Although the vast majority of people buy and settle in the familiar Algarve, Portugal has a lot to offer in its other regions, away from tourist areas, or in the bustle of large cities such as Lisbon and Oporto. The Algarve is a safe bet for most people, as it may have been their host for holidays, or they may have friends there already.

The comfort of an established ex-patriot community may be of benefit to some, especially in the first few months of settling down, but it may never be more than that: ex-patriot – a small piece of Blighty in the sun. For the braver, and those willing to integrate more fully into Portuguese life, venturing away from these apron-strings will be rewarded with fantastic areas of natural beauty, mainly cheaper prices, and a taste of the real thing.

In general, house prices in Portugal have been steadily increasing since 2002, particularly in the Alentejo, but spectacularly so in the luxury market in the Algarve, which has also had an effect on prices overall in the south.Before you make any judgement, you should approach this with an open mind, and endeavour to visit a couple of different regions, at different times of the year, to fully appreciate what there is on offer.

You can always fall back on the security of the Algarve, and even there, if you want to get away from it all, you can quite easily find tranquillity a few miles away from the tourist hot-spots. The next chapter looks at types of property and weighs up location pros and cons in more detail, but here we take a tour of the regions, and show you what each has to offer.

An Overview Of The Regions

Portugal today has five administrative regions:

• Norte
• Centro
• Lisboa and Vale do Tejo
• Alentejo
• The Algarve

These represent areas of the country with distinct characteristics, from the industrial north, with the highest number of the population, encompassing the wine-growing lands but also the isolated mountainous areas, down through the rugged and coastal central regions running into Lisbon and environs, the second largest region in terms of population. From the Tagus valley the

country opens out into the sprawling plains of the Alentejo – the predominantly agricultural region – the largest in land mass, housing only a fraction of the population. The final area is the Algarve, with its tourist and golfing developments on the coast, interspersed with smaller, still typical villages. In addition, Portugal counts as its territory the two autonomous Atlantic island groups of Madeira and the Azores (Açores). Mainland Portugal is further divided into 18 administrative districts, with smaller municipal and parish districts within them.

However, ask a Portuguese person where they are from, and it is highly likely they will refer to the province from which they originate. Portugal was originally divided into 11 such provinces, the names of which are still used by inhabitants and still appear in many tourist information and guide books. As the provinces themselves vary in geography and culture, so too the people who live there differ in appearance, character and background. The contemporary (Nobel Prize winning) writer, José Saramago, when asked to define the Portuguese in the BBC Discovering Portuguese programme, famously said that a Portuguese person from each province was very different from the next, and that he would probably die before working out what was the true Portuguese character!

Costa Verde And Montanhas (Norte)

The NORTH comprises the provinces of Minho, Douro and Trás-os-Montes. The Minho borders on to Galicia in Northern Spain, and there are many overlaps, in culture and language across the frontier. The Minho is one of the lushest areas in Portugal, with a climate and landscape similar to that of a damp, northern European country. It’s no wonder its coastal line is called the Costa Verde. The area produces the popular ‘green wine’ (young wine) vinho verde, both red and white.

The Minho houses the country’s largest National Park, Peneda Gerês. The north is steeped in traditions, and is very religious and hardworking. To the east, the Minho is flanked by the mountainous region of Trás-os-Montes (literally translated as ‘behind the mountains’). This is an area isolated geographically from the rest of the country, rugged in landscape, very poor, and whose towns and lifestyles are still somewhat reminiscent of Medieval Europe. Its people however are fiercely proud of their heritage, more Celtic in nature than much of the country, a legacy of northern invasions.

The main industrial area in the north is the Douro, whose river runs down from Spain (917 km from source to coast), providing the vital font of life along the long valley from the surrounding hillsides down into Porto and the wine lodges (caves) on the riverfront at Vila Nova de Gaia. There are many links with the British, most of which are still visible today in Porto, the country’s second largest city (Oporto is the anglicised name for it, it is in fact O Porto = the port).

About 1.3 million people live in and around Porto, participating in the many busy commercial activities of the area which, in addition to viniculture, also include the production of ceramics, cotton goods, sardine-canning and some farming. The coastline stretching from the Douro southwards is popular with holidaying Portuguese, although Atlantic winds keep temperatures to a less tolerable level than in the Algarve at certain times of the year.