Tucked in the corner of the continent, nobody passes through Portugal because, really, there is nowhere else to go. It is a land on the edge, “where land ends and sea begins’’ as the l6th-century epic poet Luís Vaz de Camões put it. At the western periphery of Europe, the country appears suspended between a culture of traditional living – fishing and farming – and the technology that has made the world smaller, more integrated, more complex. However, it attracts a great many tourists, who come for the unspoilt landscape and lifestyle, as well as delightful villages, family-geared beach resorts, and the proud historic towns and cities.
Although in many ways Portugal has a Mediterranean feel, its light is more limpid and its shores are washed clean by the Atlantic tides. The cosmopolitan nature of the country is evident everywhere: nearly 2 million returned from former colonies when they were granted independence in the mid-1970s. Many headed for the countryside rather than towns, and Lisbon, the capital, has a comparatively small population of 1 million – out of a total population for the country of well over 10 million.
Azulejo, or painted tile.
Lydia Evans/Apa Publications
This is a country that is easy to explore, thanks to an ever-improving network of motorways and secondary roads. Covering some 92,100 sq km (35,550 sq miles), its land borders Spain, to which it was briefly attached in the 16th century: their languages, as well as the overall character of the people, are surprisingly different. Portugal benefits from Spain’s gift of three important rivers. In the north are the Minho and the Douro, while Lisbon lies on the Tagus (Tejo), south of which is the Alentejo and the popular Algarve coast. The cities have a distinct flavour, and the people savour their differences. “Coimbra sings, Braga plays, Lisbon shows off and Porto works,” is one way the Portuguese people sum them up.
Portugal is one of the southern European countries that has been hardest hit by the financial and debt crisis since 2009 (though less so than Greece). There is considerable economic hardship, and many young Portuguese are once again looking to emigration for a future, but this situation does not create any particular problems for foreign visitors, nor has it caused the kind of closures of monuments and attractions seen in Greece.
The village of Estremoz in the Alentejo region of Portugal.
