Portuguese cuisine, although almost unknown in Europe, abounds in interesting combinations of ingredients, often completely new to our palates. By far the most popular dish of Portuguese cuisine is bacalhau. The salt-cured cod is prepared in thousands of ways and is still eaten every day by several percent of Portuguese.
Who was Bartolomeu Dias? Traveler, sailor, conquistador…. But he went down in history as the discoverer of the Cape of Good Hope. His life falls during the period of the Great Geographic Discoveries. He is one of the most important explorers alongside Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan.
Jerónimos Monastery (pt. Mosteiro dos Jerónimos) is a massive religious complex located in Lisbon’s Belém district on the Tagus coast. The building became a symbol of the power of the powerful during the era of overseas territorial expansion, coinciding with the end of the Renaissance. Today, the monastery is considered one of the wonders of Portugal.
Luís Vaz de Camões (1524/5 – 1579 or 1580), known as the “prince of poets,” is widely regarded as the greatest poet of Portugal and of all literature created in the Portuguese language. His skills are often compared to Shakespeare, Homer, Virgil or Dante. He left behind many lyrical works and dramas, the best known of which is Portugal’s national epic Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads), or “sons of Luz,” after the name of the mythical forefather of the Lusitanians.
Casa dos Bicos, or translated as “house of thorns”, is one of the most charming townhouses within the center of Lisbon. It owes its uniqueness to its miraculous rescue during the 1755 earthquake. This fact allowed the building to remain unchanged since its construction several centuries ago.
Lisbon is a city of monuments and architectural gems, but not all of them date back to ancient times. The Portuguese capital is also regarded as a pearl of utilitarian architecture, the crowning glory of which is considered to be the Gare do Oriente. Located virtually in the heart of Lisbon, the station serves 75 million passengers a year.
Praia da Marinha is often called the most beautiful beach in the Algarve. The clear turquoise waters slap constantly against the orange limestone forming cliffs and the almost iconic rock formations grace the covers of hundreds of postcards and travel brochures. The beach itself, along with the grotto in Benagil and Ponte de Piedade in Lagos, is one of the most visited places in the region.
Lisbon’s airport is located about seven kilometers northeast of the city center. In January 2019, the Portuguese government announced a plan worth more than one billion euros to expand the current port, as well as build a new airport in the sub-Lisbon city of Montijo. The construction of the new port has been criticized by naturalists and environmentalists due to plans to build on current nesting zones in the Tagus Valley.
Monument to the Explorers (Padrão dos Descobrimentos) is located in Lisbon’s Belém neighborhood on the northern shore of the Tagus River estuary. It was built as a tribute to the bygone era of geographic discovery of the Portuguese nation, at a time when the country was considered a thalassocracy. The site was not chosen at random, as it rises above the destination of ships returning from transoceanic voyages that were the source of the power of the Portuguese empire.
The Troia Peninsula is a very important place on the tourist map of Portugal today. It is located in the county of Grândola, right next to the mouth of the Sado River to the Atlantic Ocean. It is characterized by long, sandy beaches, a marina filled with yachts, a unique harbor built on wooden stilts, as well as magnificent monuments of the period of the Roman Empire.