| Regions of Portugal.
Portugal's administrative divisions are complicated, somewhat
artificial and currently in flux, so Spain and Portugal for
Visitors prefers to refer to the country's tourist regions,
closer to its traditional divisions. There may sometimes be
confusion, though.
The five mainland regions listed in the menu on the left
(from north to south, Norte, Centro, Lisboa e Vale do Tejo,
Alentejo and Algarve) are actually only units for European
Union statistical purposes, but they are convenient divisions
anyway. The Azores and Madeira, in contrast, are also regiões
autónomas, autonomous regions. The next level
down for European Union purposes is the subregion, but subregions
are rarely referred to by anyone else, so we'll forget about
them so far as possible. The old Portuguese distritos
are being abolished, but people still refer to them instead
of to the awful-sounding metropolitan and urban communities
which are replacing them. This is not surprising - Castelo
Branco, for example, at least sounds like a place,
whereas Beira Interior Sul sounds like something Freddy Kruger
would conjure up if he were an EU bureaucrat. And who on earth
would want to visit a comunidade intermunicipal
(instead of a place in the country)?
Portugal Travel
The Algarve
The Algarve is Portugal's most popular tourist region, with
beautiful beaches and gorgeous coves, bathed by the warmth
of the Gulf Stream. In addition, it has good hotels, charming
resorts, first-class golf courses and splendid food.
The
Azores
The Azores, the Portuguese volcanic islands in the middle
of the Atlantic, have a year-round, temperate climate (15ºC/59ºF-21ºC/70ºF)
and sumptuous, lush landscapes.
Costa Azul
The Costa Azul runs down from the south bank of the Tagus
estuary, opposite Lisbon, to join the Algarve. It is less
populous and far less developed than other costas,
making it an attractive choice for madding-crowd fleers.
Costa de Prata
The Costa de Prata, capital Coimbra, is the region between
Lisbon and Porto. It has long, sandy beaches, rather exposed
and windswept (making it attractive to windsurfers) and beautiful
towns and villages inland.
Costa Verde
The Costa Verde is a newly invented name for the coast of
the northwest of Portugal, the Minho, and its hinterland (do
not confuse with the Costa Verde's in Mexico and Costa Rica).
As the name suggests, it is a lush, i.e., rainy area, with
some fabulous beaches and wonderful places to visit nearby.
Estoril Coast
West of Lisbon there is a stretch of coastline which has long
been popular with exiled royalty and other ex-pats. Its main
attractions are Estoril itself, the less aristocratic (but
more cheerful) resort of Cascais, some splendid beaches and
the historic towns of Mafra and Sintra, up in the hills.
Madeira
Madeira is an archipelago in the Atlantic with two inhabited
islands, Madeira itself and Porto Santo. Their mild climate,
spectacular scenery and exotic flora make them a year-round
resort.
Trás-os-Montes
Trás-os-Montes ("behind the mountains") is a predominantly
rural area in the north-east of Portugal, bordering Spain.
It is a very satisfying area to visit, with nature reserves,
historic towns, and sleepy hamlets.
SPV
Regions of Portugal Links
Selected Links
Visit
Portugal
The new website of the Portuguese Tourist Board should
be your first stop for information after Spain and Portugal
for Visitors. At first, it seems slightly more difficult to
use than its predecessor, and short on details about particular
towns and villages, but that is due to its change in focus:
it is now theme- rather than geography-centred. Its headings
are Experiences (Adventure, Arts, Golf, etc.), Destinations
(Portugal's regions, not its towns), All About Portugal
(practical matters such as money, driving or accommodation),
and Getting Here. The last two headings in the top
menu work together beautifully, once you get the hang of them.
The Find function evidently allows you to search
for particular places (among other things) and, if you like
what you read, add them to a Wishlist. From My Holiday
Plan you can then construct an itinerary, and even have
a presentation sent to you with the information you specify,
including pictures. All told, you could spend hours of enjoyable
and profitable surfing time here.
Alto
Minho
The site of the Alto Minho Tourist Board. Quite fine, and
the linguistic slips actually make it more interesting. Don't
you feel there is room in the dictionary for a word like "monumentualy?"
CIA
World Factbook - Portugal
I love the CIA's World Factbook (all those resources and it
looks like my old geography book).
Library
of Congress Study on Portugal
If you have homework to do on Portugal, this is a good place
to start: history, geography, politics, etc. A little dated
(1993), and how is it possible that in such an authoritative
document they can't spell "foreword" properly?
Porto
and the North of Portugal
The north of Portugal by Discover Portugal, briefly covering
both the Douro and Minho.
Portugal
- a Country in Europe
From the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. Good for
homework.
Southern
Douro Tours
Not a tour operator, but really impressive virtual tours of
the southern Douro area from a local trade association.
Travelzine.com
- Portugal
Travelzine.com is the baby of Don and Linda Freedman, a retired
Toronto couple who write great travelogues. If you like this
one (you will), take a look at their return visit to Portugal,
as well.
VerdeMinho
Some attractive photos from a company selling a CD-ROM.
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SPV
Regions of Portugal Web Directory
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