P |
Petrol stations |
Petrol stations are usually opened from 7 am until 8 pm, in cities and by frequently used roads even until
midnight. One can normally buy 95 and 98 octane gasoline, as well as diesel (Gasóleo). |
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Pets |
For pets there has to be a health certificate signed by a public vet. Also the pet must have a rabies inoculation. |
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Pharmacies |
Pharmacies open from 9 am to 1 pm and from 3 pm to 7 pm, Monday to Friday, and Saturday mornings. There are also 24 hour pharmacies which operate according to an official chart displayed on Pharmacy windows. |
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Political System |
Democracy |
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Population |
10,358 thousand (2001) |
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Post office |
Opening hours of the Correios or CTT are usually from 8.30 am until 6 pm, with changes on little villages. Some of them close during lunch-time, which is from 12.30 until 3 pm. Only main offices and airport-post-offices will open saturday mornings.All cards and letters below 20 g to EU-countries need stamps of value 54 cents. The transport to and from central Europe takes between 3 and 5 days. A little faster, but also a significantly more expensive possibility is the so-called Correio Azul, using the blue mailboxes. |
R |
Religion |
The Portuguese people are mainly Roman Catholic, but the Portuguese Constitution guarantees religious freedom, which results in the presence in Portugal of various different religions: Christians ( Protestants of various denominations and Orthodox), Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, etc.In the Continente is located Fátima, one of the greatest Roman Catholic sanctuaries of the world. |
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Rent-a-car-companies |
Rent-a-car-companies have their counters at the airports; among the famous international ones there are also a few cheap national companies. Many travel agencies offer so-called "Fly & Drive arrangements" that are mostly cheaper than booking flights and cars separately. Conditions are a minimum age of 21, a valid ID and a driving licence. |
T |
Telephone |
You can use phones in any post office and in coin or card operated phone boxes. The cartões de credifone are available in post offices and tobacco shops (tabacarias). The phone cards are only usable in the region where they were purchased - for example, a card from the Algarve cannot be used in Lisbon. There are many restaurants with public telephones; they can be recognised by the green sign with the red rider on it or by a sign "telefones". |
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Television |
The Rádio Televisão Portuguesa is the national television, which shows its progamme via two channels, RTP1 and RTP2. There are also two privately owned channels, the SIC and the Televisão Independente (TVI) of the catholic church. The programme offers mainly entertainment shows, childrens programme (cartoons etc) and lots of American Action films, which are interrupted by plenty of commercial breaks and sometimes by the News (Notícias). Political broadcasts are very rare. Most of the productions are bought abroad and shown in their original language with Portuguese subtitles, so foreigners may as well choose Portuguese channels. |
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Territorial Organization |
Two Autonomous regions, (Açores and Madeira), and 18 districts in the Continente |
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Tips |
As tax and service are included in the prices, tips are just voluntarily. If there is good service around 10% of the bill would be suitable as tip. |
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Total Area |
ca. 92.400 sq km (including Madeira and the Azores) |
V |
Voltage |
The standard voltage is 220 volts, single plugs also have 110 volts. The plugs themselves match European standard. |
W |
Weather |
The Atlantic climate is always bearableeven during midsummerbecause of a constant fresh breeze. (more info) |
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Wine |
Portugal can offer more than Port wine, it is the long-forgotten wineland of Europe. (more info) |
