Portugal is around the
same size as Scotland but with twice the population, it also
benefits generally from much better weather and has tremendous
variety both geographically and in its ways of life and traditions.
Along the coast around Lisbon famous for its Sardine restaurants,
and on the well-developed Algarve in the south with its many
apartments, houses and villas for rent, there are highly sophisticated
resorts, while the vibrant capital Lisbon has enough going
on to please most city lovers. But the rural areas of Portugal
are still greatly underdeveloped, and there are plenty of
opportunities to experience smaller towns and countryside
regions that have changed little in the past century both
in looks and the way of life of the locals.
With regards to the population, and customs of Portugal, differences
between the north and south are particularly striking. Above
a line more or less in line with the course of the River Tagus,
the people are of predominantly Celtic and Germanic stock.
It was here, at Guimaraes, that the "Lusitanian"
nation was born, in the wake of the Christian conquest from
the North African Moors. South of the river, where the Moorish
and Roman civilizations were most established, people tend
to be darker-skinned and maintain more of a "Mediterranean"
lifestyle. More recent events in Portugal have had an impact.
The 1974 revolution came from the south, an area of vast estates,
rich landowners and a dependent workforce, while the conservative
backlash of the 1980s came from the north, with its powerful
religious authorities and individual smallholders wary of
change. Emigration has had a much more profound effect on
Portugal and this is evident in the countryside. After Lisbon,
one of the largest Portuguese communities is in Paris, and
there are migrant workers spread throughout France and Germany.
Returning to Portugal, these emigrants have brought in modern
ideas and challenged many traditional rural values.
The greatest of all Portuguese influences, is the sea. The
Portuguese consider themselves as a seafaring race; mariners
like Vasco da Gama led the way in the exploration of Africa
and the Americas, and until recently Portugal remained a colonial
powering its own right. The colonies brought African and South
American influences to the country's culture: in the distinctive
music of fado, sentimental songs heard in Lisbon and Coimbra,
for example, or in the Moorish-influenced and Manueline architecture
that abounds in coastal towns like Belem and Viana do Castelo.
Accommodation in Portugal is as diverse as its people with
everything from a studio right up to a farm hidden deep in
the countryside the choice is yours.
Since Portugal is so compact, it's very easy to take something
of each of its elements. The most interesting parts of the
country for anyone with a passion for taking photos are in
the north of Portugal: the Minho , green, damp, and often
startling in its rural customs; and the sensational gorge
and valley of the Douro , followed along its course by the
railway, off which antiquated branch lines edge into remote
Tras-os-Montes . For contemporary interest, spend some time
in both Lisbon and Porto, the only two cities of any size.
If it's monuments you're after, the centre of the country
, Coimbra and Evora retain a faded grandeur of what Portugal
used to be like. The coast is virtually a continuous beach
with headlands jutting out into the sea from place to place,
and apart from the Algarve and a few pockets around Lisbon
and Porto, resorts remain low-key and thoroughly Portuguese,
with great stretches of deserted sands between them. Perhaps
the loveliest are along the northern Costa Verde, around Viana
do Castelo, or, for isolation, the wild beaches of southern
Alentejo offer a great attraction to holidaymakers .
Choose your ideal Portuguese Accommodation ,
including bed & breakfasts, self-catering villas and apartments
and hotels with secure online reservation- Portuguese
holiday properties
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