Once the starting point for the globe discovered by uncharted waters, Portugal maintains its nature of a country facing the rest of the world.

Rightly designated as the west Lusitanian beach by Luís Vaz de Camões in the great Portuguese epic "Os Lusíadas", Portugal enjoys a close relationship with the sea, which is the result of a 963 km long coastline washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Here we find the insular Portugal: the beautiful autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.

Magnificent beaches, professional and leisure activities related to the sea, and always fresh fish, varied and cooked wisely are just some of the offers that this privileged position provides to those who choose to live in Portugal.

Despite the fact that the Mediterranean waters do not bathe the country, their influence is especially evident in climate and food, and the olive oil and wine are some of the products considered representative of Portugal worldwide.

Portuguese is the 5th most spoken language in the world with about 240 million speakers. It was thanks to the Age of Discoveries that the language was vastly diffused and reached every continent. It was the beginning of the Portuguese diaspora in the 15th century, which remains to this day with the adventurous Portuguese spirit to lead his people seeking new ways across borders.

At the same time, the Portuguese are well known for hosting the "foreigners", seeking, through this contact, their own evolution. That is one of the reasons why Portugal is deemed the second country with better integration capacity of immigrants by MIPEX (Migrant Integration Policy Index), immediately after Sweden, out of 31 countries. In this study, Portugal leads the ranking with regard to family reunification and access to the labor market. Also in the Human Development Report of the United Nations (2009) Portugal stands out with the best legislation for human rights and protection of immigrants in the European Union.

Whether it is for the safety that one feels, or for the cost of life and the pleasant climate, Portugal is sought today by people from all over the globe.

With borders established since the 12th century, this is a country full of tradition, historical monuments to visit, rustic towns and rural areas where time seems to have stopped. However, the country does not cease to have one foot in the future that is reflected in the cosmopolitanism of major cities or in the training of its human resources, for example. It is these contrasts that make this a unique country that is worth knowing and living in over time.