Travel guide
Portugal

The 12 keywords Portugal

1. #Alfacinhas

In Portuguese, it literally means "little lettuce", but it is also the term used to describe the natives of Lisbon. The plain surrounding Lisbon was a market gardening area renowned for its salads... We're telling you! In contrast, the inhabitants of Porto are nicknamed the tripeiros, the tripe eaters.

2. #Bacalhau

A dish eaten almost religiously by the Portuguese, it is cooked according to 1,000 recipes so that one never tires of it. This fish has been fished for several centuries in the Atlantic and Baltic off Norway and Canada, then dried and brought back to these sunny lands whose seas abound in good fish.

3. #Contracts

In the same day, you can have a drink in a bar that hasn't changed in a hundred years or in a trendy art gallery. In everyday life, the contrasts are even more striking. You can tear your hair out to find a mini-mart in town, but you can pay your bills from any ATM!

4. #Discoveries

Without the Portuguese, there would be no Brazil, South Africa or India! At the dawn of the 15th century, the Portuguese left on caravels. Madeira, the African coastline, nothing could stop them! From these discoveries, Lisbon drew its wealth, glory, but also a common epic, an artistic expression and... a past that was sometimes heavy to bear.

5. #Esta bom

Adverbial phrase that you will be asked if "is it enough? ». Don't hesitate to use it to thank the person who has done you a favour, for example by filling your tank of petrol, or by offering you an extra pastry in the morning at breakfast.

6. #Fado

This nostalgic melody is the very expression of saudade. Fado is said to derive from the songs of the troubadours of the Middle Ages, or to have been born from the songs of sailors at the time of the discoveries, impregnated with their adventures and their sentimental life. The fadista is accompanied by a classical guitar with 6 strings and the Portuguese guitar with 12 metal strings.

7. #Waters

This is the common thread of Portugal, in addition to its openness to the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers, notably the Douro, the Tagus and the Guadiana, wink at us almost everywhere. What a pleasure it is to be faced with these arms of water winding between the valleys!

8. #Hospitality

This is one of the traits of the Portuguese. Hospitality is omnipresent and is coupled with great discretion. The French are among the favorites, as most people have family in France who emigrated during the Salazar dictatorship.

9. #Medieval past

The history of Portugal is marked by barbarian and Spanish invasions. Remains of fortresses remain from this past, witnesses of a necessary protection in medieval times. As you approach the cities, you will often see the ramparts that served as protection against the enemy and their more or less well preserved fortress.

10. #Pavement

Most of the cities are located on high ground, with winding, inextricable and... paved streets. The golden rule for all travelers is to walk with good shoes, not too slippery and comfortable. Heels are to be avoided, at the risk of getting stuck in the disjointed cobblestones that make the charm of the historic centres.

11. #Romaria

These are the great feasts in honour of the patron saints of the cities. They still gather huge crowds of faithful. In Lisbon, Santo António is celebrated, a pure native of the Alfama. This saint is THE patron saint of the city. Have fun shouting "António! "in the street, and count the number of men who turn around!

12. #Saudade

It is an almost untranslatable word in French. Like a nostalgia for the glorious times of great discoveries, a kind of submission to fate, to the difficulties of life, a hope for a return to better days. It is the absence, the regret of what could have been or what has been, the resignation to what can never come..