Southern province to the east of the capital, Lisbon, and immediately north of the Algarve, occupying nearly one-third of the country (24 683 km2, 9142 sq miles). The main rivers are the Tagus, Sado and Guadiana. It was the scene of numerous battles in the middle Ages, first against the Moors, then against Spanish invaders. Its mostly low, rolling landscape is dotted with cork oaks and wheat fields. To the east, the hills of the Serra de Sao Mamede rise to 1025 m (3362 ft). Following Portugal's political revolution in 1974, the province s large estates were turned into cooperatives, but many have now returned to private ownership.
Population 511 600
Aveiro
Quiet town on a lagoon, about 60 km (35 miles) south of the city of Oporto. It was a prosperous cod-fishing port until a violent storm silted up the harbor in 1575. The fishing industry revived in the 19th century, when a canal was built to the sea. Saltpans and rice cultivation are other mainstays of the town's economy, and there is a steelworks at Ovar, about 30 km (20 miles) to the north.
Population 29 200
Minho
Coastal province 4928 km (1902 sq miles) in area, to the north of the city of Oporto. Its capital is the town of Braga. The main produce is maize, beans, grapes and Vinho Verde wines.
Population 965 700
Cascais
Fishing port and resort, about 25 km (17 miles) west of the capital, Lisbon. Just to its west is the Boca do Inferno ('Mouth of Hell'), where the sea churns into a deafening cauldron. According to legend, a local fisherman, Alfonso Sanches, reached America in 1482 - ten years before Christopher Columbus. Columbus is said to have planned his voyages west with the help of Sanches's logs.
Locals hypothesize that the legacy of Italian blood and culture in Cologne, colonized by the Romans more than 1500 years ago, makes the people more jovial and lighthearted. Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine.
Kolsch is not only the dialect spoken here but, also the name of their own top-fermented beer. There are more than 4,000 pubs, restaurant's and brewery taverns in Cologne.
Unlike many of the world's large cities, Cologne, with a population of over a million, gets better every day, there are more things to do and see, more new and innovative buildings... more
Travel is an opportunity to learn, whether geography, languages, history or other subjects.
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Cologne is situated on the beautiful Rhine River.