Web Camera Hotel da Rocha, Portimão

Link :http://www.hoteldarocha.com/

 

Web camera Portugal is located high in Lisbon’s Amoreiras district. It shows views of Amoreiras

This Portugal Webcam is located high in Lisbon’s Amoreiras district. It shows views of Amoreiras, the City over Bairo Alto, Rossio & Chiado to the Tagus River between Lisbon’s 2 famous bridges, the “Vasco da Gama” and the “25 de Abril”.

Web Cam Image refreshed automatically every 12 seconds

And now… our Gran Canaria WebCam is online!

 

WELCOME TO LISBON…

…probably the most fascinating, captivating and fulfilling of all Europe’s cities! With blue skies and a mild winter, this year-round destination offers fabulous ‘designer label’ shopping opportunities, terrific nightlife, exciting city and river panoramas and a picturesque environment where electric trams take you through narrow, cobbled streets to fine new hotels in wide boulevards: old-fashioned practicality meets 21st century sophistication. 

Within easy travelling distance, the Lisbon Coast hosts some fine sandy beaches at Cascais and Estoril, fishing villages like Sesimbra and the forests and magical architecture of Sintra with its royal palaces and stunning vistas from Lisbon to the wild Atlantic. If that’s not enough, take a boat along the Sado or Tagus for a nautical view of the coast.

Lisbon’s sophisticated shopping centres, fine hotels, gastronomy and culture combine with the climate to make this a great destination, 12 months of the year. With so much to offer, you’ll wonder why you never visited the city of Lisbon sooner!

LISBON IS EUROPE’S TOP CITY, SAYS POLL
And now, there’s even further evidence that Lisbon deserves a visit. A recent UK study has shown that Lisbon ranks top of the list of favourite city destinations in terms of key travel criteria. Weighing the 10 most important factors at the time of choosing a holiday destination, including aspects such as destination price levels, accommodation and flight costs, climate, quality of food, tourist attractions, exchange rates, security and easy access, UK travellers have decided that Lisbon tops the bill: Enchanting and great value for money, so how can you possibly keep away?

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

You’ll find all the info you need to plan and prepare for your holiday.
Also, lots of related material.

WEATHER

Check out the current weather in Lisbon, the forecast, satellite images and the annual weather pattern.

LISBON HOTELS & RESORTS

Find the best available prices for Lisbon Hotels and book direct on their websites.

SEARCH THE LISBON GUIDE

Find just what you need… quickly!

LISBON TRAVEL SERVICES

A wealth of travel services to help you here, find flights, car rentals, quality Lisbon hotels and other tourism services.

PLACES TO SEE

We show you all the places to go. Whatever your taste – you’ll find something to interest you!

LISBON PHOTO GALLERY

LISBON HOTELS

 

Live camera Hotel Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort , Portugal

Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort

Room with a View

See the world through new eyes and elevate your stay. Open your room window to the sounds of nature and the smell of pure freshness… Lose yourself in the abundance of green from our golf courses and rejuvenate your senses with the blue sparkle of our swimming-pool.

Local Area

Set in the southern coast of Portugal, the Algarve is distinguished for its unique scenery and pleasant climate, making it the perfect destination for leisure or business travelling.

Enriched by natural beauty, west Algarve is outlined by the Monchique mountains and beautiful golden beaches. You can feel the local culture alive, remembering the past through a visit to the historical monuments, contemplating the artistic shows or handcraft fairs. In this corner of the Algarve you may visit many places of cultural, architectural or leisure interest such as the Slaves’ Market in Lagos, the Fortress in Sagres or Monchique Mountain’s Thermal Waters.

With its unique characteristics it is known to be the perfect place for leisure and sports enthusiasts.  Golf is particularly high on the list of things to do, and there are numerous courses to test even the most ardent player. The existing and modern infrastructures invite everyone to try one of the many sport activities Algarve has to offer: from golf to tennis, sailing, mountain biking, trekking, amongst others. The recently built Algarve Motor Park, located near Portimão is the most recent attraction for motor sports enthusiast.

The Alvor beach is just four kilometres away from the hotel and complimentary transfers are provided from June to the end of September.

The hotel is located midway between the traditional fishing port of Portimão and the historic town of Lagos. The nearest town, with shops, local entertainment and a casino, is just four kilometres from the resort.
General Directions to the Hotel

GPS Coordinates: N 37° 09′ 41″ W 08° 34′ 49″

From East
From Faro International Airport, take the N125 10. Take the exit towards Estadio Algarve Lisboa Portimao Loule. Continue along A22. Proceed towards Lisboa Albufeira and continue until Exit 4 M531 1 Alvor and turn right on the roundabout. The hotel is approximately 1 kilometer ahead on the left.

