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Officially known as the Portuguese Republic, Portugal is on the Iberian
Peninsula, on the south-western edge of Europe. With Spain as their neighbour to
the north and east, Portugal fronts on the the Atlantic Ocean, with the
Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira also part of Portugal. There
are 18 districts on mainland Portugal: Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo
Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Porto,
Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu – the name of each
district is that of the district capital. For administrative purposes, Portugal
is divided into 308 municipalities, that are further subdivided into civil
parishes. The Azores and Madeira are governed as autonomous regions.
Climate
Defined as having a Mediterranean climate, Portugal is warm and sunny, with mild
winters. The climate is influenced by a range of factors depending on whether
you are near the coastline or further inland. The high season is from mid-June to mid-September, when temperatures
are pleasant, although during July to August places like the Algarve, the Alentejo and the upper Douro Valley can get extremely hot. The climate in some
parts of the country is more semi-arid or Steppe climate, whilst both the Azores
and Madeira have a subtropical climate. Snowfall also occurs, mainly in the
interior north and central parts of the country.
Popular tourism destinations include Lisbon, the Algarve and Madeira. Other
regions that have become popular include Greater Porto and Northern Portugal,
the Azores and Alentejo. |
