Comparing Portugal v France Shouldn’t Be This Close!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 มิ.ย. 2024
- Which country would you live in? Do you think France or Portugal is better? Josh and Kalie from ExpatsEverywhere breakdown top categories and choose which wins each category. Who will be the overall winner?
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Jeez, guys, protests don’t make France dangerous. Also I don’t know how much time you’ve spent in Paris, but to make a blanket statement that “Parisians get a bad rap and they deserve it” is totally unfair in my experience. I’ve lived here for more than a year. If you’re respectful, make an effort to speak the language, say “bonjour” when you walk into a shop or a restaurant, and don’t just start yakking at the people in English and expect them to be nice to you, you’ll get a warm reception. (A great formula is, “Bonjour, desolée, je ne parle pas Français, parlez-vous Anglais?”) Or just learn how to order food and buy things in French. It can’t be any harder than Portuguese!
I have no recollection of good cuisine in France, but everything I tasted in Portugal reached my soul.
Fair enough. You and Portugal are soul mates. - Josh & Kalie
You have the right to your opinion and I love Portuguese food too but my opinion is that you need to get out more. No recollection in all of France ???
@@lisalau2452 if all you know of France is Paris, o can’t say that I’m surprised unless you decided to fork out a decent amount for a meal. People often visit a capital and think that they know the country. If that was your experience, I’m sorry to break it to you but you likely missed out.
@@Ferreira019760 you could be right, but for my own experience and the budget that I can afford, which is the same in Portugal, then my answer is still the same.
@@AkamaiOkole not during my last visit…I don’t recall. Sorry….but I am glad you enjoyed the French cuisine though.
I was in a taxi in Paris and when giving directions for street number 51 instead of "cinquante-et-un" I mistakenly said "cinquante-un"... the taxi driver got upset that I missed the "et" and launched into what seemed like a tirade about how I need to speak better French if I am going to attempt - I kid you not, lol 😁 I totally resonate with what you are saying about the French and their patience with the language.
Man, that sounds rough! Thanks for sharing. - Josh & Kalie
Did you make this video for me? Hehe! I’m caught between France and Portugal. France is an old love, and my oldest nephews are French. This time, last year, I was in Marseille. I met several Portuguese and Brazilians in Marseille. There were similarities in food. But, Marseille had more vegetables on the plate, as opposed to potatoes and rice in Portugal. Eating out, I prefer France. But, if I were cooking at home, I think the ingredients in Portugal would meet my needs. People in the South of France are very nice, but in general, Portuguese people are more my vibe. French and Portuguese have similarities, and the French I know, is helpful in learning Portuguese. It’s easier moving to Portugal, over France. The messy bureaucracy doesn’t worry me.
Portugal’s exploration has a lot of death and pain. The people who stayed in Portugal don’t seem to be the same. Similar to the difference of Vikings and Norwegians. I look at what are the people like now.
France doesn’t tax retirement, which is great. But, for me, as a government employee, my government pension won’t be taxed in Portugal. So, balance the expenses of each country. All this, is why I’m conflicted. I might live in Portugal first, then France.
Yes! We didn't know your email so we posted it directly to TH-cam. :-) Thanks for watching and commenting. - Josh & Kalie
You guys are perfect for each other. I actually lived in both places and I agree with you guys on everything. France does have a lot of crime. I lived in Marseille and Aveiro, which are like night and day.
I found Portugal the most different place to make friends. I made more friends in France.
I had to go to the hospital in both places. France was better- hands down.
Josh, there are actually several islands in Portugal. Madeira and the Azores have several islands.
Another great video!
Thanks, Teddy! Another great comment. :-) Thanks for taking the time to write your perspective. - Josh & Kalie
Amazing Video!!! Thank you for making this comparison guys! ❤️🤗
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching and giving us feedback. - Josh & Kalie
Appreciate the video, as always, folks! 😊
Thanks for watching, Seamus. Good to see you in the comment section again. - Josh & Kalie
Excellent presentation! Living in both countries, I can only agree
Thanks for sharing and thank you for the feedback. - Josh & Kalie
Great info!
Great video guys as usual! I love so much about France, but Portugal still is winning as a place to live for now.
I love French pastries, but more importantly, is the access to amazing international cuisine in France that makes it the winner.
For the language, there are so many more resources to help you learn French.