From North
From Lisbon, take E01IP7. Take the Algarve Alcacer exti. Take E01A2IP1 and proceed for approximately 24 kilometers. Continue until Exit 4 M531 1 Alvor. Turn right at the roundabout and the hotel is approximately 1 kilometer ahead on the left.

From West
From Sagres take N125 to Lagos. Pass Lagos, continue along N125 and take N120A22 Acessos. Turn right to the the A22IC4 towards Faro A2 Lisboa. Continue and take Exit 4 M531 1 Alvor. Turn right at the roundabout and the hotel is approximately 1 kilometer ahead on the left.

Hotel Policies

Alcohol Policy
Alcoholic beverage service is restricted to those 16 years or older with valid identification.

Cheque Cashing Policy
Cheque cashing services are available. There is a limit of 500 Euros per day.

Connecting Room Policy
Connecting rooms are available.

Extra Bedding Policy
Cribs are provided upon request, free of charge; however, guests must provide their own bedding. Please contact the hotel for further information.

Family Plan
Children 12 and younger sleep free in existing bedding, when staying in the room with two paying adults. Maximum 1 child in double/twin rooms and studios; maximum 2 children in Junior Suites.

Gift Certificate Acceptance Policy
Gift certificates issued by the hotel are accepted. Please contact the hotel directly to redeem.

Pet Policy
Pets are not allowed.

Smoking Policy
The hotel is 100% non-smoking.

Παραμονή Πρωτοχρονιάς 2010/2011

Απολαύστε μια αξέχαστη βραδιά στο Le Méridien Penina Golf & Resort με την επιλογή μας για την παραμονή εκδηλώσεων το Νέο Έτος. Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες και κρατήσεις, παρακαλώ επικοινωνήστε μαζί μας στο +351 282420200 ή με ηλεκτρονικό ταχυδρομείοreservations.penina @ lemeridien.com

 

Το εστιατόριο Le GRILL

Εστιατόριο Le Grill, vintage μας ελίτ και εξαιρετική κουζίνα εστιατόριο, προσφέρει μια θαυμάσια και ρομαντικό δείπνο, που σερβίρει πορτογαλικά και διεθνή κουζίνα, η οποία θα είναι σίγουρα παρακαλώ κάθε γκουρμέ αγάπης πελάτη. Ανακαλύψτε τι Ακόμη και το πρόγραμμα της Πρωτοχρονιάς στο Le Grill Restaurant

Κάντε κλικ ΕΔΩ για μεγέθυνση μενού

 

Sagres ΕΣΤΙΑΤΟΡΙΟ

Το κεντρικό εστιατόριο του ξενοδοχείου ξεσηκώνει »τις ορέξεις των πελατών με το εξαίσιο θεματικά δείπνα σε μπουφέ που περιλαμβάνει μια σειρά από τοπικές σπεσιαλιτέ. Οι πελάτες μπορούν να έχουν στο εσωτερικό τους τα γεύματα, σε ένα χαλαρωτικό και οικείο περιβάλλον ή έξω στο αίθριο, freshened από το κατευναστικό αεράκι Αλγκάρβε και το ηλιακό φως. Απολαύστε μια αξέχαστη βραδιά με την εκδήλωση της Πρωτοχρονιάς στο εστιατόριο Sagres:

Κάντε κλικ ΕΔΩ για μεγέθυνση μενού

Po Box 146 · Penina · Portimao 8501-952 · Portugal · Telefone:351 282 420200

Madeira Island’s

Welcome To Madeira Island

To get into Portugal you may need a passport or a visa, depending on the country you live in and the reason why you are visiting Portugal (tourism, work or study purposes).

Citizens from the European Community don’t need a visa for entering Portugal. Portugal is also a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement.
If you are unsure about any matter concerning your travel documents, please contact your travel agent or Portuguese Embassy/Consulate based in your hometown.

Health and Vaccination Information for Portugal
You will not require any vaccinations to visit Madeira, unless you are coming from an infected area. The most likely infection would be ‘Yellow Fever’. Make a point of checking with your tour operator or local Portuguese embassy if in any doubt.

Yellow Fever Vaccination
International Certificate of Vaccination for Yellow Fever is required only when travelling from an infected area and when the traveller is more than one year of age.

Malaria – None
Cholera – None

Getting from the Airport to Funchal

Car rental: There are several rent-a-car companies outside the airport arrival lounge. Look for the best offer! If you don’t want to take the chance of not having a car when you arrive, book a car before you leave home.
There are several excellent car rental companies on our ‘Tourist Services‘ page with which you can make a reservation online.
Taxi: There will always be a friendly taxi driver at your disposal and glad to take you anywhere you want. The taxi rank is located outside the airport arrival lounge, just look for a yellow car with blue stripes and the sign ‘TAXI’ on top.
Bus: The company responsible for bus transportation from the airport is SAM. After you leave the arrivals, follow the main road and keep on the right side. After approx. 100 meters you will find a bus stop. The ticket to Funchal is payable on board and only costs a few Euros.
Aerobus: If you are a TAP passenger coming from Lisbon you can get on the Aerobus free of charge if you show the driver your boarding ticket. If you are not a TAP passenger you will have to pay on the bus. On your return from Funchal to the airport, the bus leaves from Avenida do Mar, directly in front of the TAP office.

