Portugal - General Information

Portugal is officially called the Portuguese Republic. The name of the country comes from its second largest city: Porto. The capital of Portugal is Lisbon which is also its largest city. Its borders are the Atlantic Ocean on the west and Spain on its north, south, and east. Portugal is the farthest west country of mainland Europe, and it located on the Iberian Peninsula.

Portugal joined the European Economic Community in 1986 which later became the European Union. Their currency is the euro.

The official language of Portugal is Portuguese. Portuguese is a Romance language, a language that has been derived from Vulgar Latin. Currently, Portuguese is spoken as a native language in four different continents in which Brazil accounts for the most native speakers of Portuguese in any country.

Dry cod is included in the many Portuguese dishes. There are hundreds of Portuguese recipes that include dry cod as one of the ingredients; there are more recipes than the numbers of days in a single year. The Portuguese art of pastry originates from the Middle Ages Catholic monasteries across the country. These monasteries use a very little number of ingredients: almonds, flour, eggs, and some liquor. From this, the monasteries have been able to create a wide variety of pastries.

Portuguese wine has been widely known across the globe since the Roman times which was when Portugal was associated with the Roman god Bacchus, the god of wine, merry making, theatre, and ecstasy. Today the Portuguese wine is known by wine lovers around the world, and its wine have been given multiple international prizes. The most widely known wine type is Port wine.

Portuguese music comprises of a variety of genres. The most renowned genre is fado, a melancholy urban music, which is usually associated with the Portuguese guitar. Portugal has many summer music festivals such as the Boom Festival in Idanha-a-Nova Municipality. Boom Festival is also the only Portuguese music festival to win international awards: European Festival Award 2010 - Green'n'Clean Festival of the Year and the Greener Festival Award Outstanding 2008 and 2010. Portugal hosted the MTV European Music Awards in Pavilhão Atlãntico, Lisbon in 2005.

Football, or soccer in America, is the most popular sport in Portugal. Other sports include roller hockey, basketball, handball, futsal, and volleyball. The Portuguese team for cycling has won many gold, silver, and bronze medals in the European, World, and Olympic Game competitions.

Portuguese Visa Travel Insurance

Do I Need Portugal Travel Insurance?

Portugal Visa Travel Insurance is required for all travelers to Portugal that need a Portugal visa.

Before you visit Portugal, you need to purchase Schengen Visa Travel Insurance for Portugal that meets all Schengen visa requirements. Once you complete an instant online purchase, you would be able to print the visa letter that you can take it to Portugese consulate that would issue you Portugal visa.

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DISCLAIMER: The information within this article is intended as a broad summary of benefits and services and is meant for informational purposes only. The information does not describe all scenarios, coverages or exclusions of any insurance plan. The benefits and services of an insurance plan are subject to change. This is not your policy/certificate of insurance. If there is any discrepancy between the information in this article and the language of your policy/certificate wording, the language of the policy/certificate wording will prevail.

The insurance plans available on this website are not specifically targeted towards the destination mentioned in this article. They can provide coverage while traveling away from home, according to the terms and conditions and geographic restrictions applicable to the specific plan.