Portugal, the land of sailors, long beaches and wistful music, is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in a sense at the end of Europe. But some Portuguese may not agree with this, because today Portugal is a modern country, and depending on the perspective, this could also be the beginning of Europe. On the western edge of Europe, in addition to Portugal's popular holiday paradise, the Algarve, visitors can expect a surprising variety of landscapes. Monumental royal palaces, numerous churches and monasteries in the Moorish style as well as the omnipresent tile pictures, the azulejos, tell of Portugal's glorious past as a sailor's nation.

Lisbon, Portugal's lively capital on the Tejo, enchants with the narrow labyrinth of alleys of the Alfama, cafes and restaurants in secluded squares, magnificent churches and museums. In the south, the Algarve beckons with beautiful beaches, bizarre rocky coasts and beneficial thermal springs in the Serra de Monchique. Through the wide hilly landscape of Alentejo and Ribatejo you reach the old university town of Coimbra. Untouched landscapes such as the Serra da Estrela and the Peneda-Gerês National Park inspire every hiker. The unknown green north lures you into the picturesque Douro Valley, the wine-growing region on the Minho and the trading city of Porto, the second most attractive urban center of the country.