Lisbon, Portugal — Attractions
Castelo de Sao Jorge
The walls of Saint George's Castle, sitting atop a hill guarding the Tagus, date from the Moorish occupation in the 10th century, but the site has been a fortress for centuries, possibly from 500 AD. The castle is regarded as the cradle of Lisbon, and today it provides a panoramic view of the River Tagus and the Alfama medieval district, which is spread out below it. Visitors can walk the esplanades and climb the ramparts. A multimedia show is available during the day which brings alive the history of Lisbon. The castle grounds are planted with olive, pine and cork trees and provide a pleasant spot to relax.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Phone Number
- 218 800 620
- Email Address
- castelodesaojorge@egeac.pt
- Website
- www.castelodesaojorge.pt
- Transport
- Bus 37 or tram 12 or 38
- Hours
- Daily, 9am to 6pm (November to February) and 9am to 9pm (March to October)
- Admission
- EUR7, concessions available
Alfama
The oldest part of Lisbon, the Alfama quarter sprawls down the hillside from below the Castelo de Sao Jorge, retaining much of the traditional color and atmosphere from the days when it was the ancient seat of the Saracens. Along the narrow cobblestone alleyways are taverns and street markets, interspersed with close-packed houses still occupied by stevedores, fishmongers and sailors. At the edge of the Alfama, Lisbon's renowned flea market, the Feira da Ladra, is held in the Campo de Santa Clara every Tuesday and Saturday. The Alfama is also full of historic buildings and churches, which are well worth exploring. Some of the buildings display fading coats of arms, which bear testimony to the fact that the Alfama was once home to aristocrats. At night the Alfama takes on a more mysterious aspect with street lanterns throwing shadows on the medieval walls, and it is advisable to avoid the area after dark in favor of the Bairro Alto café and nightclub district.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
Sé de Lisboa
Although this cathedral in Largo da Se in the Alfama district is not outwardly appealing, it was the first church in Lisbon, built on the site of a Saracen mosque after the city was captured by the Crusaders in the 12th century. Inside, this ancient church features some treasures, like the font where St Anthony of Padua was baptized in 1195, and numerous notable relics, images and icons.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Phone Number
- 21 886 6752
- Transport
- Tram 28
- Hours
- Daily, 10am to 7pm.
- Admission
- Free
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Gulbenkian was an Armenian oil magnate who died in 1955 having put together one of the world's finest private art collections. The collection is now housed in a modern center where the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation sponsors a host of cultural and performing arts projects, and has a rotating exhibition of works by Portuguese and foreign artists. The Gulbenkian collection itself covers Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Islamic ceramics and textiles, Syrian treasures, Chinese ceramics, Japanese prints and lacquerware and European medieval illuminated manuscripts. The collection is so vast and varied as to be breathtaking. Among the paintings are two Rembrandts, a Rubens and a Renoir.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Avenue de Berna 45A
- Phone Number
- 21 782 3000
- Website
- www.museu.gulbenkian.pt
- Transport
- Bus 16, 726, 56, 718, 742 or metro to S. Sebastião or Praça de Espanha stations
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5.45pm
- Admission
- EUR4, concessions available.
Bairro Alto
The Bairro Alto district (literally the Upper City) is, like the Alfama, an historic enclave dating from 1513, which is reached in a novel way via the Santa Justa Elevator (a structure reminiscent of the Eiffel tower in Paris) from the lower city. The colorful district resounds to the calls of vendors and fishmongers, and the windows and balconies are festooned with laundry and bird cages. At night the area comes alive with some of the finest fado cafes in the city, along streets lit by Victorian lanterns. Fado is the famous brand of music and dance brought to Portugal by African slaves in the 19th century, characterized by songs of sadness and despair, and there is no better place in Portugal to experience this musical genre than in the Bairro Alto of Lisbon.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
Monument to the Discoveries
One of the most famous sights in Lisbon is the imposing Padrão dos Descobrimentos, situated on the riverbank in the Avenida de Brasilia in the district of Belem and designed to commemorate the Portuguese Age of Discovery. Belem, where the Tagus meets the sea, is the point from which the maritime explorers of yore set forth in their sailing ships to discover the world. The monument was unveiled in 1960 on the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1460, the monarch who was largely responsible for Portugal's role in world exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries. The massive monument takes the form of a caravel with Prince Henry at the prow, backed by images of renowned mariners, royal patrons and others who participated in the golden age of discovery.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Phone Number
- 21 303 1950
- Transport
- Bus 27, 28, 43 or 49
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 6pm.
