Road clue guides · Europe
How to recognise Portugal from the road
Drives on the right
Tiled façades, cobbled pavements and eucalyptus on the hills. Portugal shares a peninsula with Spain, but the details set it apart.
What to look for
1
A yellow strip on the plate
Portuguese plates have the blue EU band on the left and a yellow strip on the right.
2
Portuguese spelling
Look for ão, ç and words like rua (street). Spanish would use calle.
3
Tiles on the walls
Glazed ceramic tiles, azulejos, often cover house fronts, not just churches.
4
Patterned pavements
Pavements in towns are often small black and white stones laid in patterns.
Try it for real
Placivago can drop you in Portugal, or anywhere else across its 195 countries. Three real street-level places a day, no landmarks, no names. Free, and about six minutes.
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