Driving in Madeira

Madeira has many newly asphalted roads and a recent dual carriage motorway. Madeirans drive on the right hand side of the road and all cars have the steering column on the left. Seat belts are required as in all Europe. Children under the age of 12 are not allowed on the front seats. The speed within cities and villages is limited to 40 – 50 km/h – outside to 80 km/h. You can still find narrow cobbled roads within cities and villages, which can be very slippery when wet. Even outside residential areas there are many, many narrow winding roads. That is why special care and attention should be taken when touring the island. The locals obviously know their way around and therefore tend to drive very fast.

Most people understand about a tourist’s apparent indecision whilst navigating the island and you will find the majority of Madeiran drivers friendly and courteous. Due to the extreme mountainous terrain on some roads, we recommend the correct usage of the gearbox as an aid to assist braking. This will help to keep the brakes cool even on the most demanding slopes. Petrol stations are quite abundant – but do fill up before leaving the city of Funchal. Stay within the legal speed limits and remember that drinking alcohol and driving is an offence throughout Europe. Just take your time, wear your seatbelts, take it easy and enjoy the beauty of Madeira!

Tourist Information Offices

Funchal’s Centre Tourism Office
Arriaga Avenue. Opened from 9.00 to 20.00 h Monday to Friday and from 9.00 to 18.00 h weekends and public holidays
Tel: +351 291 211 902

Medical Care & Emergency Numbers

There are many health centres spread around the island and another one in Porto Santo. Some are equipped with emergency service facilities. Some of the private clinics have also emergency services but in case of an emergency most tourists will visit the Hospital ‘Cruz de Carvalho’.
Medical insurance is strongly advised, even though EU citizens can obtain a refund of most medical costs by using the form E111 (available at health offices in your country).
There are many English-speaking doctors and dentists. Your hotel will always be able to recommend one.
The local chemists (farmácia), recognisable by a green cross sign, will have just about anything you may require and there is always one open after hours in each area. The location of the duty chemist is displayed on every chemist’s entrance door.

National Emergency Number: 112 Police: 291 208 400 Airport: 291 524 941 Hospital: 291 705 600 Red Cross: 291 741 115 National Information Service: 11 Banks & Currency The Euro is the currency of the Economic and Monetary Union and was adopted by 11 state-members from the European Union on the 1st of January 1999: Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland. In 2001 Greece also adopted the Euro. The circulation of the Euro started on the 1st of January 2002 with 7 different bank notes and 8 different coins: bank notes of 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 Euros, and coins of 2 and 1 Euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 Cents. Although banknotes and coins have a European common side as well as a specific national side, they are accepted in all the countries that joined the Euro currency. Both bank notes and coins were also conceived for people with visual disabilities. Therefore the bank notes and coins have different sizes and other elements that allow the identification through touch. If you don’t want to carry large amounts, you can exchange your money in the local banks and at official exchange kiosks. Beware when changing cash at the bank, as there is a minimum fee of 8,00 Euros independent of the amount you exchange. In exchange kiosks there is no fee but the exchange will be based on a slightly lower rate.

.Sao Tiago Fort

Funchal Cathedral

The Beer House

Porto Santo Ferry

Pico Fortress

Madeira (pronounced /məˈdiːrə/ or /məˈdeɪrə/; Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐˈdeiɾɐ] or [mɐˈdɐiɾɐ]) is a Portuguese archipelago in the midAtlantic Ocean that lies between 32°22.3′N 16°16.5′W and 33°7.8′N 17°16.65′W. It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands. Madeira is an archipelago with volcanic origins from aHot Spot, so is not geographically part of a specific continent, but Madeira belongs and has belonged ethnically, culturally, economically and politically to Europe for 600 years despite being closer to Africa. Madeira is part of Portugal, so it is part of the European Union, as an Outermost Region.

Madeira was rediscovered by Portuguese sailors some time between 1418 and 1420. The archipelago is considered to be the first discovery of the exploratory period initiated by Henry the Navigator of Portugal. It is a popular year-round resort, noted for its Madeira wine, flowers, and embroidery artisans, as well as its New Year’s Eve celebrations that feature a spectacular fireworks show, which is the largest in the world according to the Guinness World Records[2]. Its harbour – Funchal – is important due to its commercial and passenger traffic and for being a major stopover for cruisers en route from Europe to the Caribbean.