Tower of Belem
The famous Tower of Belem is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of Lisbon's most photographed landmarks because of the decoration on its exterior. The outer walls are adorned with a stone-carved rope and beautiful openwork balconies, along with Moorish watchtowers and battlements shaped like shields. The tower was built in the 16th century to serve as a fortress in the middle of the River Tagus.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Avenida de Brasilia
- Phone Number
- 21 362 0034
- Website
- www.mosteirojeronimos.pt
- Transport
- Bus 27, 28, 29, 43, 49 or 51; tram 15
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm (October to April), 10am to 6.30pm (May to September)
- Admission
- EUR7 (adults), free for children under 14. Concessions available
Parque das Nacoes
Lisbon's exhibition park was upgraded and renamed for the Expo '98 world exposition, which revitalized the city and brought international tourists and interest flooding in. The site is now worthy of a full day's sightseeing, featuring several attractions, not least of which is the Lisbon Oceanarium with its 15,000 living examples of marine life. The main tank holds enough water to fill four Olympic-sized swimming pools, and is viewed from two floors through curved glass panels that provide a 180-degree view. Another popular diversion is the Virtual Reality Pavilion, which showcases the Portuguese age of discovery. Other attractions include a science center, cable car, the Vasco da Gama Tower and numerous bars and restaurants offering Portuguese cuisine.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Avenue D. João II, Lote
- Phone Number
- 218 919 333
- Email Address
- info@parquedasnacoes.pt
- Website
- www.parquedasnacoes.pt
- Transport
- Buses, trains and the metro go to Oriente Station
- Hours
- Oceanarium: daily 10am to 8pm (until 7pm in winter)
Fatima
In 1917 the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared above an oak tree and spoke to three peasant children in the valley of Cova da Iria, 88 miles (142km) north of Lisbon. The children claimed to have seen the apparition on five different occasions, and the spot has now become one of the great pilgrimage shrines of the world, known as Fatima. Between May and October the 13th day of every month is pilgrimage day, when hundreds of the faithful gather in a square twice the size of St Peter's in Rome before the Chapel of the Apparitions. The original oak tree is gone, but has been replaced by a simple white column inside a basilica, which is flanked by statues of the saints.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
Setúbal
A popular touring destination 25 miles (40km) south of Lisbon is Setúbal, one of Portugal's oldest cities, renowned for producing the most delicious muscadel wine in the world. The city is also the center of Portugal's sardine industry and has been a fish-salting center since the 1st century. White mounds of sea salt drying in the sun are a familiar part of the local landscape. There are some outstanding beaches near the city and some pretty countryside dotted with orange groves, orchards and vineyards.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Phone Number
- 265 539 120 (Setúbal Tourist Office)
Cristo Rei
Like the iconic Christ the Redeemer in Rio, the Cristo Rei spreads his massive arms as if to embrace all of Lisbon. Situated on the bank of the Tejo River opposite the city, the statue is over 328 feet (100m) tall, and provides amazing panoramic views of the city from the top, which you can reach by elevator.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Hours
- 9am-6pm daily
- Admission
- EUR5 for the elevator to the top.
Oceanario de Lisboa (Lisbon Oceanarium)
Marketed as the second best aquarium in the world, the world-class Lisbon Oceanarium is the most impressive achievement of EXPO '98, which used to be an abandoned waterfront. The centerpiece of the stone and glass building is the 1.3-million gallon (5-million liter) holding tank and the Oceanarium consists of four distinct ecosystems that replicate the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Antarctic oceans, each featuring the aboveground birds, amphibians, and reptiles associated with those waters. Otters splash and dive in the warmer Pacific waters, while penguins shuffle around in their tuxedos in the Antarctic section. This attraction is one that the Portuguese nation is proud of and is an absolute must-see for the whole family.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Esplanada d. Carlos I
- Phone Number
- 21 891 7002
- Website
- www.oceanario.pt
- Hours
- Daily, 10am to 8pm (summer) and 10am to 7pm (winter)
- Admission
- EUR12 (adults) and EUR6 (children under 12). Concessions available.
Museu de Marinha (Maritime Museum)
With such maritime icons as Vasco de Gama and Bartolomeu Dias, its no wonder that Portugal's Maritime Museum is one of the best in Europe, evoking a sense of what it was like when the victorious Portuguese dominated the high seas. Visitors can marvel at the hundreds of models of 15th- to 19th-century sailing ships, merchant marine vessels, fishing boats and pleasure boats as well as a full range of Portuguese naval uniforms, including one worn at a Mozambique military outpost in 1896.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Praça do Império
- Phone Number
- 21 362 0019
- Hours
- 10am to 5pm (October to April) and 10am to 6pm (May to September); closed Mondays.
- Admission
- EUR4 (adult) and EUR2 (6 - 18 years), free for children under 6. Concessions available.
Colombo Amusement Park
Kids will love the indoor amusement park at the Colombo Shopping Center, happily entertained by taking rides on the roller coaster, playing video games, going bowling and racing go-carts. The center also boasts a vast selection of cinemas, restaurants and shops for families to enjoy together.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Centro Colombo, Lusíada Avenue.
- Phone Number
- 217 11 36 36
- Website
- www.colombo.pt
Vasco da Gama Aquarium
The Vasco da Gama Aquarium is a great attraction for children in Lisbon. This aquarium is home to cute little seals with ears (otariids), which all kids will love to see. As well as its wonderful collection of live fish and sea life, there are also preserved water birds, fish and mammals from King Carlos' oceanographic expeditions on display.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Rua Direita do Dafundo
- Phone Number
- 214 196 337
- Website
- aquariovgama.marinha.pt
- Hours
- Daily 10am to 6pm
- Admission
- EUR3 (adult), EUR1.50 (6-17), free for children under 6
Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium
Older kids are enthralled by a visit to the Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium. Here they are invited to explore the universe and its bounty of astronomical wonders. The planetarium hosts astronomical shows daily, offering an entertaining and educational experience for young minds.
- Region/City Name
- Lisbon
- Address
- Praça do Império, Belém
- Phone Number
- 213 620 002
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm
- Admission
- EUR4 (adults), EUR2 (10-18s), free for children 6-9. Children under 6 only admitted on Sunday mornings.
