The route starts at the border town of
Valença at the
Minho river coming from the
Spanish city of
Vigo in the
Norte Region. It follows
Portuguese highway A3 by
Braga to the second largest city in
Portugal Porto. From this coastal city on the
Atlantic Ocean, the E1 goes southwest, using the
A1 motorway to the
Centro Region passing by the major cities of
Coimbra and
Leiria to the Portuguese capital
Lisbon. The motorway passes through the city center, from where it takes the
A2 motorway crossing the sparsely populated
Alentejo Region all the way until the south coast in the
Algarve region at the merge with the
A22 motorway at
Albufeira. The road goes then east passing by
Faro to the
Spanish border at the
Guadiana river in the Portuguese village of
Castro Marim. The E1 is one of the most important highways in
Portugal as it connects several major cities north to south. The E1 covers a total distance of 748 km (465 mi) within Portugal. == Detailed route ==