A few days in Lisbon is enough to whet one’s appetite for more of this vibrant, stylish, culinary-dense, historic and trendy city. It’s also in the forefront of Gay Life in Europe. By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com March 2015 (most photos by GlobalGayz.com) Lisbon is alive with countless cafes serving up a thousand menus
Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1982. Laws against discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation are in effect. Portugal is generally tolerant of gays. Homophobic violence is extremely rare (two reported cases in the past ten years). Portugal was also one of the only countries to enshrine a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation on its constitution. A new Penal Code 2007 came in force which equalized the age of consent to 14, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender and strengthened the anti-discrimination legislation much further. There exists an increasingly vibrant and dynamic gay scene in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas as well as the Algarve with several gay bars, pubs, nightclubs and beaches (specially in Algarve). Other smaller cities and regions such as Leiria, Braga and Madeira also have much more discrete gay communities. In Lisbon, most LGBT-oriented businesses are grouped around the bohemian Bairro Alto and the adjacent Principe Real neighbourhoods. In both Lisbon and Porto there are also annual Gay Pride Parades that attract tens of thousands of participants and spectators. Lisbon is also host to one of the largest LGBT film festivals in Europe, the Lisbon Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Civil unions in Portugal were introduced for same-sex couples on 15 March 2001. A gay marriage law was passed and came into effect on 5 June 2010.
Name: Portugal
Population: 10700500
Capital: Lisbon - Pop. 564500
Area: 92345 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Portuguese, Mirandese
Religion: Catholic
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 351
Portugal – Lisbon 1
Portugal, Lisbon 1 Lisbon is a huge open-air walking museum of history, culture, modern buildings, great monuments, beautiful harbor and exquisite food. It’s busy even in the shoulder seasons for good reason: prices are affordable. Renting a car is the only way to go to see the grand vistas, roadside flowers, the mountain snow, high
Portugal – Lisbon 2
Lisbon is a huge open-air walking museum of history, culture, modern buildings, great monuments, beautiful harbor and exquisite food. It’s busy even in the shoulder seasons for good reason: prices are affordable. Renting a car is the only way to go to see the grand vistas, roadside flowers, the mountain snow, high altitude stone houses,
Portugal – Porto City
Intro: Porto is an adventurous city of hills, rivers, bridges, old town pavements, many churches some with decorated with magnificent exterior blue and white tiles; it’s a city that makes port wine, of course. There is a medieval Ribeira (riverside) district with narrow cobbled streets that wind past old merchants’ houses and plenty of cafes.
Portugal – Coimbra University and Town
Coimbra was the capital of Portugal (from 1131 to 1255). Still visible today are Roman artifacts such as the aqueduct and the cryptoporticus (a semi-subterranean gallery with vaulted ceiling). The most outstanding feature in the city is the University of Coimbra founded in 1537. It is the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world. The
Portugal – Obidos Town
Obidos is an ancient walled Roman town that was taken over by the Visigoths from the north in medieval times. These rulers fell to the Arab Moors in the 9th century and were in turn defeated by a Portuguese army led by the first king of Portugal Alfonso Henriques in 1148. It has been been
Portugal – Sagres Town Photos
Sagres was founded in the 15th century. Other than its coastal location for a fort and a lighthouse it was of little importance. It remained an independent municipality until 1834 with barely 400 inhabitants. Its most famous resident was Prince Henry the Navigator who started a nautical school that supported Portuguese commercial explorations around the
Portugal – Sintra Town and Palaces
Sintra is a fairyland town in the mountains and forests west of Lisbon. Here monarchs and wealthy people built extravagant castles and palaces in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today the whole area is a sprawling outdoor museum of lifestyles and architecture long past.
Portugal – Evora Town Photo Gallery
Evora is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Here are remnants of very ancient civilizations of 7500 years ago as well as Roman temple ruins and Spanish 18th century churches.
Portugal – Estremoz
Estremoz is a modest town in central Portugal with a population of about 15,000. The area has seen human habitation since pre-historic times. Over the centuries various conquering armies and of Romans, Visigoths , Moors and Muslims have occupied the land at various time. All are gone now and a modern republic of Portugal has
Portugal, Mertola
The town of Mértola has around 2800 inhabitants. It is located on a hill by the Guadiana River and its strategic location made it an historic important fluvial commercial port from ancient antiquity through the period of Islamic domination (711-1238). Among the vestiges of its past, Mértola’s main church was the only medieval mosque to
Portugal – Sagres Town
Sagres is a town in the southwest coastal corner of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 1,909. The town overlooks some of the Algarve’s most beautiful scenery. There is an ‘end-of-the-world’ feel with its sea-carved cliffs and empty desolate fortress high above the ocean. It is historically associated to Portugal’s impressive nautical past, but today