Magic Around the World : Portugal

PORTUGAL

Portugal officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese:República Portuguesa), is a unitary semi-presidential republic. It is located in South-Western Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, and it is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, being bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. Aside from continental Portugal, the Portuguese Republic holds sovereignty over the Atlantic archipelagos of Azores and Madeira, which are autonomous regions of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose name derives from Latin "Portus" and Celtic "Cale".

The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continually fought over and settled since prehistoric times, first by the Celts and the Romans, followed by the Visigothic and Suebian domination, and later by the Muslim Moorish, who were eventually expelled during the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. By 1139, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from Galicia. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery, Portugal expanded western influence and established the First Global Empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers, and ultimately dividing the world with Spain.

The Portuguese Empire was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost 600 years, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau to China in 1999 (de facto) or the granting of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002 (de jure). The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different Sovereign States, leaving a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese speakers today(making it the sixth most spoken first language) and a number of Portuguese-based creoles. Portugal's international status was greatly reduced during the 19th century, especially following the Independence of Brazil. After 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, itself being superseded by the "Estado Novo" right-wing authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after thePortuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to Angola, Mozambique,São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau.

Portugal is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards. It's one of the world's mostglobalized and peaceful nations. It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Eurozone, OECD, NATO, WTO,Schengen Area, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. On 31 May 2010, Portugal became the sixth country in Europe and the eighth country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage on the national level. Portugal also received international attention for being the first country in the world to fully decriminalize the usage of all drugs in 2001.

TOURISM

Portugal attracts many tourists each year. In 2006, the country was visited by 12.8 million tourists. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in Portugal's economy contributing about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The main tourist areas are, by order of importance, the Greater Lisbon (Lisboa), the Algarve, Greater Porto and Northern Portugal (Porto e Norte), Portuguese Islands (Ilhas Portuguesas: Madeira and Azores), and Alentejo.

Lisbon is, after Barcelona, the European city attracting most tourists, with 7 million tourists sleeping in the city's hotels in 2006, the number grew 11.8% compared to previous year. Lisbon in recent years surpassed the Algarve as the leading tourist region in Portugal. Porto and Northern Portugal, especially the urban areas north of Douro River, was the tourist destination which grew most (11.9%) in 2006 and surpassed Madeira, in 2010, as the third most visited destination. Today, most tourists in Portugal are British, French, Spanish or German, travel in low cost airliners, and are not only in search of the beach and the sun, but mostly searching culture, city breaks, gastronomy, nautical tourism or travel in business.

Tourism regions

Tourist hotspots in Portugal are Lisbon, the Algarve and Madeira, but the Portuguese government is currently developing new destinations: the Douro Valley, Porto Santo Island, and Alentejo.

Portugal has several other tourism regions such as Douro Sul, Templários, Dão-Lafões, Costa do Sol, Costa Azul, Planície Dourada, etc. Most of them are unknown to tourists and locals alike. As of 2007, these are being reorganized.

All these regions are grouped in tourism reference areas, which are widely known due to the fact that these are the traditional regions:

Costa Verde

The Portuguese green coast comprises all the northern coast of Portugal from the estuary of the Minho River to the city of Porto.

Costa de Prata

Silver coast. The coast of central Portugal from Porto to Lisbon. Nazaré, Foz de Arelho and São Martinho do Porto are 3 important places at the Costa de Prata.

Costa de Lisboa