Portugal

From Imakoopedia

Portugal, in Western Europe, shares the Iberian peninsula at the western tip of Europe with Spain. Geographically and culturally somewhat isolated from its neighbors, Portugal has a rich, unique culture and beautiful countryside. Although it was once one of the poorest countries in Europe, its incorporation into the European Union has meant increased prosperity -- and increased prices for travelers. Still, it may be one of the best value destinations on the Continent.

Table of contents

1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Understand 4 Get in 4.1 By plane 4.2 By train 4.3 By car 4.4 By bus 4.5 By boat 5 Get around 6 Talk 7 Buy 8 Eat 9 Drink 10 Sleep 11 Learn 12 Stay safe 13 Stay healthy 14 Respect 15 Contact 16 External links

Regions

• Alentejo
• Algarve
• The Azores Islands
• Beira Alta
• Beira Baixa
• Estremadura
• Madeira Islands
• Minho
• Tras-os-Montes

Cities

• Aveiro
• Braga
• Coimbra
• Evora
• Faro
• Funchal
• Guimaraes
• Leiria
• Lisbon
• Porto (Oporto)
• Praia das Maçãs
• Setubal
• Sintra

Understand

Get in

By plane

By train

By car

By bus

By boat

Get around

Thanks to generous government subsidies, rail travel in Portugal is often cheaper and faster than travel by bus. Unfortunately the rail network is limited, so you may find yourself bussing about to get anywhere off the beaten path.

Lisbon also has a clean and modern metro system.

Talk

The official language of Portugal is Portuguese. Although it's somewhat related to Spanish, Italian, and other Romance languages, it's not identical. Spanish-speakers may be able to make themselves understood, but considering that Spaniards play the tourist role here more even than English-speakers, you won't really be making much of a cultural connection. English is spoken in many tourist areas, but is far from ubiquitous.

People familar with the Brazilian dialect of Portuguese should be completely intelligible, if slightly strange-sounding, to Portuguese listeners.

See also: Portuguese phrasebook

Buy

Portugal is part of the Eurozone and uses the euro as its currency (symbol: €). ATMs accepting international cards can be found everywhere, and currency conversion booths spring up wherever there is a steady flow of tourists (although the closer they are to tourist attractions, the worse the rates they offer).

Eat

Portuguese cuisine evolved from hearty peasant food drawn from the seafood of the country's abundant coast and the pork raised on the limited grazing land of its interior. From these humble origins, Mediterranean ingredients flowing from Spain and spices brought back to the country during its exploration and colonisation of the East Indies and the Far East helped shape what is regarded as 'typical' Portuguese cuisine.

Soup is the essential first course of any Portuguese meal. The most popular is the Minho specialty, caldo verde, made from cabbage, potatoes and spiced sausage.

You will see another Portuguese staple bacalhau (dried codfish) everywhere. Locals will tell you that there are as many ways to cook this revered dish as there are days in the year.

The most common of Portugal's delicious fish (peixe) dishes revolve around sole (linguado) and sardines (sardinha) although salmon (salmão) and trout (truta) are also featured heavily. These are fried, grilled or served in a variety of sauces.

You'll see grills, thick with the smoke of charring meat, in front of many restaurants during your stay. Other than traditional sardines and salmon, Portuguese grilled chicken -- marinated in chilli, garlic and olive oil -- is world famous.

Vegetarians may have a tough time of it in Portugal. In most restaurants, vegetables (usually boiled or fried potatoes) are simply a garnish to the main meat dish. Even 'vegetarian' salads and dishes may just substitute tuna (which locals don't seem to regard as a 'meat') for ham or sausage. If in doubt, ask.

In grocery stores the scales are in the produce section, not at the checkout. If you don't weigh your produce and go to the checkout, you will be told Tem que pesar-os (You have to weigh them).

Drink

Portugal and the city of Porto are known the world over for the sweet, dense wine known as port. Available in a boggling array of colors, ages, processes and vintages, the wine can be found in any cafe or restaurant in the country. White port makes a nice accompaniment to fruit, cheese, or as an aperitif; tawny and ruby ports are better for after dinner.

Although port gets most of the glory world-wide, one of the great delights of first-time visitors to Portugal is its amazing array of delicious and inexpensive wines (vinho). Portugal has a huge wine industry, but it's mostly for domestic consumption and very little of the product is actually exported. All the better for the country's visitors: a drinkable liter of wine can be had in a corner shop for €2-3 (really), and even the finer-quality stuff is usually under €15 in a restaurant. Especially tasty is vinho verde ("green wine"), a young sparkling wine that (despite the name) comes in white and red varieties, and makes an especially nice dinner or evening accompaniment.

There are other drinks travelers may not be familiar with. One is cachaça, a hangover-inducing rotgut liquor originally from Brazil and made from sugar-cane, used to make caipirinha cocktails. Another is absinthe, a green, licorice-flavored liqueur infused with wormwood, a mildly psychotropic herb. Absinthe has been banned in many countries of the world, but it remains legal in Portugal. No spoons or sugar cubes here: it's normally drunk with tonic water, orange juice, or in shots.

Sleep

Learn

Stay safe

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

Public telephones are common throughout the country, but you'll find them even less generous than slot-machines: many times they'll swallow your change and give you no credit. You're better off purchasing a calling card or using your credit card, although support for this feature is limited and expensive. When looking for a calling card - try kiosks on the street, little shops... - you'll probably be given one from Portugal Telecom (Portugal's monopolist phone company), ask if they have from other providers. Most of the times they are cheaper, you don't have to insert them anywhere (just dial a code!) and it works in every fix phone, even in hotels - and in this case you don't need to pay any phone bill in the hotel. To call an international number, dial 00 and then the country code.

Internet cafes can be readily found in major cities and tourist towns. Expect to pay between €2 - €3 per hour.

External links