Portugal is the oldest nation-state in Europe – it became the kingdom of Portugal in 1139, and Portugal's borders have barely changed since 1297 when the Portuguese and Spanish signed a treaty handing over the Algarve to Portugal.
With its mild climate, 3000 hours of sunshine per year and 850 kms of splendid beaches bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal is the perfect holiday destination all year round.
This is a country that has the oldest borders in Europe, with an exceptional range of different landscapes just a short distance away, lots of leisure activities and a unique cultural heritage, where tradition and modernity blend together in perfect harmony.
Its superb cuisine, fine wines and hospitable people make this a tourist paradise of the highest quality.
Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and is older than Rome, and among the oldest cities in Europe – archaelogical finds dating back to 1200BC reveal Phoenecian populations in and around Portugal's capital city.
Portugal is Europe's most westernly point – the westernmost point on mainland Europe is the Cabo da Roca in Portugal.
Due to its extensive coastal area full of beautiful beaches with long sandy beaches and also to its excellent weather conditions and many golf courses, Portugal has been for many years the European destination of choice for many tourists from other countries who come here frequently enjoy their vacation.
The Algarve is the most southern part of Portugal that is preferred by its warm water beaches.
Portugal is a Member State of the European Union and belongs to the Euro Zone. The EU defends a free market and a free circulation of people and goods, in addition to the absence of customs barriers. Portugal is the 2nd best country in the world on migrant integration policies and is an open door to the various world markets, with a direct connection to the Portuguese-speaking markets.
Ease of communication & Foreign Language English is mandatory in all schools since the 1st grade. More than 60% of Portuguese speak a foreign language and 78% of students learn 2 or more foreign languages.
Portugal is at the top of the ranking for real estate purchase According to Live and Invest Overseas, "Compared to Western European cities such as Paris, London, Dublin, Madrid and Rome, the Portuguese capital generally offers better weather, better real estate prices and lower cost of living” Portugal does not suffer from a real estate bubble: it has had a structured growth and with little credit leverage, since 2011.
Pacific Geolocation
With a privileged location in Western Europe to access relevant markets, Portugal is an open door to the Schengen Area and to a 500 million people market, not to mention around 260 million Portuguese-speaking consumers.
Strategic geographical location
Portugal is the most western European country, gathering with 3 continents: Europe, Africa and America Central and strategic point on important international routes, with air, sea and land connections with all the world cities.
It has a new ship port in the north of the country and a new one is to have its premiere soon.
Portugal is complete with two archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean: Madeira and Azores.
Climate
Portugal has a very pleasant climate and more than 300 sunshine days per year, with mild winters and long, hot summers.
The Mediterranean climate predominates in the South Average temperature at 12h00: 25ºC (summer) and 16ºC (winter)
Wine
Portugal is home to the first demarcated wine region in the world: the upper Douro Valley where Port wine grapes are grown along the Douro river in terraces cascading down the steep slopes.
Port is Portugal’s most famous wine. It originated in the 17th century when British merchants added brandy to wine to prevent it from souring in transit. Today it’s appreciated world wide. Port grapes are harvested and transported to Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro river from Porto. Here they are aged and bottled.
Many of the Port Wine houses are open for tours and tasting.
Cuisine
Despite being relatively restricted to an Atlantic sustenance, Portuguese cuisine has many Mediterranean influences. Portuguese cuisine is famous for seafood.
The influence of Portugal's former colonial possessions is also notable, especially in the wide variety of spices used. These spices include piri piri (small, fiery chili peppers) and black pepper, as well as cinnamon, vanilla and saffron. Olive oil is one of the bases of Portuguese cuisine, which is used both for cooking and flavouring meals. Garlic is widely used, as are herbs, such as bay leaf and parsley.
Safety
Portugal is the 5th most peaceful country in the world in a 163 countries sample (Global Peace Index 2016) and ranks 28th among 168 countries in International Transparency (Corruption Perception Index 2015)
Tourist Offer
Portugal was chosen by American readers as the Best European Country to visit - Source: USA Today It ranked 15th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015, having hosted in 2016 more than 16 million tourists In 2015, the Algarve region was considered the best beach destination in Europe Low Cost of Living According to UBS (Prices and Earnings 2015), the cost of living is considered low for most foreigners The price of the real estate market is also below the European average and very attractive to foreign investment
See here some pictures of Portugal