For weather, Portugal is the clear winner.
For people, I actually feel like French people treat me better which goes against my reputation, even in Paris I got along with them so well. I also think the people in Lisbon are the coldest in all of Portugal so that may affect my opinion.
Having just spent 3 months there I could go on and on about the differences...
Thanks, guys! It's a fantastic point!! International cuisine options are top notch and when we do these videos we're not really taking that into consideration, but it's true, variety is the spice of life. ;-)
You guys were there for 3 months! That's cool. We actually haven't been back to Paris in a while. We've explore a lot more of the south of France in the past 2 years.
You know, the capital city social culture does unfortunately affect one's perspective because Madrid in a way scarred us as to what Spanish people are like. Madrileños are cold too. - Josh & Kalie
Guys, I’m Portuguese and my food triangle has been Portugal, France, and England. The best thing about English food is that you learn to appreciate other food A LOT MORE. Anyway, that’s a common place, everyone knows about it. The important thing is that I no longer waste time debating which one of the two is better, when I can put that time to much better use, like enjoying the wonderful dishes both have to offer. I once had to stay at an inn the middle of nowhere in France, and I had the best mushrooms of my entire life. It wasn’t all mushrooms, but to this day that’s all I remember. I was tired, and I was incredibly grateful for that simple, yet delicious meal.
The one hint I can leave you with, and this is common for both French and Portuguese people, take the time to enjoy the good things life brings your way. When we develop a palate for delicacies, and learn to savour the good things in life, everything becomes an experience to be treasured. Be it Portuguese, French, or god forbid, English. They are not all that bad, it’s just that they could do so much more with the ingredients they have… aside from that, not the worst crowd you can come across 😊.
Nice comment! We're actually curious to know your take on the three countries when it comes to international food offerings within the country. How do you rank them in that regard? - Josh & Kalie
@@ExpatsEverywhere Lisbon is likely to have anything you may want from just about any part of the world. However, if I’m going out for a meal, I’m looking for either grilled fish or seafood. Maybe Japanese, once in a while. Eating local is more affordable, fresher, and more authentic.
I was born by the seaside, and from the time when I was toddler I was accustomed to eat good fish. So naturally, when in France, I was always looking out for fish restaurants, and one day, by mere chance, I found one in Toulouse called La crié des Gourmands. Amazing place. The owners were plenty nice, the fish and seafood was finger licking good, and the cook knew exactly what he was doing. The only problem… France’s salt. It’s nothing like the Portuguese one. French people, try it first before deciding to bash me. The taste is a world apart.
There are reasons why we become biased, and it usually mount up to the small details, the little tricks that make all the difference.
And boy am I biased towards Portuguese cuisine. I don’t say it because I think it’s the best one available, I say it because it’s the best for me.
That being said, I had my fill of restaurants while I traveled for work, and honestly I got fed up with it. Nothing beats a homemade meal in the company of good friends. I’m not the best person to advise over international foods. I experienced plenty while away from the country, almost never by choice, but because it was there and I had to eat, often alone. That takes away the best about a meal. The good company, sharing a bottle of wine, having a laugh… this is something that is shared by Portuguese, Spanish, French, Greeks, and Italians, just to name the most obvious. A meal is more than just eating, it’s a social event. We bond at the table. To me, no restaurant offers the same experience, no matter how well they know me there. And that’s why I don’t have a highly educated opinion over international food in Portugal. My mom is a very good cook, I can hold my own, my wife is the adventurous one who sometimes whips out something from any random country… I have no reason to go out looking for restaurants. Except on very special occasions, when we decide to celebrate something special, and even so, we have a few selected places that we tend to stick to.
I can share some of the names if you want. My overall advice, if you are travelling and have the time, don’t look for the food from your home country. Wait a while, you will get it when you go back. Try what delicacies the locals recommend. Give you an example, after finishing a job in France, and the client decided to show appreciation by taking me and my boss out to have dinner. One of the things that was served was raw duck breast. Good luck finding a Portuguese person who will be seduced by meat that still looks like it could get up and walk away from your plate, after eating your salad. Honestly, I tried it not thinking of being polite, but on an adventurous spirit. And it wasn’t bad. I can understand why they like the it, even if I don’t think I will ever order it again. It wasn’t bad, it’s the blood that doesn’t seduce me. Would I had preferred Moreau (Cod)? Yes I would, but I can get that at home anytime. When in Rome…
I hope you guys aren’t disappointed, this is a very loose reply, but it’s an honest one.
