Portugal is located on the Iberian Peninsula bordering Spain for 1215 km on the South-Western corner of Europe. It is roughly 215 Km wide with 832 km of
Atlantic coastline. Portugal also controls the strategically positioned Atlantic Islands of Madeira and the Azores.Portugal is not a homogenous country geographically with distinct regions that are seperated north and south of the country. Portugal is split by its main river, the Tagus, the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula (1038km), that runs from the Albarracin mountains in Spain, through Santarem in Portugal, to Lisbon, where it enters the Atlantic flowing under the impressive 17.2km Vasco de Gama Bridge.Lisbon, the capital and largest city of Portugal, has a long and prosperous history that dates back thousands of years. Its location, with its natural harbour at the mouth of the Tagus river, has provided an ideal settlement for traders with evidence of a strong Phoenician influence as early as 1200BC. In1755 however, “The Great Earthquake” destroyed most of Lisbon and many surrounding towns and villages.
Moving south of the Tagus you have Alentejo ("beyond the Tejo"), with its gently rolling hills and plains that for many years have been dominated by large estates
involved in agriculture and grazing, for this reason the Alentejo also became known as an area of radical political movements, with the Portuguese Communist Party being dominant in the area. Moving south you reach the Algarve, a dry hilly region. Dominated by its coastline and beaches, the Algarve has for many years been the centre for tourism in Portugal and home to many foreigners.Northern Portugal on the other hand, has a much cooler, wetter climate and is dominated by its mountains and the Douro River, an historical barrier for invasion. The Douro enters Portugal from Spain in an area that is now the International Douro Natural Park. This isolated area is dominated by smallholdings and is known historically for the vineyards that produce the local wine and Port, from which, Porto, the capital of the North gets its name.The coastal region of Central Portugal consists predominately of long stretches of beach, backed by sand dunes and pine forests, with many of the local residents of towns like Figueira da Foz and Mira historically earning a living from the sea. As you move inland towards the Beiras and towards Tomar, you come across a great diversity of physical geography and history, with its charming rolling landscape, forests and rivers the Nabău and Zezere, that become more intense and rugged as they move up towards the mountains that are dominated by the Serra da Estrella.