Photo by Nick Karvounis on Unsplash Portugal is a great destination for a relaxing holiday. With its mild climate, miles of sandy beaches and continental Europe’s furthest south-west point, the…
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For much of Portugal’s early history it shared the same fate as Spain. Both were settled by Celts and then Carthaginians before the Roman Empire absorbed the entire Iberian Peninsula in the 2nd century BC. After it fell the Visigoths ruled from the 5th century to early 8th century AD. This is when the Muslim conquest of Spain and Portugal started.
This is when the two countries took different paths to reconquer their land. In the north part of Portugal, around Porto, the land was taken back almost immediately and the land was called the County of Portugal named after Porto, the main city in the area, and was part of a larger Christian kingdom in the north.
Helpful Info
Population – 10,300,000
Money – Euro (as of Sept 2018 US$1 = €0.85; current rate available at XE.com)
Language – Portuguese
Religion – 81% Catholic
When to go – Anytime but July & Aug can be busy
World Heritage Sites – 15 – Alto Douro, Angra do Heroismo, Côa Valley, Convent of Christ, Elvas, Évora, Guimarães, Jerónimos Monastery & Tower of Belém, Madeira, Monastery of Alcobaça, Monastery of Batalha, Pico Island, Porto, Sintra, University of Coimbra
Country formed – reestablished in 1128
The Coach Musuem was our favorite thing in Lisbon
Due to infighting among the Christian Kingdoms it took a while for the Reconquista to take hold, but when Afonso Henriques defeated his mother in 1128 at the Battle of São Mamede near Guimarães (known as the birthplace of the Portuguese culture) he united the people. By 1249 the Moors were defeated and the Kingdom of Portugal’s borders were established to their present location making it the oldest border in Europe.
Through marriage John I of Castile joined Portugal and Spain in 1383, but this only lasted two years. The rebelling Portuguese won the Battle of Aljubarrota and secured the Kingdom of Portugal (otherwise it would today be a province of Spain as is Catalonia). From here Portugal began the Age of Discoveries and became the first truly global empire with trade routes and colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
After centuries of spice trade monopoly, global influence, and a rising empire several factors stared eroding the economy, power, and influence of the kingdom. It came to a head in the 1910 revolution that disposed of the king and established the first republic. Unfortunately, the republic was taken over by the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar in 1933 and was not reestablished until 1974.
Pena Palace in Sintra, which was out favorite city
My Visit
In September 2017 I spent two weeks driving through Portugal with my girlfriend. We started in the southern region called Algarve and visited Evora, Elvas, Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Tomar, Coimbra, Aveiro, Porto, Guimaraes, Alto Douro region, and the Coa Valley before heading back to Spain from the northeast part of the country.
Likes, Dislikes, and Recommendations
The Chapel of Bones in Evora was one of the creepier places we saw
We liked Portugal even more than Spain, due to the friendliness of the Portuguese people and the ease with which we could communicate in English. In fact, about the only dislikes either of us had about Portugal was how an egg showed up in everything we ordered to eat (half joking) and the excessive use of tollways (not joking) throughout the country.
The Alto Douro wine country is about as romantic as it gets.
As far as recommendations go, I really recommend Evora and Elvas if you want some great history without the tourist crowds. When in the Lisbon area do not overlook Cascais and plan on two days at Sintra. The University of Coimbra is the 9th oldest in the world and a World Heritage Site. Make sure you do the nighttime tour and prepare to fall in love with the library. In Porto you will explore the wine caves (cellars), but also make sure you try a franchesca sandwich. The wine region of Alto Douro Valley is one of the most romantic places in Portugal and the prehistoric rock art in Coa Valley will require a reservation a few days in advance.
Soon you can get even more helpful hints by watching the travel videos I am making for Portugal. Also, you can read what all I did during my time in Portugal in my blog posts below.
