Showing 1-12 of 12 results
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Casa dos Bicos
This whimsical 16th-century mansion was one of the few to survive the 1755 earthquake. Built by Afonso de Albuquerque, former viceroy to India, it's known as the House of 'Points' or 'Spikes' because of its diamond-shaped stone facade. As it houses the Comemorações dos Descobrimentos organisation, the interior is not open to the public, except for special events.
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Gare do Oriente
Fabulous Gare do Oriente station was designed by world-renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. With the redevelopment of the area for the '98 Expo, this station was many people's first glimpse of the Expo site - and of Calatrava. Famed for his open buildings and bridges, Calatrava created an airy, vaulted structure with an almost skeletal frame.
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Igreja de São Vicente de Fora
Founded in 1147, this monastery - 'St Vincent of Outside', as it was outside the city walls - was built on the burial sites of foreign crusaders and later, between 1582 and 1627, reconstructed by the master of the Italian Renaissance, Felipe Terzi. In 1755's earthquake, the roof and dome collapsed on worshippers. Building works continued until the early 18th century, when finally the canons got to live here in peace, that is, until 1834 when religious orders were banished.
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Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India inspired the glorious Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, a Unesco World Heritage site with an architectural exuberance that trumpets 'navigational triumph'. It later became a pantheon for Manuel I and his royal descendants (many now entombed in its chancel and side chapels). Huge sums were funnelled into the project, including pepper money, a 5% tax on income from the spice trade with African and Far Eastern colonies.
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Padrão dos Descobrimentos
The huge limestone Padrão dos Descobrimentos, inaugurated in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of Henry the Navigator's death, is shaped like a stylised caravel, chock-full of Portuguese bigwigs. At the prow is Henry himself; behind him are explorers Vasco da Gama, Diogo Cão and Fernão de Magalhães, poet Luís de Camões, painter Nuno Gonçalves and 27 other good-and-greats.
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Ponte de Vasco da Gama
An extraordinary Expo 98 initiative, this 17,185m (56,380ft) long and 30m (98ft) wide bridge is Europe's longest bridge, with foundations extending 85m (279ft) below sea level. It has also been built to withstand 250kmph winds and an earthquake 4.5 times stronger than the 1755 calamity. Check it out from the fine vantage point of the Teleférico at the park.
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Praça do Comércio
The city's grandest square is Praça do Comércio, an architectural fanfare of Portugal's wealth and might. All visitors arriving by river or sea used to disembark here, and the huge square still feels like the city's portal, with Joaquim Machado de Castro's bronze equestrian statue of Dom José I; the 18th-century, arcaded government ministries along three sides; and Verissimo da Costa's Arco da Victória, the arch opening onto Rua Augusta. The stock exchange was once on the southeastern corner. Before the destructive 1755 earthquake, the praça (town square) was called Terreiro do Paço (Palace Sq), after the royal Palácio da Ribeira that overlooked it until the morning of 1 November 1755. In 1908 the square witnessed the death of the monarchy, when anarchists assassinated Dom Carlos I and his son.
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Praça do Município
Just off the Praça do Comércio's northwestern corner, the smaller Praça do Município is dominated on the eastern side by the 1874 Paços do Concelho (town hall) where the republic was proclaimed from its balcony on 5 October 1910; on the southern side by the former marine arsenal; and centrally a finely carved, 18th-century pelourinho (pillory).
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Praça do Príncipe Real
The Praça do Príncipe Real is a relaxing shady square around which is Lisbon's principal gay district.
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Rossio & Praça da Figueira
The northernmost boundary of the Baixa is this pair of squares, a meeting place for Lisbon's multicultural population, filled with hustle, bustle, cafés and fountains. You are bound to cross these squares repeatedly during your visit - all roads seem to lead here.
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Torre de Belém
One of Belém's highlights and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this whimsical white Manueline masterpiece was built in 1515 as an offshore watchtower to protect the city's harbour. Designed by Diogo and Francisco Arruda for King Manuel I, it is wonderfully detailed with the flamboyant flourishes and maritime motifs of the Manueline style.
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Torre Vasco da Gama
The 140m-high Torre Vasco da Gama at the Parque das Nações has panoramic views of the park, river and city, and an upmarket restaurant.
Showing 1-12 of 12 results
