Portugal's Superlatives - the highest, longest, oldest and most expensive things in Portugal
Read a listing of Portugal's highest, longest, biggest and oldest - its superlatives.
What's the highest mountain in Portugal? What is the longest river? Did you know Portugal's oldest cathedral? What is the tallest skyscraper in Lisbon? What team is the oldest football club? Who was the longest reigning monarch? What is Portugal's tallest waterfall and oldest clock?
Further information on many of the listed entries on Portugal's best, biggest and brightest is available via accompanying links.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Airport - Lisbon Airport is the busiest airport in Portugal. In 2017 it had 26,660,000 passengers. Next come Porto Airport, Faro Airport and Funchal Airport on Madeira.
Aqueduct - the longest aqueduct in Portugal is the 18th-century Águas Livres at 18 km, though the whole network of canals stretches nearly 58 km.
B
Battle - the Battle of Albuera in 1811 in Spain during the Peninsular War was the bloodiest battle of that conflict.
Beaches - Praia da Falesia in the Algarve is one of the longest sandy beaches in Portugal. It stretches from Vilamoura to Olhos de Água.
Bicycles - Portugal is the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the EU. In 2020 Portugal manufactured more than 2.6 million bikes. The industry is largely based in Agueda, 75 km south of Porto.
Boats - the São João Baptista galleon launched in 1530 was one of the largest of its age. It was thought to have a weight of 1,000 tons.
Bookstore - the Livraria Bertrand opened in the Chiado district in Lisbon in 1732 which according to the Guinness Book of Records makes it the oldest bookstore still in activity in the world.
Brands - the Casa Batalha brand of traditional jewellery was founded in 1635 and is the oldest brand in Portugal.
Bridges - the longest bridge in Portugal is the massive Vasco da Gama Bridge in Lisbon which stretches 17 km from the Parque das Nações to Alcochete and Montijo on the south bank of the River Tagus. Vasco da Gama Bridge is the longest bridge in western Europe and second behind the Crimean Bridge in Europe as a whole. 516 Arouca is the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world. Dating from Roman times, the Ponte Trajano (Trajan Bridge) in Chaves is the oldest in Portugal. It dates from from the reign of the Emperor Trajan in the early second century AD. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Ponte Dom Luís I in Porto had the longest span of any metal bridge in the world when it was completed in 1886. The world's worst bridge disaster took place in 1809 during the Peninsular War when the Ponte das Barcas, a pontoon bridge across the River Douro collapsed killing an estimated 4,000 people fleeing the French army's advance on the city.
Building - the tallest building in Portugal is presently the Vasco da Gama Tower in the Parque das Nações (Nations Park) district of Lisbon. The 145 meter-tall (476 feet), steel Vasco da Gama Tower (Torre Vasco da Gama) symbolizes the sail of a caravel and references the history of Portuguese exploration and the Age of Discoveries.
C
Canal - the city with the most canals in Portugal is Aveiro. Visitors can experience them first-hand on traditional moliceiros boats.
Canyon - Nazaré Canyon off the coast of Nazaré is the largest submarine canyon in Europe with a maximum depth of 5,000 metres (16,000 feet). It is 230 kilometres in length.
Caps - The record for the most international caps for Portugal belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo, with 182 caps since 2003. He surpassed Luís Figo's record of 127 caps in June 2016. Ronaldo has also scored the most international goals with 117 and counting, overtaking the record previously held by Ali Daei of Iran with 109.
Cathedral - Braga Cathedral in Braga is the oldest cathedral in Portugal and one of the oldest cathedrals on the Iberian Peninsula. Lisbon Cathedral is the oldest church in Lisbon.
Cemetery - the largest cemetery in Lisbon is Prazeres Cemetery (Cemitério dos Prazeres). Its Mausoleum of the Dukes of Palmela is the largest mausoleum in Europe.
Churches - Porto's oldest church in modern use and possibly Portugal's oldest church is the Igreja de Cedofeita. It may date back to a 6th century Swabian church, though the only surviving written records to the church go back to the 12th century. The Igreja de São Gens de Boelhe in the village of Boelhe is said to be the smallest Romanesque church in Portugal.
City - the largest city in Portugal is Lisbon by some distance with 2,957,000 inhabitants in the greater metropolitan area and 508,368 in the city proper. Second is Porto with a population of 1,725,300 people in its metropolitan area and 215,945 inhabitants in the city itself.
