Welcome to Portugal

If you want to check out the Portuguese Tourist Office before booking your trip, the main U.S. branch is in New York City: 590 Fifth Avenue, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10036-4704. In Canada, it’s at 600 Bloor Street West, Suite 1005, Toronto, ON M4W 3B8. In the UK, check 22-25A Sackville Street, Second Floor, London W1X 1DE.

There are also several good online resources. The Portugal government agency Investments, Trade, and Tourism of Portugal offers general information on tourism and attractions, plus an extensive list of helpful links. The Portugal Official Tourism website offers information on each region of the country, complete with maps and advice on what to do and see, as well as an accommodation section with pictures of hotels and manor houses. At Portugal Virtual get inside tips on where to visit, what to eat, and what festivals to plan for. There is also detailed information on sightseeing, golf, and accommodation packages. At Order Portugal potential U.S. and Canadian visitors can order brochures by specific subject.

Portugal Weather
As a whole, Portugal is one of the warmest European countries, though the southern region is warmer and drier than the northern areas, which are a bit more cool and rainy. Yearly averages are about 65 degrees Fahrenheit in the south and 55 degrees Fahrenheit to the north. In the summer, the temperatures average more like 95 degrees. During the winter, temperatures rarely dip below 35 degrees, though snow is seen in the northern mountains.

The official tourism season is between spring and fall If you choose to travel during the winter, you will likely find mild but possibly rainy days—with reduced rates for accommodations. As summer temperatures heat up, hotels, restaurants and attractions get more crowded and often, more expensive. Lisbon’s santos populares (popular saints) festival is in June, which attracts large crowds. Other holidays to keep in mind are Carnaval (the day before Ash Wednesday), Liberty Day (April 25), Labor Day (May 1), Corpo de Deus (May 30), Portugal Day (June 10), Feast of the Assumption (August 15), Republic Day (October 5), All Saint’s day (November 1), Independence Day (December 1), and Immaculate Conception (December 8).

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Rabat Weather & When to Go

Rabat makes for a wonderful winter getaway; temperatures are consistent throughout the year and even though winters barely exist, summers are far from scorching. Daily averages rarely dip under the sixties and nineties are equally rare. Rainfall occurs primarily between October and March, the bulk of precipitation coming down in the winter.
The busiest time of year for Moroccan tourism is the summer, though travelers come from France for spring break in April and from far and wide between Christmas and New Years.
That said, of the five-million-plus annual tourists to the country every year, half are checking in with family while the others mostly hit up the more popular areas of Marrakech , Casablanca , and Fez , leaving Rabat rather free of congestion no matter what the season.
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Oujda Tourism

Located in the northeast of the country, near Morocco's border with Algeria, Oujda was founded by Berbers of the Zenata tribe in A.D. 944. The history and character of the city has been formed by its proximity to Algeria. The city was claimed for centuries by both the rulers of Fez and Tlemcen in Algeria. Oujda was taken by the Almohade sultan Youse ben Tachfine in 1206 and later taken by the
Ottoman regent of Algiers. Under Sultan Moulay Ismail, Oujda returned to Moroccan control in 1687. The French occupied Oujda in 1844 and again in 1859 and, after an insurrection led by Bou Hamra, took the city again and retained it as part of the French protectorate until independence in 1956.
Today Oujda remains a trading center for traffic between Algeria and Morocco. Citrus fruit, grapes, wheat, barley, vegetables, tobacco, sheep and wool are traded from the city. Lead, coal, and manganese are mined nearby.