TIPS

• Portugal’s location at the same meridian line as Greenwich explains why Lisbon and London share similar time references

      (0 hours);

• Situated on the Tagus Estuary and a few miles away from the Atlantic ocean, Lisbon is Portugal’s capital since 1256;

• Estoril is a coastal resort included in Cascais municipality, and both may be reached from Lisbon through a railway line of breath-taking seascapes;

• Portugal is one of Europe’s oldest nations (1179) with over 10 million inhabitants, and its geographic setting explains its notion as a platform between continents, since the early Age of Discoveries (15th and 16th centuries);

• Portuguese is a Latin-derived tongue spoken by c.200 million people; it is the 5th most spoken language worldwide;

• A democratic, open-minded and religion-tolerant country, Portugal is a member of the EU since 1986, and in 2004 it hosted the European Football Championship;

• Portugal welcomes visitors with its people’s charm, its climate’s mildness, and its diversified geographic, cultural and tourist attractions; a great number of its treasures have been awarded by the UNESCO, as well as acknowledged by the World Travel Awards in recent years;

• Since 2002, the country joined the European currency. 1 Euro (€) is divided in 100 cents; there are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents; on the coin, the head shows the Euro sign (€), while the tail reveals neither monument nor effigy, but rather the official seals of King Afonso I, Portugal’s founding father back in the 12th century; the Euro bills (5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 Euros) present different colours and the architectural styles common to the «Old Continent»;

• Payments in Portugal may be made in cash, credit/debit cards, bank transfer, or cheque;

• Electricity voltage is 220 Volts, so visitors from other destinations may require adaptors.

12 Tourist Teasers

Lisbon and its Atlantic surroundings are known for:

1. The UNESCO cultural and natural nominations – in Belém and Sintra;

2. The UNESCO intangible nomination – Fado, sung and played in restaurants across Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto;

3. Museums – such as the Coach museum in Belém, the Glazed tiles museum in Madre de Deus, the Paula Rego museum in Cascais, among others;

4. Artistic underground galleries – decorated with contemporary glazed tiles, paintings and statues;

5. Worldwide brands at the fashionable Avenida da Liberdade;

6. The exquisite Belém custard tartlets (Pastéis de Belém), the morello cherry liqueur (Ginjinha), the Cascais’ butter cookies (Areias de Cascais), Sintra’s Travesseiros, Carcavelos’ fortified wine (Vinho de Carcavelos), fresh fish dishes, and codfish cakes (pastéis de bacalhau);

7. Accessibilities and charming relics like the early 20th century trams/cable cars, Santa Justa lift and Glória’s funicular;

8. Portugal’s largest football stadium (Estádio da Luz, stage of the UEFA Champions Cup final in May 2014) and main teams (Benfica and Sporting);

9. The confluence of seagulls, pigeons, sparrows and swallows beneath its sky, besides the occasional dolphin visit at the Tagus’ Estuary;

10. Europe’s largest casino at Portugal’s 1st international resort – Estoril;

11. The mystical mists of Sintra mountain and its romantic delights Byron, Chateaubriand, Hans Christian Andersen and Richard Strauss admired so much;

12. Countless attractions within the scope of Cultural and Natural Tourism, Sports (water and Golf), Health, Business Tourism, and City Breaks;

And more, so much more left for you to unveil…