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The Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU took place between July 1st and December 31st, 2007

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Lisbon

Lisbon

- History
- Tourism
- Economy
- Transportation
- Culture
- Leisure
- Gastronomy
- Monuments and other places of interest
- To know more
- Meetings taking place in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon, the white city, bathed by a light that down through the centuries has inspired writers, poets and artists, rises on its seven hills which then bend downwards to the Tagus river. Capital of Portugal, Lisbon is one of the most enchanting cities of Europe due to its particular characteristics. Monumental, frenetic, modern, cosmopolitan, Lisbon is also, all at the same time, a welcoming and quiet, romantic city. A mixture which enchants all those who visit and which is no more than the result of century after century of History.

History

Aqueduto das Águas Livres

Legend has it that the city of Lisbon was founded by Ulysses. However, what is certain is that archaeological finds have proved that the city was founded by the Phoenicians in 1200 B.C. The city grew up the hillside of the castle, a strategic point in Lisbon with its view of the Tagus and the Pombaline downtown. After the Phoenicians, the city was occupied by other peoples such as the Greeks and the Carthaginians.

However, it was with the Romans that Lisbon started to grow and develop. Baptised Olissipo, the city became an important commercial port which led to the construction of many buildings, temples, spas, palaces and villas. When the Moors occupied Lisbon in 719, it became even more important. Surrounded by a wall, the Cerca Moura, the city outgrew its limits with the building of new quarters.

It was to be over 400 hundred years later, in 1147, that Lisbon was conquered from the Moors by D. Afonso Henriques and his army of Crusaders. It became the capital of the Kingdom in 1255.

Throughout the Middle Ages the city grew in stature, and became an important economic and cultural centre of the Iberian Peninsula.

The city reached its heights in the 16th Century, at the time of the Discoveries. Lisbon was the starting point for the seagoing expeditions, such as that of Vasco da Gama, who discovered the sea route to India. The Portuguese capital became known as the commercial capital of Europe.

And it was this time of great expansion, marked by the building of various monuments, when Lisbon turned into such a unique city. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the Torre de Belém are considered as the most noteworthy examples of the Manueline style of architecture, inspired by maritime themes, to celebrate the conquest of the Seas. These two monuments form part of the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

It was also in Lisbon where the main revolt occurred which led to the Restoration of Independence in 1640, after 60 years of Spanish rule. A few years went by, and D. João V ordered the building of the extraordinary public work, the Aqueduto das Águas Livres. This huge work ensured the regular supply of water to the whole city. It was also in his reign that the Pope granted the archbishop of Lisbon the honorary title of Patriarch and automatic nomination as Cardinal, hence the title «Patriarch Cardinal of Lisbon».

But the greatest natural catastrophe in its history, the devastating earthquake of 1755, almost completely razed the city, and had an enormous socio-economic and political impact on 18th Century Portuguese society. Reconstruction was carried out by the Marquês de Pombal, Minister of War and future Prime Minister of Portugal - hence the name the Pombaline Downtown.

Less than a year after the earthquake every ruin had been cleared in Lisbon and reconstruction work was going ahead. The King wanted a new, planned city and the wide, rectangular main squares and boulevards marked out the new city. The squares of Rossio and Terreiro do Paço were also planned at this time, through a small urban and open square design. The latter had a beautiful arcade in front of the Tagus.

In the 19th Century liberalism brought about a new communal lifestyle, with the growth of a café and theatre culture. In 1879 the city expanded to other areas further away from the river with the opening of Avenida da Liberdade.
In 1910 Lisbon witnessed the end of the Monarchy and the formation of the Republic.

In the 1960s the bridge over the river Tagus was constructed, which enabled better access to the capital.
And in was in Lisbon in 1974 that the Carnation Revolution occurred, which brought an end to the totalitarian regime of António Salazar.

Since then the city has developed beyond its own boundaries, with the building of new urbanisation areas, the rehabilitation of historic quarters and the building of the Vasco da Gama Bridge, opened in 1998. A modern city which has known how to preserve its past and look to the future. A city of multiple contrasts between the past and the future.

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Tourism

Belém Tower

Lisbon is one of the most cosmopolitan cities of Europe. Not to mention being visited by thousands of tourists. It is a modern city, full of intentions to be a great tourist centre. Of note are the characteristic quarters of the city which are a must-see due to their culture, history, architecture and people, who have managed to pass on their traditions down the years. Castelo, Alfama, Mouraria, Bairro Alto, Madragoa, Chiado or Belém recount the history of the city.