All Blogs From Portugal
The Monument to the Discoveries is today’s photo of the day and is perfect, because this is the last blog we have for Portugal. After this we will be discovering…
I am winding down the Portugal blogs, before heading to Andorra, Barcelona, and then Rome and I am so grateful for all the blessings he has bestowed upon me. From…
I cannot believe we had two weeks in Portugal and we still felt a little rushed. There was so much to see and experience. I loved being in this country….
Back in 1755 an earthquake off the coast of Portugal registered 8.5-9 on the Richter scale it killed 15-20% of the population in Lisbon and destroyed 85% of the existing…
Yesterday I told you all about the World Heritage Site in the Coa Valley located in the north-eastern part of Portugal. Well I wanted to share my favorite photo with…
The Prehistoric Rock Art in the Coa Valley is yet another World Heritage Site and is located on the bank of the Agueda River, which is a tributary of the…
As we were driving through the Alto Douro wine country in north portugal I saw this view under one of the bridges and had to stop the car to capture it….
I could not pass up a chance to show you another view of Porto. This time I have the Dom Luis Bridge in it. This bridge is unusual since it…
As you read in the last blog, Porto is the world producer of porto wine, but the grapes have to grow somewhere. Well that somewhere is the Alto Douro valley…
Today’s photo of the day is of a traditional boat the shipped wine down the river to Porto to be made into port wine. The funny thing is that port…
It was in Guimarães that the first king of Portugal was born between the years of 1106-09. There was already a castle build here in the 950’s, from which he…
Today’s photo of the day is from the Burmester Wine Cellar across the river from Porto. This is one of the oldest winery in the Duouro Valley. Can you guess…
Today’s photo of the day is from the top of Penha Mountain. We are looking down at Guimarães, which is the birthplace of the Portuguese culture. Come back tomorrow and I…
Guimarães is a World Heritage Site because the first king rebelled against the Arab invasion was born in this town and started his campaign here. Over the centuries it has retained…
Today’s photo of the day is from Aveiro, which some call the Little Venice of Portugal. It was quite peaceful gliding along the canals of this small town in northern…
That is because the library at Coimbra University was used as the setting for the scene in the live action film where the Beast shows Belle all of his books….
That’s right! In one day of touring we visited four different World Heritage Sites. Three were medieval monasteries and the last was a college. We got a hotel in Coimbra…
Today’s photo of the day is from the monastery in Batalha, Portugal. This was the second of three monasteries we saw in one day in central Portugal. It is also…
Tomorrow Melek is going to tell you about all about Sintra outside of Lisbon, Portugal. It was a truely magical place and we wish we scheduled an extra day here….
The Tower of Belem is a defensive tower built to help protect the mouth of the Tagus River, but it was not terribly effective. I wrote about this World Heritage…
The seven hills Lisbon is built upon are located at the mouth of the Tagus River. This ideal location was notice very early in world history as there is evidence…
Today’s photo of the day is from the cloister of Jerónimos Monastery. This is World Heritage Site that was begun in 1501. Come back tomorrow and I will give you…
Yesterday I wrote all about the fortified city of Elvas on the eastern border of Portugal. In that blog I told you to come back and I would show you…
Ok so Elvas, Portugal is not the largest fortification, but due to it being extensively fortified over the centuries it now has the largest bulwarked dry-ditch system in the world….
The city of Evora lies in the middle of the southern portion of Portugal and is a World Heritage Site due to its 5000 year long history. It has been…
Today’s photo of the day is from Evora, Portugal and features the Chapel of Bones. This was our favorite thing we saw in this World Heritage Site of a city….
Today’s photo of the day is from Faro on the Algarve Coast on the south side of Portugal. Here you have to take a small boat a km away to…
Today’s photo of the day is the small parish church in Sao Bras de Alportel, Portugal. It was built in the 15th century. This is just one example of the under…
For those of you that have been following me for a while, you have just finished reading all about Melek and mine’s six-week cruise through the upper Caribbean. I hope…