Cliff - Cabo Girão on the southern coast of Madeira west of Funchal is one of the highest cliffs in Europe at 589 meters above the sea. The Cabo Girão Skywalk is also the highest cliff skywalk in Europe with vertigo-inducing views to the sea below.
Clocks - Fábrica Nacional de Relógios, Reguladora is the oldest clock and watch-making company in Iberia. It was founded in 1892 in Vila Nova de Famalicão. The Museu do Relógio in Serpa exhibits some of the oldest clocks in Portugal. The oldest is a 17th-century bronze table clock made by Edward East, watchmaker to King Charles I of England.
Company - energy giant Galp Energia is the biggest company by revenue in Portugal. The merger of Petrogal, Gás de Portugal and Transgás founded the conglomerate in 1999.
Cork - the Sobreiro Monumental (aka the Whistler Tree) east of Setubal in Palmela is the largest cork oak in the world. It is 16.2 meters tall with a diameter of 4.15 meters. It was planted around 1783 and has been harvested over 20 times for its bark. In 1991 the huge tree gave a yield of more than 1,200 kg of cork. That is enough to provide around 100,000 wine stoppers!
Crime - in 2006, 8,000 kg of raw cocaine were seized by Portuguese police in the Algarve region of southern Portugal and a number of Spanish nationals arrested. At the time it was Europe's largest drug bust.
D
Diplomacy - The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance (Aliança Luso-Inglesa) ratified at the Treaty of Windsor in 1386, between the Kingdom of England (now the United Kingdom) and the Kingdom of Portugal (now the Portuguese Republic), is the oldest alliance based on known history in the world. The earliest treaty is the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373. Portugal is the European country with the longest relationship with Japan as Portuguese explorers were the first western visitors to arrive on Japanese shores.
Dogs - there were 2.08 million dogs in Portugal in 2020.
E
East - Ifanes e Paradela in the municipality of Miranda do Douro is Portugal's most easterly place.
Extreme Temperatures - the highest temperature recorded so far in Portugal is 47.4 °C in 2003 in Amareleja. More recently in 2018, 46.8 °C was recorded in Alvega in the municipality of Abrantes. The lowest recorded temperature is -16.0 °C measured at Penhas da Saúde in February, 1954 and at Miranda do Douro in January, 1945.
F
First names - Francisco for boys and Maria for girls are the most common first names in Portugal. Next come João and Leonor.
Football - Académica de Coimbra is Portugal's oldest professional club. It was founded in 1876. The largest stadium in Portugal is Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Estádio da Luz) in Lisbon with a capacity of over 64,000.
Forest - Portugal has the highest proportion of forest in Europe at 38% which is larger than the area under cultivation for agriculture (33%).
G
Garden - the oldest botanical garden in Portugal is Ajuda Botanical Garden. It was laid out as part of Ajuda Palace (Palácio Nacional da Ajuda) in 1768, when the Portuguese king transferred his court to Ajuda after the devastating 1755 earthquake.
Golf - Oporto Golf Club is the oldest golf course in Portugal. It began in 1890 started a group of British players in the port wine trade. Penina is the oldest course in the Algarve, going back to 1966.
H
Hospital - Hospital de São José is the oldest hospital in Portugal, having been founded in 1775. The Hospital Real de Todos-os-Santos (All Saints Royal Hospital) was built between 1492 and 1504 but was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and not rebuilt.
Hotel - The Pestana Hotel Group is the largest hotel chain in Portugal, with 5,657 rooms.
I
Islands - the island of Madeira is the largest island in Portuguese territory with an area of 801 square kilometers. São Miguel in the Azores is the second largest at 65 km by 16 km, 40 miles by 10 miles.
J
Jazz - The Hot Club of Portugal (Hot Clube de Portugal) in Lisbon is the oldest jazz club in Portugal. It has been going since 1948.
Jesus Statue - Cristo Rei (Christ the King) in Almada south of the River Tagus in Lisbon is the 7th tallest Jesus statue in the world. The statue stands on a small hill 133 meters in height. The pedestal, made up of four columns is 82 meters in height with the Christ figure with outstretched arms 28 meters. The monument was constructed in situ with plaster casts. Altogether 40,000 tons of concrete were used.
K
Kings & Queens - the longest-reigning monarchs in Portuguese history were Afonso Henrique (?1106-1185), Portugal's first king, and King Dinis (1261-1325), the sixth king. Both ruled for 46 years.
L
Lawsuit - the Sommer Inheritance Case is the longest lawsuit in Portuguese history following the death of the wealthy but childless cement magnate Henrique de Araújo de Sommer (1886-1944).