People Cam

Park trees and fountain

Parque Santa Catarina

History

Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Funchal.

Pre-Portuguese times

Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands, the position of which with reference to the Fortunate Islands, orCanaries, may indicate Madeira islands. Plutarch (Sertorius, 75 AD) referring to the military commanderQuintus Sertorius (d. 72 BC), relates that after his return to Cadiz, “he met seamen recently arrived from Atlantic islands, two in number, divided from one another only by a narrow channel and distant from the coast of Africa 10,000 furlongs. They are called Isles of the Blest.” The estimated distance from Africa, and the closeness of the two islands, seem to indicate Madeira and Porto Santo.

There is a romantic tale about two lovers, Robert Machim and Anna d’Arfet in time of the King Edward III of England, fleeing from England to France in 1346, were driven off their course by a violent storm, and cast on the coast of Madeira at the place subsequently named Machico, in memory of one of them. On the evidence of a portolan dated 1351, preserved at Florence, Italy, it would appear that Madeira had been discovered long before that date by Portuguese vessels under Genoese captains.

Portuguese discover

Statue of João Gonçalves Zarco.

In 1419 two captains of Prince Henry the Navigator, João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira, were driven by a storm to the island they namedPorto Santo. They gave this name (meaning Holy Harbour) in gratitude for their rescue from the shipwreck. The next year an expedition was sent to populate the island, in which the two captains, together with captain Bartolomeu Perestrello, took possession of the islands on behalf of the Portuguese crown.

The islands started to be settled circa 1420 or 1425. In 23 September 1433, the name Ilha da Madeira (Madeira Island or “wood island”) appears on a map, its first mention in a document.

The three captain-majors had led, in the first trip, the respective families, a small group of people of the minor nobility, people of modest conditions and some old prisoners of the kingdom. To gain the minimum conditions for the development of agriculture, they had to rough-hew a part of the dense forest of laurisilva and to construct a large number of canals (levadas), since in some parts of the island, there was excess water while in other parts water was scarce. In the earliest times, fish constituted about half of the settlers’ diet, together with vegetables and fruit. The first local agricultural activity with some success was the raising of wheat. Initially, the colonists produced wheat for their own sustenance, but later began to export wheat to Portugal.

The discoveries of Porto Santo and Madeira were first described by Gomes Eanes de Zurara in Chronica da Descoberta e Conquista da Guiné. (Eng. version by Edgar Prestage in 2 vols. issued by the Hakluyt Society, London, 1896-1899: The Chronicle of Discovery and Conquest of Guinea.) Arkan Simaan relates these discoveries in French in his novel based on Azurara’s Chronicle: L’Écuyer d’Henri le Navigateur, published by Éditions l’Harmattan, Paris.

Portuguese Madeira

Santa Catarina Park, in the heart of Funchal.

However, in time grain production began to fall. To get past the ensuing crisis Henry decided to order the planting of sugarcane – rare inEurope and, therefore, considered a spice – promoting, for this, the introduction of Sicilian beets as the first specialized plant and the technology of its agriculture. Sugarcane production became a leading factor in the island’s economy, and increased the demand for labour. Slaves were used during portions of the islands’ history to cultivate sugar cane, and the proportion of imported slaves in Madeira reached 10% of the total population by the 16th century[3]. Genoese and Portuguese traders were attracted to the islands. Sugarcane cultivation and the sugar production industry developed until the 17th century.

Since the 17th century, Madeira’s most important product has been its wine, sugar production having since moved on to Brazil, São Tomé and Principe, and elsewhere. Madeira wine was perhaps the most popular luxury beverage in the colonial Western Hemisphere during the 17th and 18th centuries.[citation needed] The British Empire occupied Madeira as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, a friendly occupation, which started in 1807 concluding in 1814, when the island was returned to Portugal and the British did much to popularise Madeira wine.

When, after the death of king John VI of Portugal, his usurper son Miguel of Portugal seized power from the rightful heir, his niece Maria II, and proclaimed himself ‘Absolute King’, Madeira held out for the Queen under the governor José Travassos Valdez until Miguel sent an expeditionary force and the defence of the island was overwhelmed by crushing force. Valdez was forced to flee to England under the protection of the Royal Navy (September 1828).

In 1921, the last Austro-Hungarian Emperor Charles I was deported to Madeira, after his second unsuccessful coup d’état in Hungary. He died there one year later and is buried in Monte.

On 1 July 1976, following the democratic revolution of 1974, Portugal granted political autonomy to Madeira. The region now has its own government and legislative assembly.

Port

Cruise Ships

Funchal Harbour

Funchal Marina

Funchal Promenade and sea front

Link :http://www.madeira-web.com