While Cristiano Ronaldo might be on top of everyone’s list, Portugal is known for a variety of topics from music and food to politics. One of the oldest countries in Europe, Portugal has made its mark on the world, although it is often bypassed for other European countries. Now with over 27 million visitors every year, almost three times the population, it seems tourists are also starting to notice all that Portugal has to offer. From sports to art, here are 11 things Portugal is famous for. 

1. Fado music

Fado has a special place in every Portuguese person’s heart. In 2011, fado was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

Traced back to Lisbon in the 1820s, fado is a music genre with mournful tunes and lyrics, many times about the working class, missing someone, and sadness. In contrast to this melancholy is the rhythm of the Portuguese guitar – only introduced later in the history of Fado – which transmits life, cheer, and enthusiasm. Perhaps it is this contrast that makes Fado so special.

If you are looking to discover the fado culture, head to a “Casa de Fado” in Alfama in Lisbon. Alfama is the birthplace of fado and of the most famous fadista in the world, Amalia Rodrigues. There are many great options including Fado in Chiado, Clube de Fado and Parreirinha de Alfama. You can always also ask the locals where to go.

Fado Music

2. Cristiano Ronaldo’s birthplace

Born and bred in Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo is the most famous person to come out of Portugal. Fun fact, he is also the most followed person on Instagram with 446 million followers. 

Cristiano Ronaldo currently plays a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and is the captain of the Portugal national team. 

Over the course of his career, he has scored over 800 goals, making him the highest-ever goalscorer in the history of men’s soccer.

Along with other achievements, in 2021, Ronaldo clocked 32.51 km/h to become the fastest football player to do so in any match, in a game against West Ham. 

You can visit a museum to celebrate the life of Cristiano Ronaldo. Founded in 2013, the CR7 Museum is located in his birthplace in Funchal, Madeira. 

Book Private Cristiano Ronaldo Tour with CR7 Museum

3. Codfish obsession 

As the Portuguese saying goes, there are 1001 ways to cook cod, also known as bacalhau. Cod is a natural treasure, one that is connected to Portuguese history, from the Portuguese discoveries to the end of a fascist dictatorship.

The Portuguese consume over 100,000 tonnes of salted dried Norweigian cod, almost 10 kilograms per person every year. Shockingly, the Portuguese consume 20% of the world’s cod.

Portugal’s cod consumption began in the fourteenth century, but after the dictatorship, began mostly being imported from Norway. Today, most of the cod in Portugal is imported from Norway, known as o Bacalhau da Noruega. 

Bacalhau: Understanding the Portuguese Obsession with Cod

4. Home to Port wine

Port wine is specific to the Douro region in the North of Portugal and was what made this region famous. It’s a fortified wine, usually a sweet red wine but also coming in dry, semi-dry, and white (and today, even rosé is available).

Under European Union law, only Portuguese wines from the Douro region are allowed to be legally labeled as “Port wine”. Although there are port-inspired fortified wines from outside of Portugal, this protects the tradition of the wine in Portugal. 

Port wine is usually served as a digestif. You will usually taste the wine after a meal, accompanying dessert or cheese. However, tawny and white port is many times served as an apéritif, this is, before meals. 

Book Graham’s Port Tour

5. 300+ days of sun

One of the warmest countries in Europe with mild temperatures all year round, Portugal has over 300 days of sunshine a year. This makes Portugal the perfect country to visit all year round! Winter can oftentimes feel like Spring and temperatures rarely fall below 10ºC.

However, keep in mind that temperatures vary depending on the location. Although you are always likely to find the sun shining, certain parts of the country are colder, windier, and rainier. The north of Portugal tends to be colder in the Autumn and Winter than the rest of the country, while the south is generally warmer.

Moreover, the archipelago of Madeira and the Azores, miles away from mainland Portugal have very different climates.

The nine islands of the Azores feature an oceanic, mild-warm subtropical climate thanks to its mid-Atlantic ocean location. It is common for it to rain in the summer and for visitors to face high humidity levels. In the summer and autumn, the Azores can even be impacted by storms and cyclones. 

The archipelago of Madeira also experiences unpredictable weather. Temperatures are mild to warm all year round, but areas around the Madeira Natural Park experience frequent precipitations – intense rain and even snow in the winter.

Weather in Portugal

6. The largest cork producer in the world

Portugal is the biggest cork producer in the world and produces more than 50% of the world’s cork supply. Cork is part of everyday life in Portugal and is used in various materials such as wine bottle corks, clothing, shoes, furniture, and more.

Portugal is also home to the world’s largest cork forests, making up 34% of the world’s area of cork forests. The Amorim Family of Portuguese billionaire Américo Amorim made their multi-billion-dollar fortune in the cork industry.