Library - the largest library in Portugal is the National Library of Portugal (Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal).
Lighthouse - The tallest lighthouse in Portugal is the Farol de Praia da Barra near Aveiro at a height of 62 meters.
M
Mosque - the largest mosque in Portugal is the Central Mosque of Lisbon (Mesquita Central de Lisboa) in the capital.
Mountain - Mount Pico (Montanha do Pico) on Pico Island in the Azores at a height of 2,351 metres (7,713 feet) is Portugal's highest mountain.
Museum - The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Lisbon was founded in 1884. The Museu Arqueológico da Sociedade Martins Sarmento in Guimarães is Portugal's second-oldest museum. It dates back to 1885.
Music Festival - the oldest music festival in Portugal and indeed Iberia as a whole is the Vilar de Mouros Festival (EDP Vilar de Mouros).
N
National Parks - the only National Park in Portugal is the Peneda-Gerês National Park in the north west of the country on the border with Spain. Park Natural do Alvão in the far north of Portugal is the smallest of Portugal's Nature Parks (72km²) located in the municipalities of Mondim de Basto and Vila Real.
Nativity scenes (presépio) - the town of São Paio de Oleiros claims the largest moving nativity scene in the world with 7,000 moving pieces covering 4,000 square meters. Preparations begin in August to be ready in time for Christmas!
Newspaper - Açoriano Oriental was first published in 1835, by Manuel António de Vasconcelos, making it the oldest Portuguese newspaper still in print.
North - Cevide in the municipality of Melgaço is the northernmost point in Portugal.
O
Oldest Player for Portugal - in football goalkeeper Vítor Damas played for Portugal aged 38 years and 120 days.
Olympics - Carlos Lopes won Portugal's first ever gold medal at the Olympics at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
P
Palace - the largest palace in Portugal is the vast National Palace of Mafra (Mosteiro Palácio Nacional de Mafra). There are 1,200 rooms, around 5,000 doorways and windows and 156 staircases. The twin towers over the Basilica contain 92 bells and the Basilica itself six organs. The library contains over 36,000 books on rocaille shelves with a marble floor.
Parks - Parque Florestal de Monsanto is the largest park in Lisbon.
Plane crashes - the worst accident in Portugal aviation history is the crash of Independent Air Flight 1851 in 1989 in the Azores. 144 passengers and crew perished. In 1977, TAP Flight 425 crashed in Madeira. 131 of the 164 people on board were killed. It remains the only fatal accident in TAP's history.
Port - Sines is the largest container terminal in Portugal.
Prime Minister - Portugal's longest-serving Prime Minister was António de Oliveira Salazar at 36 years, 82 days. The shortest was Francisco Fernandes Costa (1867-1925) who was PM for less than a day.
Q
Queens - Portugal's longest reigning queen was Maria I of Portugal (1734-1816) and the longest-lived monarch in the history of the kingdom. She died aged 81 years and 94 days. She reigned from 1777 to 1816. Also known as Maria the Pious and Maria the Mad, she was the first monarch of Brazil.
R
Reservoir - The Alqueva Dam near Monsaraz is the largest dam in western Europe. It also creates the largest man-made lake in western Europe, the Lago Alqueva (Lake Alqueva). The reservoir has an area of 250 square kilometres (97 square miles). The flooding of the valley submerged the village of Luz, which was rebuilt elsewhere. The dam provides hydro-electric power and water for the region. The largest hydroelectric power station in Portugal is at the Alto Lindoso dam near the town of Soajo in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, with a capacity of 630 megawatts.
River - the River Tagus (Tejo) is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. Altogether it is 1,007 km (626 miles) long. The source of its water is the mountains of the Sistema Ibérico (Iberian System) in Spain. The River Mondego is the longest river that flows only within Portugal (234 km; 145 miles). Its source is the Serra da Estrela (the highest mountain range in continental Portugal at over 1,400 meters). It enters the Atlantic Ocean at Figueira da Foz.
Road - the longest road in Portugal is National Road 2 (Estrada Nacional 2) which is 739 kilometres long. Also known as the EN2/N2 the road stretches from Chaves in Trás os Montes to Faro in the Algarve.
