Gare do Oriente (Lisbon Orient Station) at Parque das Nacoes (Park of Nations), Lisbon, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

flickr Editorial/Getty Images


Designed by acclaimed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the space-age Gare do Oriente is an extraordinary vaulted structure, with slender columns fanning out into a concertina roof to create a kind of geometric crystalline forest.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Caminho da Água

0.31 MILES

Portuguese muralist Rigo designed this splash-happy boardwalk. Watch blue-mosaic volcanoes erupt spontaneously or relax on one of the wave-shaped benches…

2. Feira Internacional de Lisboa

0.46 MILES

Designed by Portuguese architects Barreiros Ferreira and França Dória, the striking, crystalline FIL is Lisbon’s premier venue for exhibitions and trade…

3. Pavilhão do Conhecimento

0.5 MILES

Kids won’t grumble about science at the interactive Pavilhão do Conhecimento, where they can run riot in the adult-free unfinished house, get dizzy on a…

4. Oceanário de Lisboa

0.52 MILES

The closest you’ll get to scuba diving without a wetsuit, Oceanário is mind-blowing. With 8000 marine creatures splashing in 7 million litres of seawater,…

5. Jardim Garcia de Orta

0.58 MILES

Bristling with exotic foliage from Portugal’s former colonies, the Garcia de Orta Garden is named after a 16th-century Portuguese naturalist and pioneer…

6. Torre Vasco da Gama

0.72 MILES

No, that's not Dubai! Shaped like the sail of explorer Vasco da Gama’s mighty caravel, this 145m-high, concrete-and-steel skyscraper was designed by…

7. Ponte Vasco da Gama

1.37 MILES

Vanishing into a watery distance, the Vasco da Gama Bridge is Europe’s longest, stretching 17.2km across the Rio Tejo.

8. Campo Pequeno Bullring

2.94 MILES

This red-brick, neo-Moorish building built in 1892 hosts big concerts and other events, including bullfighting, and houses a museum. Below the stadium is…