The world is so full of good things to experience that we can have the luxury of cherry picking and we will never lack new choices. Live happily, be gentle to yourself and to others, and you will never look back and regret anything about your life. Good things find their way to good hearts.
Such a great video and a topic we really needed in our expat journey. Thank you. If you haven’t been yet, put Strasbourg on your radar to visit. It surprised me.
We're so glad this video found you at the right time. We'll put Strasbourg on the list. - Josh & Kalie
I love this series. Please compare FRANCE VS GERMANY next. Thank you in advance.
Thanks for the idea! We have Portugal v England or Portugal v Germany first but maybe we can start doing a poll after that to figure out the next pairings. - Josh & Kalie
Comparing Portuguese food to French food is absurd. Compare Portuguese food to a region of France. I live in Alsace. Sauerkraut, pretzels, potatoes and sausage are staples here. I spent 6 months in Portugal (two different trips) and chose France for a number of reasons. Financially, France makes more sense for a retiree than Portugal. As an American, I don't pay any income tax in France. The French might correct you when you speak French. And that's actually a compliment. If they thought that your French was terrible, they'd just switch to English. Usually what they'll do is just repeat what you said in a corrected version. I basically stumbled into living in France, and I would definitely recommend it... as long as you remember that Paris is not France
Thanks for this comment. I'm the target audience for this video and hearing the French perspective is useful.
Totally agree. After about six months here, I realized that speaking French correctly is simply an important value to French people. When they correct you, they aren’t trying to make you feel stupid. They just want you to speak better French, because honestly I think it hurts their ears to hear it spoken badly. (I have really good French friends and they will correct the gender of the article in a sentence or fix my pronunciation for me without hesitation, even in the middle of a conversation. They love their language and they want to hear it spoken well by their friends.)
France would be my #1 choice, but the recent election really left me shaken. The far-right and Marine Le Pen? Non, non, non.
Thanks for the comment, Michael. Not to stand up for the Portuguese, we're sure they'll likely find this comment and combat you as well. Portugal has region foods as well. Alsace is heavily influenced by German cuisine as you clearly demonstrated with your acknowledgement of sauerkraut, pretzels, potato and sausage reference. So is that really French food or is it just the Alsatian version of German food. That's debated, right?
France financially does make WAYYYY more sense there's no doubt, unless someone is a lower income earner/pensioner. Then something like taxes need to be taken into consideration right along side cost of living because it might be a wash at that point.
100% agreed, Paris is not France. :-) Thanks again. - Josh & Kalie
Gotta say that the food in Porto and Evora was better than anything I could afford to eat in France. Same for wine too.
A note on language: Portuguese has a much higher "phonemic-orthographic consistency" meaning your expectations of how a word sounds vs spelled is easier to predict/intuit. French has less consistency in spelling/sounds, so it can be harder to know what a word will sound like based on how it is spelled, and vice versa. I'm an English native speaker that has studied several languages to A2/B1 levels, and European Portuguese was easier than French, due to how much more predictable I found the spellings/sounds to be. But everyone learns differently, so of course your experience may vary! English is one of the least consistent languages in the world. What sound does "ou" make in thought, through, thorough? Different each time - frustrating for learners! This sort of thing happens less in French, and much less so in Portuguese.
Great point about trying to work out how to say French words. I am always frustrated with French pronunciation.
Well, I’m glad French was my first foreign language-it does make learning Portuguese seem easier.
English is super frustrating for learners but makes for hilarious video content from comedians that delve into linguistics. LOL - Josh & Kalie
Please do a France vs. Spain video!
We'll likely poll the community and see what people would like next, after we finish our Portugal comparisons. - Josh & Kalie
Global Peace Index isn't just personal safety. France has a lower score in part simply because they have a relatively large military.
Yes and they love to show it off with the odd military parade and jets flying over the Arc du Triomphe too!
Yes, but we also touched on the fact that France ranks worst in Europe for Personal Safety on site aggregator Numbeo. - Josh & Kalie
During a year residence in France, the whole country was usually surrounded with clouds with the exception of bits of sun for the Mediterran coast
Huh ? I've been living in Montpellier for over 3 months and the weather here is sunnier that any other place I have ever lived including Hawaii.
