Beautiful Tourist Places to Visit in Portugal, Europe

Beautiful Tourist Places to Visit in Portugal, Europe

Portugal is a South-Western European country geographically positioned at 38°42′ N 9°11′ W, surrounded by Spain towards the north and east, and by the Atlantic Ocean towards the west and south. The Government of Portugal follows the unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic system.

Lisbon is the capital and largest city, Portuguese is the official language and Euro is the currency of Portugal. Portugal is one of the developed countries in the world in terms of quality of living and GDP. Portugal is also one of the member nations of the European Union, United Nations, NATO and many other international organizations.

Geography of Portugal:

Lying on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal spans over an area of 92,212 sq. km. The Portuguese Republic also covers archipelagos of Azores and Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean along with mainland, Portugal.

History of Portugal:

Portugal takes its name from Porto (in Latin, Portus Cale), the 2^nd largest city of Portugal. Portugal has a strong historical background since it was one of the major European empires from the 11^th century to 20^th century. Portugal became republic on 5 October 1910 and its current constitution came into existence on 25 April 1976.

Connectivity to Portugal:

Lisbon Portela Airport is the main airport of Portugal, located around 6 km away from the heart of the capital city, Lisbon. This airport covers almost all of the major European cities including London, Madrid, Paris and Rome.

Portugal is connected by both bus and train services to Madrid in Spain. For local travel, buses, trains, bicycles, cars and bikes are widely used in Portuguese cities.

Culture, Food and Shopping in Portugal:

Portugal is rich in its culture, housing fifteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is also the home town of many internationally renowned poets and writers including Luís de Camões and Fernando Pessoa.

Portugal is famous for its Port Wine and other wines include Vinho do Dão, Vinho da Bairrada and Vinho do Douro. Bacalhau is considered as the national dish of Portugal.

Designer clothes are purchasable in Portugal and other buyable items include handicraft products, artworks and leather items.

Tourist Attractions in Portugal:

Lisbon Oceanarium:

The Lisbon Oceanarium is Europe’s largest indoor aquarium, situated in the Parque das Nações in Lisbon and it holds around 450 different animal species. This oceanarium was opened in 1998, designed by the architect Peter Chermayeff.

Pena National Palace:

The Pena National Palace is located in São Pedro de Penaferrim in the Sintra municipality. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered as Portugal’s one of the seven wonders. It is a worth visit.

Jerónimos Monastery:

Situated in the municipality of Lisbon, the Jerónimos Monastery was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. This spectacular Monastery was built in 1601 in the Manueline style of architecture.

Other places of interest in Portugal include:

Belém Tower
Castle of São Jorge
Quinta da Regaleira
Casa da Música
Praia da Rocha
Quinta do Lago
Peneda-Gerês National Park
25 de Abril Bridge
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
Estádio do Dragão
Lisbon Zoo
MEO Arena
Dom Luís Bridge
Conímbriga
Praia da Marinha

Best time to visit Portugal:

Portugal experiences Mediterranean climate and as like most European cities, from May to September is the ideal time to enjoy holidays in Portugal.

Accommodation options in Portugal:

Being one of the major tourist destinations in the world, Portugal houses hundreds of accommodation centres ranging from budget options to star rated internationally renowned hotels. Here below listed are some of the nice hotels in Portugal (Lisbon):