Portugal
Europe's Atlantic edge, from port wine valleys to ocean-going history
Portugal occupies the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Atlantic from a coast of golden beaches, fishing harbors, and cliff-top towns. The oldest nation-state in Europe to keep its borders largely unchanged, it launched the Age of Discovery, sending caravels around Africa to India, Brazil, and the Far East. Home to about 10.2 million people, with Lisbon spread across its seven hills above the Tagus estuary, Portugal pairs a seafaring past with port wine, azulejo tiles, the melancholy of fado music, and the Atlantic islands of the Azores and Madeira.
The mainland slopes from the mountainous, vineyard-terraced north, where the Douro carves its valley, to the rolling plains of the Alentejo and the sunny Algarve coast. The Serra da Estrela rises to 1,993 meters at Torre, the high point of the mainland, while the country's overall summit is Mount Pico, a 2,351-meter volcano in the Azores. The Tagus and Douro are the great rivers. A Mediterranean-to-Atlantic climate sustains cork oak forests, olive groves, and the terraced vineyards that produce port and vinho verde.
Born as a kingdom in the twelfth century during the Reconquista, Portugal pioneered European maritime expansion under figures like Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama, building a global empire. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake reshaped the city and Enlightenment thought. After the long Salazar dictatorship, the peaceful Carnation Revolution of 1974 restored democracy and ended the empire. A founding eurozone member that joined the European Community in 1986, Portugal has become a popular destination for tourists and new residents alike.