Thanks. Right now, I'm debating between Toulouse and the Lisbon area. You're helping me with some additional information that I didn't have before. One thing about the language is that it is a lot easier to find resources for learning French than for European Portuguese. In my scorebook, it's pretty close. Toulouse has cheaper and more modern housing while Lisbon has lower other costs. Lisbon has non-stop flights to the United States and a better climate while Toulouse has better health care. I would also give Lisbon the edge with the quality of life. I think that the key is to take the information provided and weight the factors by how important they are to you.
I would also like it if you reviewed the Costa da Caparica neighborhood as well as Almada if you get down to Lisbon. Those areas are on my radar ad landing spots for when I retire.
I appreciate how you split the language conversation into two parts.
It's also important to separate Paris metro France and the rest of France in many of these discussions. I'd visit Paris for a few weeks, but wouldn't live there.
Thanks for commenting. Yes, for sure. It's kind of the same with Lisbon but to a lesser extent than the Paris v Rest divide. What we know from not living in Lisbon is the rest of the country looks at Lisbon with contempt, the same way the rest of Spain looked at Madrid when we lived there. - Josh & Kalie
Funny, I Love Portugal but I agree with Kaylee on Food: France but I'll take a Pastel de Nata everyday to any food! Lol Great video!
So in the end, you agree with both of us. ;-) Pastel de nata FTW! Thanks for watching. - Josh & Kalie
A comparison of how children are treated would also be interesting. In France it is too authoritarian.
Factor in red tape cost as well
Re: healthcare, Portugal’s system seems to be somewhat under strain all over, while France has “medical deserts” where it’s hard to find a doctor or specialist. The other thing to consider is that while everyone gets entitlement to French public healthcare after 90 days of living here, you certainly don’t get it automatically and it can take a very long time to get (months to a year or more). In the meantime you have to save all your medical care receipts so that you can get reimbursed when you finally do have access to public health. And private insurance is much more expensive in France. Everyone has the public system and some people have a mutuelle or private supplementary insurance. Re: taxes, importantly for American retirees, France does not tax your US Social Security at all. So that can be a major savings. OK, I’ll stop commenting now! 😂
Portugal has medical deserts too according to our sources at Serenity Portugal. - Josh & Kalie
@@ExpatsEverywhere If you know where the medical deserts are, you can simply choose to avoid them. Same as places considered unsafe, like certain regions of Marseille. Your "comparison" is clearly from people who know Portugal well and have never lived in France. Also, comparing countries bases on how easy it is to speak English or not change your ways is a lazy way to go.
Live in Portugal… eat in France! I do love the veggies and delicious French Pastries!
Canadian here… who grew up with ‘learning’ French… BUT, despite that it’s difficult to converse BECAUSE, we spent years l trying to learn how to conjugate a verb, instead of how to have a conversation. That’s change now in Canada… but back (way back) when I was in school things were different. That being said… the grammar lessons are all long gone, but I can read French and understand and of course I fairly easily recognize words… but I simply cannot hold a conversation.
I took one Spanish class about a year after I finished high school and learned so much more! (My one year of high school Latin helped!)… so with that, Portuguese is coming quicker to me because I can read it and between French & Spanish, the Latin roots are similar! I can only imagine Portuguese to be easier for anyone who studied Spanish in school… it wasn’t available to us, then.
The Portuguese people are kinder when it comes to non-native speakers… for the most part BUT I recently commented on American ABC’s Robin Roberts Portuguese pronunciations (definitely not perfect) and some Portuguese person ripped a shred on it. She (Ms Robert’s) tried and although not perfect… way better than some ‘travel Portugal’ videos I’ve seen where the presenter bastardized the language! The commenter was very unpleasant and mean-spirited. (ABC Good Morning America did a few videos this week on 🇵🇹) all the Portuguese people I know are far kinder and generous when it comes to Anglos trying their best!
From a Canadian perspective, we have the same issues with ‘La belle Provence’… there are far too many people in Quebec who do not speak a second language. Not a word of comprehension in English. The province is notorious for not encouraging their citizens to at least learn the basics. It’s shameful. French has been forced down Ontario’s throat since the early 60’s.
That's an awesome quote (Live in Portugal... eat in France!). There are many people that would agree with you. Michelle from Honeymoon Always is likely one of them.
