PORTUGAL is located in the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 92,152 square kilometers, making it the 110th largest country in the world. Its water area is only 0.5 percent and this comprises its Atlantic Ocean western and southern borders. It is bordered by Spain to the north. And it has a population is 10.6 million, making it the 75th most populous country in the world with a density of 114 persons per square kilometer making it the 87th dense country in the world. Its GDP is $229.881 billion making it the 40th richest country in the world and its GDP per capita is $23,464. Its current prime minister is Jose Socrates.

If you come from another European country, you don’t need to have a visa to go to Portugal. You can always land at Lisbon international airport. There are daily flights coming from all European capitals and a few major US cities like Philadelphia. If you want to travel by land, then you can always hop a train from anywhere in the continent and enter via Spain.

Just like the rest of the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal is a summer destination among tourists from the rest of Western Europe like Britain. Most of the British tourists who come here are retirees who want to enjoy the rest of their lives tanning in both nudist and otherwise conservative beaches. Because Portugal’s coastline is extensive, there are also other remote beaches uninhabited by tourists where you and your lover can enjoy skinny dipping without inhibition. Just make sure that you don’t stay alone by these remote spots because these are not patrolled by lifeguards. And since Portugal is part of Europe, its beach resorts are inspected every now and then by European Union operatives for its tap water quality. That’s why Portuguese tourism authorities are so strict in implementing its ecological laws that they constantly remind tourists not to litter around in these beaches.

When you intend to buy a piece of real estate in Portugal, don’t make your decision in haste. Otherwise, your money will just be waste. The first thing to do is to visit the country twice – during summer where Catholic festivals abound and the youth crowd all the bars that they can find, whether in the city or by the beaches. The second time that you must visit the country is during winter where there are only few tourists and only the expatriates tagging along their family or their new-found Portuguese wives remain. Winter can be pretty cold in Portugal and you need layers of clothing. Once you’ve had a taste of how living in Portugal in both seasons looks like, you can now decide what real estate you want to buy. The most ideal one is to buy a lot with an erected structure already albeit not furnished yet. A non-furnished house is perfect to give room to internal décor where you can collaborate with your interior designer on how to arrange your desks and tables in a particular room in your new home.