Do You Know Algarve And Alentejo

Do you need to know Portuguese to live in Portugal?

Generally, you can get along without it. As written in the answer above, it depends on where you work and with whom you hang out.For work I have to say from my experience: Even in an international environment (call center) you will find quite a lot Portuguese colleagues, so you have a great opportunity to learn more and get to know a great culture and their people.But I do not recommend it, not learning the language at all. If you’d like to get to know Portuguese citizens and if you want to really live there, a few basics will get you a long way and everyone appreciates assimilation to a certain degree.For any kind of administrative and bureaucratic interaction you will need Portuguese desperately. You can also take a Portuguese friend, which is the best even if you know a little of the language.In the cities you will find many Portuguese citizens that speak English (not so much in the ministries though.) On the countryside it is the opposite (and remember, in the capital Lisbon live only half a million people, while all of Portugal has 10 million inhabitants.) If you do not intend to stay in the big cities, Portuguese is a must, in my opinion.

If you had to choose between a week in Algarve and a week in Cinque Terre, which would you go for?

Algarve for sure. Cinque Terre is beautiful but extremelly touristy. Algarve is horribly busy and overun by English/UK citizens, Irish, Germans, but it is not so bad really. We Portuguese just remember it when it used to be only ours, for us only…now we have to share it but all good. It is still ours and gorgeous, laid back with amazing cheap food and great wines, great beaches, lots of greenery and golf courses, plus it is real…real people live there…history lives there and great festivals too, and it is so close to Alentejo, I mean…we all know how havenly Alentejo is too! There are tons of things to do in the Algarve, and it is still affordable, real, attractive and special, so I apologise to my Italian brothers, because I really love Italy (all of it) but my vote this time goes to my beautiful Algarve.

Is there a historical or climatic reason for most buildings in Alentejo and the Algarve (Portugal) being white?

Historical: it has been done this way for generations, and it is actually kinda coolLook at thisClimatic reasons: Lime (cal, in portuguese), is an alkaline white substance, solid at natural temperatures. When exposed to the infernal temperature of the Summer of the southern Iberian (especially the hinterland) Peninsula, it will, like other white coloured substances do, reflect the heat coming from the sun.Thus, instead of absorbing the solar radiation, lime will reflect it, helping to keep the interior fresher.

What are the best off the beaten path places to see in Portugal?

I'm going to give in my two cents and suggest you consider a road trip. The southwest coast of Portugal - comprising Alentejo and a bit of Algarve regions make up great getaways within a wild Atlantic coastline. The endless set of beaches are backed by impressive cliffs and alternate with quiete little fishing villages along the away.The best part is that this is still a overlooked part of the country and receives a lot less tourists than the overcrowded Algarve, or the cities of Lisbon and Porto.If you are curious, have a read at this article:A Portugal Road Trip - The Best Idea For Your Holidays!Cheers, hope you have a great time!