That's wild about the person ripping into Robin Roberts' pronunciation. We got it a lot during the early days of our videos in Portugal and people still get riled up at times about how we say Porto like we'd say it in English. Which is funny because in videos we're speaking English and we don't switch and say Lisboa when we're talking about Lisbon because we're...speaking in English. There are Internet jerks everywhere though.
Thanks for writing, Jen! - Josh & Kalie
You nailed it! You are precisely right! You are English-speaking, from the US… speaking English.
Admittedly though, when a so-called Travel show completely destroys ‘names’ of places (ie; they did no homework) that does bother me… could also maybe be robot/ai voices I suppose).
Here’s another one. My friend, who lives in Praia d’el Rey, did a YT video referring to life on ‘The Silver Coast’ and this person ripped in to her about calling it the Silver Coast. Seriously! Said it is not called that anymore! I had to put in my 2 cents. Seriously! You may not call it that but many people still do! Magazines, articles, TH-camrs… ect! Why get on people’s videos or their other social media for that matter and start straight-up arguments?
And for the record, you and Kaley always did your best and were humble (and apologetic) about your pronunciations… we have to learn. No one is born a Polyglot!
Oh, and yes, Michelle and I do agree… on a lot of things, haha! @@ExpatsEverywhere
As a Portuguese who is not into hearty food I say you have plenty to choose from. The traditional food will be a bit too heavy but in my daily life I eat lots of soup, salads and lean meat or fish. They are pretty easy to find at restaurants or cook at home.
@@pvaz I eat fairly simply... but I do love sauces. I don't eat beef or pork (my family did, I never liked it). I like frango (chicken) and some fish, like cod (that which I'm not allergic to). I don't eat out except if visiting company insists. I love my fruits, my veggies and I do love pasta. My reference above was more to my experiences in Paris... I do love French pastries (I find them sweeter & more variety) and I had some great Thai & Indian meals in Paris. Where I come from, we have a great number of restaurants and a fantastic variety of ethnic & cultural options... Most being excellent!
Really glad you did this comparison because as you might know, France is our Plan B if for whatever reason Portugal falls through, so I’ve been doing very similar comparisons between PT and FR. Pretty much all that you found aligns with my own analysis (which I am doing as would-be retiree with passive income almost all of which would be considered “pension” under US-FR tax treaty). In particular, the trade-offs between real estate and daily consumables are as you say, with overall cost of living being a wash depending on which cities you’re comparing. Just so you know, the French city I’ve been targeting because it checks a lot of boxes for me (including the “not Paris” box and “not Porto winters” box) is Toulouse. It has a lot to offer and is relatively more open to foreigners as it’s the EU aerospace hub and is the HQ for Airbus, so there are a lot of international professionals and businessmen there. It’s also the second largest university city in France after Paris. Definitely intriguing option for us since we both have pretty good French-I did my study abroad in France in college-and would probably become functionally fluent after living there a few months. But, my heart’s in Portugal, mainly for the overall vibe among the people and that it is a small country without the big-country issues of a France or Germany. And to have the challenge of learning another language!
Let's tackle Portuguese together. :-) Thanks for watching the video, Gerald. Looking forward to seeing you again. - Josh & Kalie
Oh, man. Bringing up the croissants 😋 my absolute, dream about croissant is the Porto croissant. I want to make another trip just to eat those! The thing i need to get my head around is taxes. I'm hoping🤞PT will bring back some version on the NHR by the time I retire and move to Europe. This video is just what I've been looking for - I'm tossed up between PT and FR 🤷♀️
Miranda, some people love that Porto croissant. :-) We hope our content is helping with the whole tax situation if nothing else, reach out to a couple tax specialist and get some pro formas done. - Josh & Kalie
Not watched all of this yet but will when I can . Initially I’d say portugal every day of the week , friendliness of locals , food and weather portugal wins , plus the amount of Eastern European immigrants in France especially in Paris is insane , it’s what I want to get away from
France in metro Paris and France everywhere else are almost two separate countries.
Thanks for commenting. We hope you were able to finish watching it all. :-) - Josh & Kalie
@@ExpatsEverywhereyup another great vid . Portugal wins by a country mile on nearly all of those categories for me . A little biased as I was married to a Portuguese girl for 16 years and got married in Espinho near Porto . Sadly didn’t get dual citizenship before we hit hard times and split .
