Portugal - res20

During winter (November to March) the rains arrive, falling most heavily in the north and most lightly in the south (the Algarve gets near year-round sunshine), with a handful of places closing down. Travelling then, however, will net you substantial savings at many hotels, and you’ll see the country’s most traditional side. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of maritime exploration, Portugal established a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia and South America, becoming the world's major economic, political and military power. Portugal´s Empire was the first, and most long-lived Global Empire in the world. But they also brought wheat, barley, olives and vines; large farming estates called latifúndios (still found in the Alentejo); a legal system; and, above all, a Latin-derived language. In fact, no other invader proved so useful. If you’d like a more detailed guide to Portuguese in a compact and easy-to-use form, get yourself a copy of Lonely Planet’s Portuguese Phrasebook. The town of Oporto is the cultural and administrative center of the Greater Metropolitan Area of Oporto Grande Area Metropolitana do Oporto metropolitan area, and is located in the North region, with a population around 240,000 inhabitants. Museu Romântico da Quinta da Macieirinha: Located in the city center, On the top floors of a charming 19th century house, you'll find Portuguese, German, and French furniture, as well as rugs, watercolors, oil paintings and ceramics. In the old time particular note, the abdicated King of Sardinia, Carlos Alberto, lived and died here in 1849.