Discover Portugal

Portugal occupies the westernmost edge of mainland Europe, its Atlantic coastline and centuries as a maritime empire shaping a culture distinct from neighboring Spain despite sharing the Iberian Peninsula. From the 15th century onward, Portuguese navigators launched an age of exploration that connected Europe to Africa, Asia, and South America, building an empire that outlasted most others -- Portugal only returned its last overseas territory, Macau, to China in 1999.

That maritime history still shapes the country today, visible in Lisbon's riverside monuments, the terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley around Porto, and a cuisine and architecture that traveled with the empire and returned home transformed.