I’ll be retiring to the algarve in 5 years with any luck , so doing a vid on retirement visas and the bare minimum needed to retire if we bought a place would be a great watch for me .
👍
France beats Portugal for trains and roads, for sure.
I wish the rail system was better in Portugal. But, it sucks in the US, so…🤷🏽♀️
Yea, their infrastructure is one of the best around. - Josh & Kalie
Technically you can’t “bring your US job” with you to France. There’s no provision for Digital Nomads to work here. (Some people say it’s technically possible if you’re here only for a short time, but that’s very much a grey area.) If you get transferred to France by a US company that you work for, your salary will be lower to jibe with the local salary levels.
Or you own your own company and take dividends. ;-) - Josh & Kalie
France for food hands down. Not a fan of Portuguese food.
Fair enough. - Josh & Kalie
Definitely France....
Thanks for sharing. - Josh & Kalie
01:59 Comparing Porto with Marseille is a bit of a cheat. Porto is a European-level tourist destination, Marseille is not. Of course accomodation is more expensive in Porto if you look in that regard, it's not that of a shocker.
03:16 Worse than Sweden? Interesting.
20:34 The airport argument isn't really that valid though. Just like in Portugal, big French infrastructures like airports are also very centered around Paris and the bigger cities. If you go to any place outside of those cities there are literally zero airports in a big radius of distance.
24:57 Well, it may have surprised you (Kaylie) because Northern Portugal (and the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula in general) is one of the rainiest regions in all of Europe - and I know you live in Porto. Meanwhile Southern Portugal is not one of the least rainiest in Europe but still the contrast between regions is big. Since France is mostly flat the contrast between regions is way less than in Portugal, which makes the average go up and above Portugal's.
And about rain days, that's not really surprising to anybody that knows Portuguese and French climates. In all of Portugal, including the North, there is a really well defined dry season during the Summer where rain is scarce for two to four months, while in most of France (except for the Mediterranean areas) that rainy season is not really a thing.
28:05 The thing is that the Portuguese tax regime is made by using the wages the Portuguese actually earn, and those wages are really low if you look at what is the general average for the US or Western Europe. It sucks.
My Portuguese father who lives in the states but is currently vacationing in Portugal was robbed a couple days ago as soon as he arrived to Porto. Portugal’s crime has risen quite a bit. Clearly, I’m Portuguese so no hate against Portugal, but thought that I would mention this. I go to Portugal every year. Things are changing quickly. Please be vigilant.
Yes, it's true. Just within the past 12 months it's changed. - Josh & Kalie
France and US tax treaty gives US retirees 0% tax in US sourced income.
More or less true-you are taxed only by US for income the tax treaty recognizes as equivalent to a French pension (Social Security, IRAs, 401(b), etc.), which will be less than on France’s progressive tax scale for income, but you need to do the overall comparative numbers for other living costs for specific areas (food, dining out, everyday items, entertainment, transportation, etc.) to get a more accurate sense of cost for of living. France is more expensive in general on the day-to-day things, which might offset annual taxes paid to Uncle Sam.
Gotta love those tax treaties. - Josh & Kalie
As someone who failed French in university, it is difficult to learn. #goPortugal 😂.
That's one course in high school and college that I highly regret not taking...French.
The Portuguese food is very good but it is little advertised. Portuguese food has more influence in the world ranging from Brazil ,Africa, India, Malaysia , Japan , etc.
HAHA, that's funny. Thanks for the comment. - Josh & Kalie
French food is completely over rated but no one dares to criticise it. Lacks variety and is bland but the quality of produce in france is the best imo. I love the produce but french food is bland and non innovative
:-) - Josh & Kalie
I think you have a stereotyped idea of what "French food" is. There is a huge variety of regional French food with different influences depending on where you live.
