Guide to Portugal

Stopover in Lisbon and Porto

Information about Portugal

An online guide on your cell phone (mobile phone) or on your laptop, fast and filled with up-to-date, practical and relevant information about Portugal, for your business trip, leisure or for those who live in Portugal:

Lisbon

The Portuguese metropolis is a welcoming city, with a pleasant climate for most of the year. In addition of the main urban agglomeration in the country, which includes Greater Lisbon, is the largest center cultural, political and economic of Portugal.

Historical Center of Lisbon
In the Historical Center of Lisbon, in Misericórdia, you can find some of the main tourist attractions of the city.

Main neighborhoods (parishes)
The following localities (or parishes, from an administrative point of view) and neighborhoods are the most population of the Portuguese capital:

• Lumiar

• Marvila

• Benfica

Great Lisbon

With the recent urban expansion, the Portuguese capital brought together the councils (municipalities) around it, forming the Greater Lisbon or the AML - Área Metropolitana de Lisboa.
Highlights are:

Sintra

World Heritage Site, a must-visit to discover around Lisbon.

Cascais

There are 30 km of beautiful beaches, with emphasis on Praia do Guincho, considered a of the 7 Wonders of Portugal.

Setúbal

On the south bank of the Tejo and at the gates of Alentejo, Setúbal it is famous for its wines and its beautiful beaches. Moscatel de Setúbal was voted the Best Muscat in the World.
Good place to live.

Unmissable Places

Madeira and Porto Santo: Sun, fun and gastronomy, a trio for a dream vacation

• Madeira: lots of adventure and fun for your vacation. Beaches, sports, nightlife and gastronomy.

• Funchal is the gateway to discover the lush vegetation of Madeira Island, its pleasant climate for most of the year and visit the island's main tourist attractions.

• Porto Santo an island World Biosphere Reserve, its incredible beaches for sea, nature and fun lovers.

Top Summer Places

Not just from Portugal but from all over Europe, millions of tourists invade the south of Portugal during the European summer (from June to September). The beautiful beaches, sunny and warm climate, lively nights and gastronomy that pleases everyone are the ingredients of this successful recipe.
Check out the top destinations in Portugal below:

Albufeira

Located in the center of the Algarve coast, Albufeira is the queen of the beaches of the Algarve. It's also our favorite!
This old and charming fishing village has become one of the best places on the Algarve coast to successful vacations: beautiful beaches, lively nights and a paradise for water sports.





The municipality (municipality) of Albufeira, alone, it represented 11% of the total number of hotel nights throughout Portugal. More than the capital, Lisbon (Jornal Expresso, October 14, 2021).

Portimão

Portimão is another place of dream: beautiful beaches, lively nights, water sports and everything along the coast algarvia very sunny almost all year round.

Algarve postcard
The beautiful Praia da Rocha, a real postcard of the Algarve makes Portimão one of the destinations preferred by both the Portuguese and European tourists.

Lagos (Lakes)

It is no coincidence that he makes part of this exclusive list: in Lagos, with other beautiful beaches, there is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and in Europe: Praia da Dona Ana. The beach is not big but it has been voted one of the most beautiful in the world. It is worth checking.

See also: Beaches of Portugal

Districts (States in Brazil)

Most populous districts in Portugal:

• Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital and the largest urban agglomeration in the country.

• Porto
The second largest urban agglomeration, Porto and the north are considered the birthplace of Portugal.

• Setúbal
On the south bank of the River Tagus, Setúbal is the third most important district in Portugal in terms of population.





• councils (municipalities) and parishes (administrative regions of municipalities).

Miscellaneous information, with the latest statistics, maps, sources and references.

Regions

This Guide is completed with other sections of the Top of Portugal portal and its Directory.


A brief chronology of the History of Portugal here

The Country

Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe. It is located on the Iberian Peninsula and has the entire northern and eastern border with Spain (1,215 km). to the west, it is bathed by the Atlantic Ocean (with 832 km of coastline). As a standing rectangle, Portugal is 218 km wide and 561 km long.

• Area: 92,212 km²
• Population: 10,347,892 inhab. (INE, 2021)
• Districts (States) of Portugal

Lisbon, the Capital

Lisbon, the welcoming capital of Portugal, is one of the most visited cities in Europe. There are several attractions linked to its glorious past, from the Discoveries, and its modern and current side. A cosmopolitan city that offers many charms and beauties to its millions of visitors. To the Brazilians, it has the extra advantage of being a little piece of Europe where we can speak Portuguese and feel at ease. See also: Porto

• Best places to visit

• Best places to work

• Best places to live

The Administrative Regions

From an administrative point of view, the country is divided into 5 regions: see Regiões de Portugal

Population

With a declining population, -2% since 2011, most Portuguese live in just a few major cities. which are Lisbon and Porto:

"About 50% of the population is concentrated in 31 of the 308 municipalities, located mostly in the Metropolitan Areas of Lisbon and Porto" [Express newspaper, 7/28/2021].

Main Cities

A bit of Geography

Learn more: Geography of Portugal