If Visiting Lisbon with Kids, Plan on a Visit to the Jardim Zoológico: Small by international standards, Lisbon's zoo, the Jardim Zoológico de Lisboa (Zoological Garden) nevertheless houses over 2,000 animals ranging over 400 species. Before visiting the animal enclosures, take a cable car ride and enjoy an aerial view of the zoo and its inhabitants. For a different perspective, there's also the Zoo train. At the Jardim Zoológico, lions roam a large display and make their presence … [Read more...]
Castelo de Sao Jorge – A Castle Dedicated to St. George
June 29, 2010 by
Castelo Sao Jorge was the Royal Palace of a Line of Portugal's Monarchs: Like many famous cities in Europe, Lisbon's roots are centuries old. But few proofs of that are so evident here as that of Castelo de Sao Jorge, Lisbon's Saint George's Castle. First begun in the 6th century by late Romans, it bears a strong stamp of the Moors who inhabited the region after the Visigoths. Conquering the site in the 8th century, the Saracens performed much of the construction on the castle. With the … [Read more...]
Lisbon Sightseeing on a Hop-on Hop-off Tour
February 10, 2010 by
Discovering the Sights of Lisbon is as easy as Hopping on and off: Discovering Lisbon on your own is easy with a hop-on hop-off sightseeing tour. Hop-on hop-off tours give you the freedom to discover Lisbon at your own pace as you can stop at places of interest for as long as you like. You'll see all the beautiful sights of Lisbon in the comfortable and secure environment of your sightseeing bus, with full commentary provided. The best way to experience the perfect introduction and … [Read more...]
Portugal’s Age of Discovery
December 4, 2009 by
An Amazing Period of Conquests and Discoveries: In front of the Monument to the Discoveries is another of Lisbon's sightseeing attractions, a huge mariner's compass, cut into the stone pavement. The compass was a gift from South Africa in 1960 and the central map shows the routes of Portugal's maritime expeditions and discoveries in the 15th and 16th centuries. Walk around the map and you'll see images of mermaids, galleons and indication of which direction the trade winds were … [Read more...]
Monument to the Overseas Combatants – Lisbon
December 4, 2009 by
A Striking Monument on the Lisbon Waterfront: One of the more recent additions of significant monuments to Lisbon's waterfront is the Monument to the Overseas Combatants. This eye-catching Lisbon attraction commemorates all the people involved in the wars that Portugal was involved with overseas. The architect's concept of having a simple design is so that people can focus what the monument represents rather than its details. A more elaborate sculptural or architectural form may … [Read more...]
Belem Tower – an iconic monument on Lisbon's waterfront
October 3, 2009 by
A symbol of Portugal's great era of expansion: Torre de Belem or Belem Tower sits at the mouth of the Tagus and guards the entrance to the city. It's another of Lisbon's iconic attractions on the Lisbon waterfront. Belem Tower was built as a fortress in the middle of the Tagus in 1515-21 and it was from here that the caravels set out to discover the trade routes. When Manuel I came to power in 1495, he prospered from the expansionary period and commissioned grandiose monuments to reflect the … [Read more...]
Lisbon Sightseeing | Monument to the Discoveries
October 3, 2009 by
Portugal's early discoverers stand prominently at the waterfront: We were taught about Vasco da Gama and his early discoveries at school, but during those days I found the history lessons pretty dry and hard going. Between the heat of the afternoon tropical sun, our non-airconditioned classrooms, and history lessons that were so distant to our day-to-day lives, I wasn't sure which was causing me doze off more. Had I known that one day I'll be standing on the very spot where those early … [Read more...]