Along with boosting the Portuguese economy, cork is sustainable. When harvesting cork, trees are not cut down and can be harvested every 9 years. However, a permit from the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture is required to harvest cork. 

Fun fact – in 2014 cork fabric designer Teresa Martins created a complete cork look for Lady Gaga. 

7. The site of the Miracle of Fatima

The city of Fatima in Santarem receives millions of religious pilgrims every year. Home to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, why do so many Catholics visit this site?

On May 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary is said to have visited three peasant children, Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia. She visited the young children on the 13th for the next six months. She revealed to the children three secrets.

The three secrets were a series of apocalyptic visions and prophecies that the Virgin Mary revealed to the children. The first two secrets included a depiction of hell as a place where sinners’ souls burned, a prophecy of World War I, the outbreak of World War II, and the rise and fall of communism.

The third secret was only released in 2000 by the pope and spoke of the 20th-century persecution of Christians, leading to the failed assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II in 1981.

The sixth and final miracle, the Miracle of the Sun, occurred on the 13th of October, 1917. There are reports of over 70,000 people being in attendance. According to various witness accounts, the rainy sky cleared up, and the ground that was wet from the rain became dry. The sun appeared “dancing around” and “zig-zagging” in the sky within broken clouds, giving it the name of the Miracle of the Sun. 

Whether you believe in the Miracle of Fatima or not, the city of Fatima and the Sanctuary of Fatima welcome atheists and those of various religions. The city has a lot to offer, from regional cuisine to museums, and neighboring villages to visit. 

What happened at the Miracle of Fatima?

8. The country of azulejo tiles

Blue ceramic tiles from the 14th century decorate the streets, buildings, and monuments of Portuguese cities. They are so instrumental to Portuguese culture that since 2013, it’s been forbidden to demolish buildings with tile-covered façades in Lisbon to protect their cultural heritage.

Azulejo tiles are not just decorative, they usually tell a story and chronicle major cultural aspects of Portuguese history.

Traditionally, the azulejo told stories of Portuguese navigators and their voyages around the world. Churches also used azulejo to tell stories about saints, as being able to buy a book was a privilege to many.

We can’t take full credit though. Even though the iconic azulejo is Portuguese, the style has been heavily influenced by Islamic and Italian cultures.

You will find some of the most beautiful azulejo tiles in Portugal in Porto, Sintra, and Alentejo. Our favorite spot is in Porto, in the Sao Bento Railway Station. The station was built in 1903 and is covered with over 20,000 azulejo tiles, made by Jorge Colaço. His work covers an area of over 550 m2 and depicts important moments of Portuguese history including the Discoveries. 

9. Great Lisbon earthquake

While Portugal is not known for earthquakes, on November 1, 1755, the capital was hit by the largest natural disaster in the history of the country. The Lisbon earthquake killed between 30,000 and 60,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. 

Modern seismologists estimate the Lisbon earthquake had a magnitude of 8.5 to 9, making it the largest known earthquake to impact Europe and northern Africa.

What led to the complete destruction of the city of Lisbon was not the earthquake itself, but the tsunami that followed. 40 minutes after the Lisbon earthquake, a 6-meter-high tsunami occurred in the harbor and downtown area, causing many to drown.

The force of the tsunami knocked over candlelit homes and churches, leading to large fires that burned for hours all over the city and asphyxiated thousands.

It is argued that the Lisbon earthquake led to the development of seismology. This was the first earthquake to be studied scientifically as it impacted such a large area, leading to the birth of modern seismology and earthquake engineering. 

Great Lisbon Earthquake: What happened at the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake

10. The first country to decriminalize all drugs

Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize all drugs on July 1, 2001. The law made drug possession for personal use legally prohibited, while drug trafficking remains a criminal offense. All drugs were decriminalized, including highly stigmatized drugs such as meth and heroin.

Today, Portugal has some of the lowest drug use rates in the European Union. Drug-related pathologies such as STDs and fatal overdoses decreased dramatically after the change in the law. 

Before 2001, Portugal was facing a drug epidemic. In 1999, Portugal had the highest rate of HIV among injecting drug users in the European Union.

To solve the issue, the drug epidemic was deemed a public health crisis and the Portuguese government concluded that a punitive approach to drug addiction was inhumane and ineffective.

Portugal’s law has been celebrated worldwide as a model to follow, one that reflects the right of people suffering from drug addiction to access rightful treatment, rather than punishment. 

However, keep in mind that this does not mean drugs are legal in Portugal. Possessing a specific amount of a drug could be considered drug trafficking and is considered a crime. 

Portugal Drug Laws under Decriminalization: Are Drugs Legal in Portugal?

