A place of History

Located in South-Western Europe, and it is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.

Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom in 1139. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery, Portugal expanded western influence and established the first global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. The relation with the Chinese Empire dates back to those days.

The Portuguese Empire was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost 600 years, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau to China in 1999.

A Globalized Nation

Today’s Portugal is a developed country with an advanced economy and high living standards, listed with the twenty-third-highest quality of life index rating in the world as of 2014. It's one of the world's most globalized and peaceful nations. It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Eurozone, OECD, NATO, WTO, Schengen Area, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

Portuguese Contemporary Architectureis now worldly renowned. It has carefully evolved within the local tradition, slowly emerging onto the center stage of the architecture world.

One of the top architecture schools in the world is known as School of Porto, and is located in Portugal. Its alumni include Fernando Távora, Álvaro Siza (winner of the 1992 Pritzker prize) and Eduardo Souto de Moura (winner of the 2011 Pritzker prize). Other renowned Portuguese architects include Tomás Taveira, Pancho Guedes and Gonçalo Byrne.

A Climate Oasis

Portugal is defined as a Mediterranean climate. Is also one of the warmest European countries: the annual average temperature in Lisbon is of 17ºC and in the Algarve region the climate is similar to that of the coastal areas of Southern California.

The country has around 2500 to 3200 hours of sunshine a year, an average of 4–6 h in winter and 10–12 h in the summer.