Europe

Welcome to Portugal

Boa vindas a Portugal

Once one of the great trading powerhouses of Europe, Portugal is a beautiful, inspiring country where the cultural influences and proud remnants of their glorious seafaring past stand strong. From the capital city of Lisbon, with its great monuments and noble history, to the sun-kissed beaches of the coast or the lush, fertile interior, Portugal offers endless opportunities for your own modern-day discovery.

At a glance

Visa & passport

Your may need a visa depending on how long you are staying in the country. Contact your local consulate or embassy.

Distances

Lisbon – Fatima: 132km

Lisbon – Faro: 302km

Lisbon – Porto: 323km

Lisbon – Madrid: 604km

Languages

Portugese is the official language in Portugal, although English is widely spoken.

Currency

The official currency is the Euro (EUR).

Electricity

220V 50Hz

Travellers’ Secrets

Take a day trip to Sintra

Definitely worth at the very least a day trip from Lisbon is the romantic mountain getaway town of Sintra. Used by the Moors and then the Portuguese Royal Family as a summer escape, even Byron stayed here and waxed lyrical about it in his travel epic Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Home to extravagant palaces and a Moorish Castle, it boasts semi-tropical gardens and fabulous views back across to Lisbon. A World Heritage-listed site, it’s also within easy reach of some lovely beaches and countless picturesque villages.

Catch a football game

Like many of its European neighbours, Portugal – and Lisbon in particular – is football crazy! Huge improvements were made to the country’s stadiums in preparation for hosting the European Championships in 2004 and one of the most impressive is the home ground of Benfica, the awesome Estádio da Luz – it was here that Portugal lost in the final to Greece in front of a crowd of 65,000 fans. Across town Estádio José Alvalade is the home of rivals Sporting Lisbon, also rebuilt for 2004 with state-of-the-design features. Catch a game, or tour the stadiums for a taste of Portuguese fanaticism.

Experience the food

Portuguese food is generally of excellent quality and reasonably inexpensive. Although each region sports a variety of dishes, fresh fish and shellfish are found on virtually every menu you will encounter. The national dish is “bacalhau”, dried, salted cod. Interestingly, fresh cod is rarely eaten in Portugal. Portions tend to be big in restaurants, so it is usually quite acceptable to ask for a half portion (a meia dose), or one portion to share between two (uma dose). To wash the food down, make sure you try some locally produced Port or Madeira – fortified wines – or some of the excellent Rosé or Vinho Verde. If beer is more your tipple, the best brands to go for are Sagres or Super Bock.