Culturally, France had (and still has, of course) a much higher degree of influence within the borders of Europe. Still, Portugal completely changed the world - and it was the first European nation to do just that after the Romans. Besides establishing the first global empire, Portugal was the main responsible for asserting European influence across the globe. Let's not forget that, by the Late Middle Ages, Europe was a relative backwater compared to China, India and the Ottoman Empire - these three regions were far wealthier, more influential, more populous, and more powerful than any country in Europe, or, for that matter, more powerful than Europe taken together. We have this erroneous 'Eurocentric' or 'American' view of the world that just assumes that Europe was always more influential than Asia throughout the millennia. It ain't so. Quite the opposite, in fact. But Portugal, by discovering a sea route to India, China and the Far East, including Japan - and then, by defeating a large coalition of Asian powers at the naval Battle of Diu - completely changed the balance of power. From that battle onwards, Europeans started their ascension. The Spanish, the Dutch, the English and the German just followed Portugal's lead. However, Portugal's influence over the world is much more 'unknown and subterranean' compared to that of other countries - mainly, because Portugal (and Spain, to a lesser degree) lost its influence over the past 250 years. Not good for marketing purposes. Such a tiny country, peripheral and with no natural resources to industrialize properly, was bound to lose it. Besides, it always amazes me that so much credit is given to Christopher Columbus and no credit is given to Vasco da Gama, for instance. For Columbus, crossing the Atlantic only took 10 weeks in relatively calm waters with no major barriers; da Gama's sailed over a much, much larger expanse of oceans (Atlantic and Indian), and he faced the doldrums and the terrible Cape of Good Hope (alas, named by the Portuguese, as so many new lands for Europeans), which were huge barriers to any mariner back in the 15th century; then, da Gama burst into an ocean (Indian) choke full of well-armed, rich enemies (the Muslims). Columbus was no mariner compared to Portuguese sailors such as Magellan, da Gama or Bartholomew Dias. I would dare to say that, compared to its size, Portugal was the most influential country ever. That explains, for instance, why, by the number of native speakers, Portuguese is much larger than French (it is the third European language in that ranking, with French not even in the top 15) and why Portuguese gastronomy is much more influential than French cuisine - don't believe me? Ok, just watch this amazing video: th-cam.com/video/eiXtAPfMj6o/w-d-xo.html. Again, Portuguese influence was huge and can only be compared to the influence of Spain and England. If today the countries and continents are structured as they are (with all the good and the bad parts of it), thank the Portuguese.
I will take Portugal any time.
Correct….the south of France is very friendly.
Paris and Parisiens suck.
Thanks for sharing. - Josh & Kalie
You are exploding the AVECS FLOOD (portuguese imigrants in france, going back into portugal on august vacaciones) reaction ww3....
LOL - Josh & Kalie
with the tax incentive gone France crushes Portugal in every way
Let´s talk about the elephant in room about safety in France and other Western European countries. Let´s talk about illegal mass migration from third world countries !
Slavery, Portugal
Same as France.
After Portugal and Great Britain, France was the third most active power involved in the transatlantic Slave Trade. Between 1551 and 1875, 1,381,404 African people were transported by force to the New World on ships flying the French flag, according to the Slave Voyages Database.
You are INCORRECT.
The WORLD TODAY is what it is because of the Portuguese explorers.
You are living today in Porto because of them.
The world is what it is today by a large series of events and influences, no? To say it's all because of Portuguese explorers is hyperbole. - Josh & Kalie
Portuguese food is awful compared to French food, I have yet to find a decent steak anywhere in Portugal.
Yes I agree and now it is even worse, the quality in restaurants is awful and they are expensive 7 years here and I am ready to move. Paris was for us an endless of food possibilities and so much diversity than portugal
I sadly have to agree. I'm not crazy about Portuguese food. When I've gone to Portugal I find myself eating other ethnic foods instead. Sorry, Portugal. I still HIGHLY love you, though.😊
And steak is one of the few french dishes…
I totally disagree because you are using as your measure something-a steak-that is not at all representative of Portuguese cuisine. You just don’t like steak in Portugal. Try any number of fish, seafood, pork, and chicken dishes and you might have a different opinion. Beef as such isn’t really a Portuguese strength, so it’s really not fair to condemn the entire cuisine just because you can get a better steak in France (which I’m sure is true).
good Portuguese food is found in people's homes.
Portugal has done much more by the world than France, Portugal gave new worlds to the world when Europe even did´nt know those lands existed
As an American, the role of France in our journey to independence cannot be overstated. I'm just glad we're all on the side of democracy now 😎 ❤
Tell that to the Native Americans. :-(
Both countries had their roles and important historic events , i might say portugal's exploration era, was very significant for european history, it open the world to europe.
Ridiculous comparison…typical Americans 😂