caril de camarão shrimp curry and chamuças samosas from asia and brazilian meals such as feijoada pork and bean stew picanha sliced rump steak and rodizio barbecue meat buffet[close]
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nossa senhora dos remedios lamego intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go the exploration of africa and the new world and such links long ago brought influences to bear upon the country s culture in the distinctive music of fado blues-like songs heard in lisbon and coimbra for example or the moorishinfluenced manueline architecture that provides the country s most distinctive monuments this glorious history has also led to the peculiar national characteristic of saudade a slightly resigned nostalgic air and a feeling that the past will always overshadow the possibilities of the future the years of isolation under the dictator salazar which yielded to democracy after the 1974 revolution reinforced such emotions as the ruling elite spurned influences from the rest of europe only in the last three decades with portugal s 9[close]
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entry into the european union have things really begun to change and the portuguese are becoming increasingly geared toward lisbon and the cities for those who have stayed in the countryside however life remains traditional often disarmingly so to outsiders and social mores seem fixed in the past intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go 10 where to go he obvious place to start a visit to portugal is the capital lisbon which within its environs contains a selection of just about everything the country has to offer historical monuments superb beaches and the former royal retreat of sintra along with neighbourhood grill houses hip nightclubs and traditional city quarters further north on the rio douro river douro porto is the country s second city and the economic heart of the nation perhaps best known for its port wine lodges it certainly beats to a faster work rhythm than the rest of the country but the city nevertheless retains an earthy typically portuguese welcome for outsiders these are the only cities of any size in portugal but the country s cultural and historical past is also reflected in vibrant smaller towns especially the university towns of medieval coimbra and roman Évora in the country s first capital of guimarães at the religious centre of braga in canalside aveiro or historic viseu other towns have a more idiosyncratic t rossio station lisbon[close]
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interest in fátima portugal has one of the world s most revered catholic shrines beautiful tomar was headquarters of the knights templar while guarda boasts of being the highest city in europe elsewhere some of the continent s most extraordinary monuments dominate entire towns the monasteries abbeys convents and pilgrimage sites of mafra alcobaça batalha lamego and others are all well visited there are also great weekly and monthly markets like those at barcelos Évora estremoz and loulé that are a throwback to earlier times and attract locals and visitors alike nature meanwhile provides lux lisbon the caves and dinosaur tracks of estremadura the iconic national forest of buçaco the surviving salt pans of the central coast the ski fields near covilhã and the various regional wine routes but if portugal has a natural emblem it is surely its famous beaches the most alluring of which are in the algarve where you can still escape the crowds on the offshore islands around tavira and along the west coast north of sagres other less-developed but more exposed atlantic beaches can be found up the entire west coast of portugal from the surfer hangouts of the alentejo and estremadura to the more traditional costa da prata resorts in the beira literal crowds are even thinner along the costa verde around viana do castelo but by the time you are this far north the sea is decidedly chilly for much of the year the most dramatic and verdant inland scenery lies in the north around the sensational gorge and valley of the rio douro and in the mountainous natural parks of the serra da estrela peneda-gerês montesinho alvão and serra da malcata some rural villages in northern trás-os-montes still live a startlingly traditional existence firmly rooted in subsistence farming touring the minor serras especially in the beira region can also show you a largely untouristed side of the country as can the wide-open plains of the flat southern alentejo scattered with some of portugal s prettiest whitewashed villages finally all along the border with spain you ll find fortified border settlements from valença do minho in the north to mértola in the south most of them complete with fantastic castles and many barely touched by tourism 11 intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go[close]
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vineyards douro valley intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go when to go weather map of endless suns sums up the situation across the whole of portugal in summer certainly between june and september when the only daytime variation across the country is a degree or two further up the scale from 30ºc in july and especially august the portuguese holiday month the coastal resorts are at their busiest and prices correspondingly reach their peak it s also a horribly hot time to tour the alentejo or to expect to do much walking about cities medieval towns and archeological sites it s a few degrees cooler in mountain areas but there s little shade at altitude and again high summer is not an ideal time for hiking holidays with such a verdant landscape it should be no real surprise that portugal also has a fairly high level of rainfall most of it falls from november to march though shifting weather patterns mean you can just as easily experience bone-dry winter months and downpours in may and june the north a 12[close]
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of portugal is particularly wet and in the higher areas showers are possible more or less throughout the year in central and southern portugal especially on the coast it is mild all year round and although it can be cloudy in winter when the sun does break through it is delightfully warm perhaps the best times of year to visit are in spring ie from february for the dazzling flowers and early autumn october when the weather is warm but not too hot and the summer crowds have thinned out swimmers however should note that the official swimming season in portugal lasts from the beginning of june to mid-september outside these months outdoor pools and river beach facilities close while some hotels restaurants campsites and water parks only open from around easter to september in winter in the north things can get pretty cold especially inland where snow is common along the mountainous border areas in january and february but if you don t mind the odd tourist facility being closed then crisp sharp sunshine makes winter a highly appealing time to visit the centre and south of the country in lisbon estremadura the alentejo and the algarve there are dramatic reductions in hotel prices and in february the almond blossom lights up the countryside this is the time when you ll see the country at its most portuguese with virtually no tourists around average temperatures and rainfall daytime temperatures °c and average monthly rainfall mm jan lisbon max °c min °c rainfall porto costa verde max °c min °c rainfall faro algarve max °c min °c rainfall 14 8 111 13 5 159 15 9 70 mar 18 10 109 15 7 147 18 11 72 may 22 13 44 19 10 87 22 14 21 jul 27 17 3 25 15 20 28 20 1 sep 25 16 33 24 14 51 26 19 17 nov 17 12 93 17 8 148 19 13 65 13 intr o d uction whe re to go w he n to go[close]
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