S
Serial Killer - Diogo Alves (1810-1841) is probably the country's worst serial killer. He nay have been responsible for killing up to 70 people. Alves, who was born in Spain, became known as the "Aqueduct Murderer" as his victims were mainly killed close to the Águas Livres Aqueduct in Lisbon. Some of them were even thrown from its heights to make their deaths look like suicide. Alves was eventually caught, tried and hanged. His severed head is preserved in a glass jar at the University of Lisbon's Faculty of Medicine.
Shade house - the world's largest shade house was the Estufa Fria in Parque Eduardo VII (Eduardo VII Park) in Lisbon when it opened in 1910.
Skyscrapers - the tallest skyscrapers in Lisbon are the Torre São Gabriel and the Torre São Rafael both at 110 meters.
South - Cabo de Santa Maria in the district of Faro is the most southerly point in mainland Portugal. Including Madeira, Ilhéu de Fora in the Ilhas Selvagens (Savage Islands), in the municipality of Funchal is the southernmost point.
Stations - the busiest railway station in Portugal is Campanhã Station in Porto.
Supermarket - Pingo Doce is the largest supermarket chain in Portugal with over 400 stores across the country.
Surname - Silva is Portugal's most common surname ahead of Santos, Ferreira and Pereira.
Synagogue - the Synagogue of Tomar aka Museu Luso-Hebraico Abraão Zacuto is believed to be the oldest preserved synagogue in Portugal.
T
Theatre - the oldest theatre in Portugal is the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and opened in 1793. The National Theatre D. Maria II (Teatro Nacional D. Maria II) in Rossio Square was built between 1842 and 1846 by Italian architect Fortunato Lodi.
Train - Portugal's first railway line opened in 1856 between Lisbon and Carregado.
U
University - the oldest university in Portugal is Coimbra University which was first established in Lisbon in 1290 before moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537.
V
Viewpoint - Lisbon's highest viewpoint or miradouro is north of Lisbon Castle on Rua da Senhora do Monte in the square in front of the Capela de Nossa Senhora do Monte.
Vineyard - The José Maria de Fonseca table wine company in Azeitão near Setubal, south of Lisbon, dates from 1834. The company is the oldest table wine company in Portugal. The Real Companhia Velha is the oldest wine-producing company in Portugal. It was founded in 1756 by Royal Charter of D. José. The Alentejo is the largest wine-producing region in Portugal. Sogrape is the biggest wine company in Portugal with 70% of its wine sales overseas.
W
Walls - the Walls of Dom Fernando (Muralhas de D. Fernando) in Porto are some of the oldest medieval walls in Portugal dating back to 1336. King Dinis' Wall, parts of which can be seen in the Money Museum in Lisbon, is older but no longer standing. Lisbon's first city walls date back to the Romans and 48 BC. Lisbon's Cerca Moura were Moorish fortifications from the 11th century.
Waterfalls - the highest waterfall in continental Portugal is Frecha da Mizarela at 910 meters.
Waves - Nazaré on Portugal's Costa de Prata has some of the biggest surfable waves in the world. In November 2017, Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa rode a wave of 24.4 meters (80 feet) - the Guinness World Record for the biggest wave ever surfed.
Wealth - Portugal's richest people include Patrick Drahi (1963-) who is descended from a Portuguese Jewish family expelled from the country in times past and Américo Amorim (1934-2017). Amorim was the owner of Corticeira Amorim (the world's largest producer of cork) and also the largest shareholder in Galp Energia.
West - Ilhéu do Monchique, Fajã Grande, in the municipality of Lajes das Flores, on Flores Island in the Azores is westernmost point of Portugal and Europe.
Wine - Vinho Verde is the biggest DOC (Denominação de Origem Controlada) in Portugal. Croft is the oldest company still producing port wine. It began as a port shipper in 1678. Taylor's dates to 1692. José Maria da Fonseca is the oldest table wine company in Portugal founded in 1834.
X
Y
Youngest Player for Portugal - in football Renato Sanches is currently the youngest player to represent Portugal at senior level at an international tournament making his debut at Euro 2016 aged 18 years and 7 months. He is also the youngest player to win a UEFA Euro final. Paulo Futre is the youngest player in Portugal's history when he made his debut in 1983 aged only 17 years and 204 days.
Z
Zoo - Lisbon Zoo (Jardim Zoológico) is the largest zoological gardens in Portugal located in the Sete Rios district of Lisbon. Lisbon Zoo was founded in 1884 and was the first zoological garden with both fauna and flora on the Iberian Peninsula. First located in Parque São Sebastião da Pedreira, the zoo has moved several times before settling at its present location at Quinta das Laranjeiras in Sete Rios in 1905.
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