The Bairro Alto is one of the most paradigmatic and attractive quarters of Lisbon. It became known as a lively and characteristic part of the city from the 19th Century onwards. It has a true neighbourhood spirit, and its memories are linked to a literary tradition, attracting the press, along with the Bohemian lifestyle to reactivate new places where you can come together to share a cultural way of life which still exists even nowadays. There you find various clothing and design shops and countless bars, which give the area such an important place in the nightlife of the city. Hundreds of people with different cultures and styles fill the streets of the quarter to spend a lively night together.

If you go down from the Bairro Alto to Chiado, you will find the meeting point for intellectuals and artists. It is one of the most chic and affluent parts of Lisbon, where the ateliers of some of the most famous artists are located. It was a place frequented by modernist intellectuals and since that time has become associated with a cosmopolitan Lisbon containing a strong intellectual, liberal, modernist and romantic - component. Here is where you can find the famous A Brasilieira Café.

The Alfama region, just below the castle, had its origins in a medieval quarter located inside the walls, and is today a romantic and bustling place, known as the heart of Lisbon. From here you can walk up to the Castle of São Jorge, where the history of the city began, and view the impressive site which it provides over the city. This is of course one of the most visited tourist sites of Lisbon.

Travel further down to the Pombaline Downtown, one of the most picturesque places in the city, where there is a vast array of shops, from the most radical to the most classical, as well as the main theatres of the capital. Then head for Terreiro do Paço, the maritime port of the city.

Afterwards go to Avenida da Liberdade and shop in the most chic and luxurious shops of Lisbon. An area of luxury hotels, it is one of the preferred destinations of millions of tourists and travelling businessmen and women.

You should also visit the viewpoints of Santa Luzia, Graça, Santa Catarina or the das Portas do Sol and lose yourself gazing over the city.

Finally, and to the west of the city, lies Belém, a place where you can admire the major monuments built to commemorate the Portuguese Discoveries It was from here, the strategically located Bélem («Bethlehem»), that the ships making up the major Portuguese expeditions set sail.

The eastern part of the city is where you can find the most modern buildings in the city, which were built for Expo 98 in Parque das Nações, a place also worthy of a visit. This large area played host to the World Exhibition in 1998 and was designed with public use in mind. The concept alongside the project for the eastern part of Lisbon included an ample and diversified set of urban facilities which would remain available for the city in the post-Expo period. The new Parque das Nações offers a comprehensive set of facilities for leisure, commercial and cultural activities, examples of which include the Oceanarium, the Pavilhão do Conhecimento, the Pavilhão Atlântico and the recently completed Lisbon Casino, which also presents a great variety of shows.

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Economy

Lisbon is considered the wealthiest city in Portugal, and has a per capita GNP higher than the European average. Its port is the most active on the European Atlantic Coast and is equipped with three quays where cruise ships can moor. The city also has many marina for recreational craft.

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Transportation

Lisbon possesses an excellent transport infrastructure, making it a city of easy access. The international airport is located 7 km from the city centre with daily flights to and from the main cities in Europe and the rest of the world.

Lisbon has excellent road access, with the A1 motorway, the 25 de Abril bridge, as well as the Vasco da Gama bridge, one of the largest bridges in the world, and the CREL, A5 and IC19 roads are the ones most frequently used to reach the capital from most points in the country.

You can also reach the city by train, which stops at the Oriente station in Parque das Nações, a work of art designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava, and at the Santa Apolónia terminus, in the centre of the city. These stations have direct links to metro and coach connections.

Inside the city there is a network of various buses, an underground with five lines, an overground railway, and in the older parts of the city, the emblematic trams.

There is also a river transport network, which connects the two banks of the Tagus river.

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Culture

Detail of Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Lisbon is full of historical and cultural monuments, and has much to offer. Of note are the Castle of São Jorge, on the highest hill in the centre of the city, the Cathedral of Lisbon which dates from the 11th Century, the Convent of Carmo, the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the Torre de Belém, both built by D. Manuel I in the 16th Century, in the time of the Discoveries, and which today are both classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos took one hundred years to be finished and it is considered the jewel in the Manueline style of architecture and nowadays it houses the Maritime Museum, the Museum of Archaeology and the Church of Santa Maria Belém, besides the tombs of three great Portuguese men, Vasco da Gama, Luís Vaz de Camões and Fernando Pessoa.

Also in Belém, but more recently, another monument was built in 1960 - the Padrão dos Descobrimentos - to celebrate the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Infante D. Henrique.

The centennial lift Santa Justa, designed by Mesnier du Ponsard, disciple of Gustave Eiffel, the only vertical lift in use which renders a public service, is a must visit place, along with the funicular tram named Glória located in Praça dos Restauradores.

