Lisbon
Portugal (Portuguese: Portugal, Mirandese: Pertual), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa; Mirandese: República Pertuesa), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.
Portugal is a developed country and it has the world’s 19th-highest quality-of-life, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit. It is the 13th-most peaceful and the 8th-most globalized country in the world. It is a member of the European Union (joined the then EEC in 1986, leaving the EFTA where it was a founding member in 1960) and the United Nations; as well as a founding member of the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, OECD, NATO, Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the European Union’s Eurozone, the ESA, and also a Schengen state.
Opening ceremony of the UEFA Euro 2004, at Estádio do Dragão, Porto.
Football (soccer) is the most popular and played sport. There are several football competitions ranging from local amateur to world-class professional level. The legendary Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese football history. FIFA World Player of the Year winners Luís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo, are among the numerous examples of other world-class football (soccer) players born in Portugal and noted worldwide. Portuguese football managers are also noteworthy, with José Mourinho, Carlos Queiroz and Manuel José among the most renowned.
Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Futebol Clube do Porto, and Sporting Clube de Portugal are the largest sports clubs by popularity and in terms of trophies won, often known as “os três grandes” (“the big three”). They have 12 titles won in the European UEFA club competitions, were present in many finals and have been regular contenders in the last stages almost every season. Other than football, many Portuguese sports clubs, including the “big three”, compete in several other sports events with a varying level of success and popularity, these may include basketball, futsal, handball, and volleyball.
Portugal has a successful rink hockey team, with 15 world titles and 20 European titles, making it the country with the most wins in both competitions. The most successful Portuguese rink hockey clubs in the history of European championships are Futebol Clube do Porto, Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Óquei de Barcelos. The national rugby union team made a dramatic qualification into the 2007 Rugby World Cup and became the first all amateur team to qualify for the World Cup since the dawn of the professional era. The Portuguese national rugby sevens team has performed well, becoming one of the strongest teams in Europe, and proved their status as European champions in several occasions.
In athletics, the Portuguese have won a number of gold, silver and bronze medals in the European, World and Olympic Games competitions. Cycling, with Volta a Portugal being the most important race, is also a popular sports event and include professional cycling teams such as Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Boavista, Clube de Ciclismo de Tavira, and União Ciclista da Maia. The country has also achieved notable performances in sports like fencing, judo, kitesurf, rowing, sailing, surfing, shooting, triathlon and windsurf, owning several European and world titles. The paralympic athletes have also conquered many medals in sports like swimming, boccia and wrestling.
In motor sport, Portugal is internationally noted for the Rally of Portugal, and both the Estoril and Algarve Circuits, whilst Tiago Monteiro is a successful Portuguese racing driver, having competed in the Champ Car World Series in the USA, Formula One between 2005 and 2006, and most recently the World Touring Car Championship.
Northern Portugal has its own original martial art, Jogo do Pau, in which the fighters use staffs to confront one or several opponents.
In equestrian sports, Portugal won the only Horseball-Pato World Championship (in 2006), achieved the third position in First Horseball World Cup (organized in Ponte de Lima, Portugal, in 2008), achieved several victories in the Working Equitation European Cup.
Porto and its region is an upcoming star in Portuguese tourism.
Portugal attracts many tourists each year. In 2006, the country was visited by 12.8 million tourists. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in Portugal’s economy contributing with about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The main tourist areas are, by order of importance, the Greater Lisbon (Lisboa), the Algarve, Greater Porto and Northern Portugal (Porto e Norte), Portuguese Islands (Ilhas Portuguesas: Madeira and Azores), and Alentejo.
Lisbon is, after Barcelona, the European city attracting most tourists, with 7 million tourists sleeping in the city’s hotels in 2006, the number grew 11.8% compared to previous year. Lisbon in recent years surpassed the Algarve as the leading tourist region in Portugal. Porto and Northern Portugal, especially the urban areas north of Douro River, was the tourist destination which grew most (11.9%) in 2006 and suppressed Madeira, in 2010, as the third most visited destination. Today, most tourists in Portugal are British, Spanish or German, travel in low cost airliners, and are not only in search of the beach and the sun, but mostly searching culture, city breaks, gastronomy, nautical tourism or travel in business.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
