Portugal has the wind in its sails

&amp;NewLine;<h1 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Portugal has the wind in its sails<&sol;h1>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<h2>Double-digit growth&amp;comma; historic first place in volume&amp;comma;&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;the French market in Portugal is in insolent health&amp;period; The reasons for success in 5 travel experiences&amp;period;<&sol;h2>&amp;NewLine;<p>For the first time&amp;comma; the number of French visitors to Portugal in 2014 exceeded that of German visitors&amp;period; "This is historic"&amp;comma; says Jean-Pierre Pinheiro&amp;comma; director of&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<a title&equals;"se rendre sur le site de l'office du tourisme portugal " href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;visitportugal&period;com&sol;fr" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">the tourist office of Portugal in France<&sol;a>Last year, 2 million of us travelled to the Iberian sunshine&amp;comma; an increase of 20&amp;percnt; in a market that has been recording double-digit growth for four years&amp;period; In addition to attractive prices in times of crisis&amp;comma; Portugal has more than one trick up its sleeve to explain such a craze&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h3>1&amp;sol;Lisbon and Porto&amp;comma; city-breaks par excellence<&sol;h3>&amp;NewLine;<p>It's not surprising that the Germans are still in first place in terms of overnight stays&amp;period; French tourists are very keen on city-breaks in Lisbon and Porto&amp;comma; destinations served by more than 22 cities in France thanks to low-cost airlines&amp;period; Festive&amp;comma; cultural and creative&amp;comma; these two towns on a human scale "benefit from good word-of-mouth"&amp;comma; confirms Jean-Pierre Pinheiro&amp;period; In June&amp;comma; the festivals of Saint-Antoine&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;in Lisbon and Saint-Jean in Porto are major popular events&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h3>2&amp;sol;A surf destination for sure<&sol;h3>&amp;NewLine;<p>Without going so far as to surf the world's biggest wave off Nazaré; a record recently held by the Frenchman&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<a title&equals;"benjamin sanchis" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;20minutes&period;fr&sol;sport&sol;1507163-20141228-video-surf-record-homologue-francais-benjamin-sanchis-dompte-vague-33-metres" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">Benjamin Sanchis<&sol;a>The country is renowned for its spots in the north, but also further south, particularly in&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<a title&equals;"carrapateira" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;visitportugal&period;com&sol;fr&sol;nr&sol;exeres&sol;c0390320-3706-4281-8c6d-26a18445d585" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">Carrapateira<&sol;a>&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;more suitable for beginners&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h3>3&amp;sol;In pursuit of "Quintas" and "Pousadas<&sol;h3>&amp;NewLine;<p>Wine lovers will be familiar with the term "quintas"&amp;comma; Portuguese for wine estates&amp;period; In addition to the wines of Porto&amp;comma; the vineyards of the Upper Douro Valley are well worth a visit, or at least a tasting of their wines&amp;period; In the north of the Minho region&amp;comma; the "vihno verde" has also forged a solid reputation in recent years&amp;period; In terms of accommodation&amp;comma; the "quintas"&amp;comma; are well worth a visit, or at least a tasting of their wines&amp;period; In the north of the Minho region&amp;comma; the "vihno verde" has also forged a solid reputation in recent years&amp;period; In terms of accommodation&amp;comma; the "quintas"&amp;comma; are well worth a visit.<a title&equals;"pousadas portugal" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;pousadas&period;pt&sol;historic-hotels-portugal&sol;fr&sol;pages&sol;home&period;aspx" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">pousadas<&sol;a>"Like the paradores in Spain, they offer charming, affordable accommodation in renovated manor houses or convents, often making good gourmet stops&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h3>4&amp;sol;Evora&amp;comma; the pearl of Alentejo<&sol;h3>&amp;NewLine;<p>Many call it Portugal's most beautiful historic city&amp;period; Proudly overlooking the Alentejo plain&amp;comma; Unesco-listed for its&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<a title&equals;"evora à l'unesco" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;ovpm&period;org&sol;fr&sol;portugal&sol;evora" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">Medieval and Renaissance heritage<&sol;a>&amp;comma;&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<a title&equals;"evora" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;cm-evora&period;pt&sol;en" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">Evora<&sol;a>It's a living testimony to the country's golden age&amp;period; but the city doesn't dwell on its past&amp;colon; it's a lively place all year round&amp;comma; thanks to its student and cultural life&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<h3>5&amp;sol;Lounging off the beaten track<&sol;h3>&amp;NewLine;<p>Portugal boasts the opening this summer of its first Lookea&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;club in the Algarve region and a Framissima&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;near Lisbon&amp;comma; its coastline - almost 800 km long - makes it easy to find more confidential&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;farniente&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;spots, for example on the east coast towards Tavira or on one of the&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<a title&equals;"meilleures plages du portugal" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;visitportugal&period;com&sol;fr&sol;content&sol;les-meilleures-plages" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">best beaches<&sol;a>&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;listed by Portugal's tourist office&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p>&amp;nbsp&amp;semi;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;<p>Source&amp;colon; <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;20minutes&period;fr&sol;magazine&sol;voyage&sol;tourisme&sol;pourquoi-le-portugal-a-le-vent-en-poupe-140227&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener noreferrer">20minutes&amp;period;fr<&sol;a><&sol;p>