11. Anti-fascism: The Carnation Revolution

You might have heard the song “Grandola, Vila Morena”. An anti-fascist song by Jose Afonso, this song played in the early hours of the 25th of April on the radio all over the country. This song was one of the signs that trigger the Carnation Revolution.

After 40 years of a fascist dictatorship, a peaceful military coup led by leftist military offices brought about freedom for the Portugal people and eventually for those in colonies abroad.  It led to a transition to democracy and the end of the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa. 

Decolonization occurred quickly after the revolution and by the end of 1975, many Portuguese ex-colonies like Angola, Cape Verde, and Mozambique gained their rightful independence.

During the dictatorship, known as Estado Novo, citizens did not have access to freedom of speech and were censored by the secret police, PIDE. PIDE also imprisoned, tortured, and killed those opposing the regime, particularly communists. Women did not have equal rights to men and needed permission to own a bank account and travel abroad. 

25 Things To Know About Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Portugal was officially neutral during World War II, but was this really the case?  At the beginning of the war, Portugal was under the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira de Salazar who founded the Estado Novo in 1933.

On September 1, 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War, following the invasion of Poland, Salazar declared Portugal’s neutrality to the National Assembly. 

This decision was based on ideological and economic motives. Salazar believe it gave the nation a chance to prosper economically in the sense that it could foster business opportunities with both sides and ultimately stimulate the economy. He maintained open trade with both the Allied and Axis camp throughout the war. 

Neutrality strongly boosted the Portuguese economy in four short years. It went from a 90 million dollar deficit in 1939 to a surplus of 68 million by 1943 due to its economic involvement with various nations during the war.

Portugal had always held close ties to Britain, since signing the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, the oldest alliance in history. When declaring neutrality, Salazar said that the alliance did not automatically mean that Portugal had to support the allies. 

Salazar had backed Franco’s regime during the Spanish Civil War. Due to this close tie, as well as the government’s fascist ideology, he earned the respect of both Hitler and Mussolini.

This begs the question, was Portugal really neutral during WWII? Let’s take a look.

Salazar’s Estado Novo & Hitler’s Nazi Germany

Ideology and Relations

Both Fascist leaders, António Salazar and Adolf Hitler shared similar ideologies. One of the largest similarities between the Portuguese regime and Hitler’s Third Reich was the anti-communist views of both that actually drew elite individuals of the Estado Novo towards Hitler. 

Nevertheless, Salazar publicly expressed in press conferences that his wish to neutralize communist ideas did not include extremist policies of violence to eliminate leftist views, according to Pimentel, Flunser, and Ninhos in the book “Salazar, Portugal, e o Holocausto”.

This can, of course, is easily debunked with the violence of Salazar’s police PIDE that violently persecuted and tortured members of the communist party.

Still, the Estado Novo officially disagreed with Germany’s violent policies and even before the war, suspected Hitler would use extreme measures of mass murder to eliminate his opponents. 

Despite clear differences in both fascist regimes, Salazar has been placed in a category with Hitler due to his strong opposition to Communism and his repressive government, leading to their positive relationship in trade.

There were various Germanophile and Hitlerophile inclinations present in Salazar’s dictatorship. Despite Portugal’s official stance of neutrality and its alliance with the UK, the oldest of mankind, the Estado Novo demonstrated pro-German ideologies. 

In 1933, Salazar criticized European politics for marginalizing the nation of Germany, as well as the “idealistic” view after World War I of the Treaty of Versailles, calling it a “work of destruction”, an incredibly Pro-German ideology.

Furthermore, in 1941, Salazar and the actual government of Portugal expressed public support for the nation of Germany.

Portugal’s Trade with Germany and the Allies during WW2

Let’s be clear, Portugal used its official neutrality stance to trade with both sides of the war. However, it’s clear that its collaboration with Hitler’s Nazi Germany marks a dark time in Portuguese history, one that is too often left unmentioned.

Despite a blockade restriction on Portuguese exports to Germany, Salazar frequently exported contraband in violation of the UK’s orders. Salazar took advantage of the war to benefit Portugal’s economy by charging high tariffs on the exports, a policy carried with special emphasis on wolfram, a metal used in the production of weaponry including missiles and grenades.

Salazar exported wolfram to both Germany and the allies. As Portuguese historian, Lidia Aguiar wrote, “it was with Portugal’s […] wolfram that a large part of the Second World War’s armaments were manufactured, both on the side of the Nazis and the Allies”.

Salazar was able to use Portugal’s extensive wolfram reserves in the northern parts of the country and extend the trade balance with both the Allies and the Axis whilst charging elevated tariffs due to the high demand. 

In 1941, Germany and Portugal signed a secret agreement concerning the trade of sardines for war material. On April 31, 1943, an agreement was signed regarding the trade of wolfram for weapons. By 1944, Portugal had exported 3,100 metric tons of wolfram to Germany.