In Graça, you should visit the Church and Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, one of the most majestic religious monuments in the city. Besides the Panteão of the Braganças, the last dynasty of Kings in Portugal, S. Vicente has inside it one of the largest pieces made up of tiles which exists in the world.

The Casa dos Bicos is another stopping point. Built in the 16th Century, it was given this peculiar name due to its façade of stone worked into diamond points. It was the house of Afonso de Albuquerque, Viceroy of India.

There are also a number of buildings which trace the history of the 20th Century in Lisbon, and are particularly noteworthy from an architectural point of view. These include the Amoreiras Tower, the Belém Cultural Centre, the Oriente Station, the Vasco da Gama Tower, the Oceanarium of Lisbon, the Pavilhão de Portugal and the Pavilhão Atlântico.

Lisbon also has countless cultural spaces, including the National Library, the Museum of Ancient Art, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, the Museum of Water, the National Coach Museum, the Military Museum, the Tile Museum, the Museum of Electricity, the Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro Museum, the Music Museum, the Costume Museum and the Museum of the City.

Places where concerts and shows are held include the Coliseu de Lisboa, the Aula Magna of the University of Lisbon, the São Carlos National Theatre House (Opera), the D. Maria II National Theatre, the Teatro Camões, the Teatro da Trindade, Fórum Lisboa, the auditoriums of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Belém Cultural Centre and Culturgest, the Pavilhão Atlântico and the Praça de Touros (Bullring) in Camo Pequeno.

Lisbon also has a large number of major cultural events every year, and has been considered by the International Congress & Convention Association as the eighth most sought after city for the holding of international events and conferences.

It was the European Cultural Capital in 1994 and has played host to important events such as Expo98 and, more recently, Euro2004, the World Gymnestrada, Rock in Rio and the MTV Europe Music Awards.

But there are other traditions to record such as the feast of the popular saints, in June, where the city takes on a special colour as it is decorated with balloons and bunting on almost every street corner. People organise street parties which go on until the late hours, and eat charcoaled sardines and listen to popular music. On the night of the 12th to the 13th June, hundreds of people parade down Avenida da Liberdade, representing the different districts of Lisbon. There are the popular marches. Then the streets of the historical quarters are invaded by thousands of people who want to be where the party is.

In fact, the greatest and most well known cultural manifestation in Lisbon is without doubt that of fado, which was given a place on the international stage by Amália Rodrigues and, more recently, by Mariza. Fado is considered to be the truest cultural product of the city. Accompanied by the Portuguese guitar, the themes which are sung about most are saudade, Portuguese nostalgia, jealousy and tiny stories of daily life. It is a music which comes from within, from the Portuguese soul. That is why there are various fado houses in Lisbon, mainly in the Bairro Alto and in Alfama

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Leisure

It is a sin to leave Lisbon without having tried the animated nightlife of the city. Busy, it can be found everywhere in the many bars and discos. There is something for every taste: international, Latin, African, Brazilian, alternative, hip hop and house. Many opt for thematic nights and almost every place is open until daybreak. The liveliest areas are: Barrio Alto, along the river, Avenida 24 de Julho, Alcântara, Cais do Sodré and Parque das Nações.

For those who prefer a get together or a good chat before heading for the dance floor, the Lisbon docks, Santos and Bairro Alto offer such a night, with many bars awaiting you.

Cultural events, shows, feast days and festivals are an ever present in the Portuguese capital, or you can also go sightseeing, walk through the beautiful gardens of Lisbon, gaze out from the city's various viewpoints, go shopping in internationally renowned shops, visit the Vasco da Gama Tower in Parque das Nações or travel on the cable car, or simply take advantage of the esplanade cafés to sit down and watch the world go by.

Or enjoy a walk in the Lisbon Zoo, 120 years young, and considered one of the greatest and best in the world, where around 2000 animals from 400 different species live together. The Lisbon Oceanarium is also an excellent choice, and it is the largest Oceanarium in Europe. The space is home to more than 450 living marine animals and plants.

Close to Lisbon there are excellent beaches to visit, both along the coast to Estoril and to the south and west, to enjoy the amenable and temperate climate of the region.

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Gastronomy

The dishes most frequently ordered dishes are the bread-based açorda de marisco, pataniscas de bacalhau (cod fishcakes) , the famous grilled sardines, the peixinhos da horta (deep-fried green beans), and Café or Marrare steaks.

For dessert you can try the pastíes de Belém cakes, a secret recipe handed down for centuries, which delight the tourists who go and visit Belém, or the famous roast chestnuts which are sold on the street throughout the city during autumn and winter.