Tourism in Portugal (by Tatiana Pires 11th10)
In Portugal, we have many beautiful beaches, like Praia da Claridade and Praia da Rocha, both of these beaches have large portions of sand.
Praia da Claridade has 1 km of sand before reaching the sea. That beach is the queen of the beaches in Portugal and brings many tourists to Figueira da Foz.
Praia da Rocha also has a large portion of sand, it is located in Portimão, in the Algarve . This beach has a higher portion of sand than Praia da Claridade. That beach is one of the most popular beaches of Portugal. Praia da Rocha has this name because the rocks there are between the sea and the sand. During the summer the beach is full of tourists.However, in Praia da Rocha there is always a danger of collapse.
Thermal Spa in Pinheiro (S.Vicente)
The Termas de São Vicente are located in the town of Penafiel, Portugal. The Termas de São Vicente are important, because they are a major attraction for tourists.
The reaction mineralized water is too alkaline, bicarbonate, sodium, carbonate, fluoride and sulfuric, with a temperature of 18.5°C.
The treatments are indicated for respiratory disorders and musculoskeletal apparatus. Another attraction here is the Roman bathhouse.
During the holidays many teenagers go to the Hotel...
That thermal spa is located in the zone of our school
Thermal Spa in S.Pedro do Sul
The Termas de São Pedro do Sul are located in São Pedro do Sul, Viseu. That thermal spa was originally built by the Romans, although there are records of use of the spa by earlier peoples. It is classified as a National Monument since 1938. The treatments are indicated for respiratory disorders and musculoskeletal apparatus, like the previous thermal spa. Visit these thermal spas, with great conditions!
Tourism in Portugal
Religious Tourism
n Portugal this type of tourism attracts many foreign visitors because of “Santuário de Fátima” or, in English, Fátima Sanctuary. There are many peregrinations to that sanctuary, mainly because of Fátima apparitions, occurred in 1917. That local is one of the biggest sanctuaries in the world. This means that this type of tourism has a strong link with existing heritage areas that develop in the tourist trade. The large religious tourism is not only mainly because of Fátima Sanctuary, but because Portugal has many Roman churches and that a thing which attracts people.
Fátima Sanctuary is actually a good local to go if you want to pray, or spend some days in the cosy hotels of the region. Roman churches are good for people who want to see churches that have History. We strongly recommend you to visit Portuguese Roman and medieval churches and especially Fátima Sanctuary!
Madeira
Portugal offers a lot of water sports like diving, fishing, boating and other activities. Portugal has amazing beaches which offer good activities, such as, volleyball. Madeira or Azores, two islands on the Atlantic Ocean that also belong to the Portuguese territory but with regional autonomy, you will find incredible landscapes and interesting activities. In Madeira, the Party of Flowers brings hundreds of tourists to Funchal, the capital city of the island. That is a party in a magnificent parade, involving thousands of flowers mainly from Madeira, as you can see in the image below.
Madeira also offers one of the most fantastic New Year’s Eve with huge fireworks and you can spend your holidays in the first class hotels, which offer excellent accommodation. The beaches of Madeira are wonderful and its gardens and “green spaces” are very calm to relax a little bit.
Azores
The archipelago of the Azores, with its nine islands, is nature in its purest state. Those who want to spend holidays in the Azores to relax, will find a great place, where nature is superior to man. The “green spaces” are very calm and with a lot of nature, animals and plants. Açores have some unique lagoons which are “born” in extinct volcanos. In the image below you can see the Seven Cities Lagoon or in Portuguese “Lagoa das Sete Cidades”, a lagoon full of story ansplendor.
The Azores are also known for their cheese! Their plains allow the creation of cattle, with good places for grazing. The landscape is unique in the world and the people are very friendly, so you can spend a good time with your family with nature all around you!
Matosinhos
In the winter, every morning a fisherman would pick up his wheelbarrow and go to the beach to add fuel to the fireplace. When she had enough firewood in the wheelbarrow, she would go home and put it in the place where she used to.
One day, just as he was setting it on fire, he noticed a wooden arm in the middle. He did not call and set it on fire with the rest of the wood.
However, the wood burned and the arm remained intact. The fisherman thought it was very strange, but he did not give it much importance.
After a few days, the fisherman went back to collect firewood on the beach. Until he found a wooden picture without an arm. She thought perhaps that arm she had at home belonged to the image and took her home to see if she belonged or not.
When she reached the house and saw that the wooden arm belonged to the image, she thought at once that it was not natural.
At that moment, I was not sure what to do with the image. But he thought it best to take her to the place where he had found her.
He took the wooden image to the beach, erecting it in a pillory, and named it Senhor de Matosinhos.
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Tourism in Portugal
Portugal attracts many tourists each year. In 2006, the country was visited by 7 million tourists. Tourism is playing an increasingly important role in Portugal's economy contributing about 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The main tourist areas are, by order of importance, the Algarve, the Greater Lisbon, city of Coimbra, Portuguese Islands (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. Porto and Northern Portugal, especially the urban areas north of Douro River, was the tourist destination which grew most (11.9%) in 2006 and surpassed Madeira, in 2010, as the third most visited destination. Today, most tourists in Portugal are Spanish, British, French, Dutch, Scandinavians or Brazilians, which not only search for beach vacations, but mostly cultural ones, city breaks, gastronomy, nautical tourism or business traveling.
Portugal wins 14 "Oscars" of the tourism. The national tourism had 77 nominations and won a total of 14 awards in more than 10 European categories, surpassing Spain or Italy, at the gala of the World Travel Awards 2015, whose ceremony took place in Sardenha, Italy.
Tourism Regions
Tourist hotspots in Portugal are Lisbon, Porto, Fátima, the Algarve, Coimbra, Azores and Madeira, but the Portuguese government is currently developing new destinations: the Douro Valley, Porto Santo Island, and Alentejo.
Portugal has several other tourism regions such as Douro Sul, Templários, Dão-Lafões, Costa do Sol, Costa Azul, Planície Dourada, etc. Most of them are unknown to tourists and locals alike. As of 2007, these are being reorganized.
All these regions are grouped in tourism reference areas, which are widely known because these are the traditional regions:
Costa Verde — The Portuguese green coast comprises all the northern coast of Portugal from the estuary of the Minho River to the city of Porto.
Silver coast — The coast of central Portugal from Porto to Lisbon. Nazaré, Foz de Arelho and São Martinho do Porto are 3 important places at the Costa de Prata.
Costa de Lisboa — Lisbon coast. The coast of the capital city and its important suburbs.
Montanhas — Mountainous and interior regions of northern and central Portugal, namely Serra da Estrela and Trás-os-Montes.
Planícies — The Portuguese plane region of Alentejo in the south.
Algarve — The southern coast of Portugal.
Madeira — The Madeira islands.
Açores — The Azores islands.
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Class 12 Year 11
Spend your holidays in Portugal: visit the cities, travel around the country to know its heritage or enjoy some relaxing days by the sea.
Portugal is recognized as a country with a good climate, a big diversity of spots of interest and a varied offer of tourist activities as well as services prepared to receive all visitors in the same way. The Portuguese are usually friendly, nice and know very well how to receive their guests and visitors.
If you are a lover of sunny beaches and surf, you may have those in our town-Matosinhos.
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