In March of that year, the Allies presented a formal demand to Salazar that he stop the wolfram trade to Germany, which he eventually accepted. Salazar accepted it because Portugal and England shared the oldest alliance in history.

Despite the immense trade of sardines, wolfram, and weaponry between Germany and Portugal, Salazar did not fulfill every import demanded by Hitler, substantially to keep the Allies on Portugal’s “good side” and maintain its stance of neutrality.  

The Bank of Portugal & Nazi Gold

To this day the Bank of Portugal receives a negative image for its Nazi collaboration, as Portugal knew the German payment in the form of gold was stolen from conquered nations and victims of the Holocaust.

The Bank of Portugal still holds gold bars with the swastika engraved on them, according to Marlise Simons. The gold payments were key in maintaining the Portuguese currency’s stability and reducing inflation during and in the years following the war.

For both nations, paying in gold was far safer than with paper currencies, but this led to a constant dispute with the Allies concerning the origins of the gold.

Even though the Portuguese constantly deny any Portuguese affiliation with the Nazis, in 2001, documents were founds in the Canfranc train station in Spain, that prove Portugal imported at least 228 tonnes of Nazi gold to Germany, according to Publico.

Antonio Louça, who wrote a 40 thesis regarding the Nazi gold situation, argues that as early as 1942 the Allies notified all Western countries, including Portugal, that the Nazis were using stolen gold as a form of payment through Swiss banks.

That same year, in January, a first secret agreement between the two nations was signed granting export licenses for the sale of up to 2,800 tons of wolfram and Salazar was completely aware of the origins of the gold used to pay these.

Portugal & Jewish Refugees

Portugal was one of the last nations in Europe to get involved in the refugee crisis created by Nazi Germany. At the time, Portugal’s Jewish community consisted of a population of under one thousand people and migration was not booming.

Salazar was content with this. He was against immigration, promoting nationalistic rhetoric. He believed foreigners would diminish the “national spirit” and create possible social tensions that would generate a political climate for war. 

During the war, Salazar severely restricted entry to Portugal, even though he was aware of the horrors of Jewish treatment in Nazi Germany.

In 1939, Salazar’s police took stricter control and dismantled criminal networks responsible for falsifying passports for refugees.

Circular 14 was installed on November 11. The Estado Novo sent it to all the Portuguese consuls through Europe. It made fleeing Nazi Germany very difficult, although it allowed consuls to continue granting Portuguese transit visas to some, it discriminated against those with contested nationality, the stateless, Russian citizens, and more. 

Salazar’s fascist ideology, which favored the Nazis, was so publicly demonstrated that the Portuguese were not invited to the Evian Conference in July of 1938, where the safety of Jewish refugees was discussed, according to Milgram’s book “Portugal, the Consuls, and the Jewish Refugees”.

Salazar fought back against Jewish refugees coming to Portugal. Veiga Simões, the Portuguese ambassador in Berlin, advocated that Portugal should adopt Germany’s policy of stamping Jewish passports with the letter J, in order for these to lose the right to return to their nation of origin. Salazar accepted this horrific suggestion, according to Milgram. 

However, organizations and individuals fought back against this injustice, such as Aristides de Sousa Mendes. 

Aristides de Sousa Mendes

Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese consul during World War II known for defying the orders of Salazar during the Estado Novo and issuing visas and passports to a number of refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.

Sousa Mendes thus disobeyed a powerful dictator which was unheard of during the Estado Novo for a diplomatic official to do and get away with. He disobeyed Circular 14, believing it was inhumane and racist.

Not only did he disobey Circular 14, but he also issued passports with false identities to people of military age in France which was a crime. 

No one knows for sure how many visas Sousa Mendes issued, but some historians say he helped around 30,000 refugees, many of which were Jewish. 

This illegal act of courage that went against Salazar’s will led to Mendes’s prosecution and loss of pension, leaving him bankrupt, but remembered as a Portuguese hero forever.

Final Thoughts: Was Portugal neutral during WWII?

While many would disagree, we have to say no. In fact, Salazar declared three days of national mourning after Hitler’s death. This suggests a certain partiality when it came to picking sides. The same was not done when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died that same month in 1945.

Salazar was also well aware of the origins of the gold provided to the Bank of Portugal and the horrific atrocities that it represented. Moreover, Salazar’s disregard for the lives of Jewish refugees made it clear that helping victims escape the holocaust was not a priority for the fascist dictator. 

Many completely disregard Portugal’s collaboration with Nazi Germany, but the facts are all there. Salazar’s exports of sardines and wolfram, as well as Hitler’s exports of weaponry, prove to be a strong collaboration.