Monday, April 18, 2016

Lisbon


The capital of Portugal is such an impressive city, located on seven hills, along the Atlantic coast and on the mouth of the River Tagus. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in Europe and is the political, cultural and industrial center of Portugal.

 

Lisbon is so gorgeous with its flair, historical sightseeing and attractions. One of the most popular tourist attractions are in Belem district.

 

Mosteiro dos Jeronimos is an excellent piece of history and renaissance architecture. This is one of the most fantastic places to visit in Lisbon. The complex is huge and includes museum, monastery and church. The monastery has been built with money from the Portuguese discoveries.

 

 

The monastery is just amazing from outside and inside. We also visited the nice church, which is free of charge and saw the Royal burial tombs including the tomb of Vasco da Gama.

 

 

Jardim da Praca do Imperio is an amazing and beautiful park and a nice place to relax after visiting the fascinating monastery. The fountains are just gorgeous and flowers create a unique enjoyable and peaceful atmosphere.

 

 

Lovely place with lots of great photo opportunities.

 

 

Close to the monastery is the famous Torre de Belem, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The tower was built in 16th century as a defense fortification and prison.

 

 

 

The monumental tower is so splendid with its superb architecture. Especially lovely is the location, far away from the busy city center.

 

We spent at least an hour here, enjoying the stunning sights and the warm sunny day.

 

 

Very close is also located the historical monument Padrao dos Descobrimentos, dedicated to the Portuguese explorers and to the spirit of the Portuguese discoveries.

 

 

 

The huge statue is just impressive. The shape is like a bow of a ship and Henry the Navigator is in front, holding a ship model. The other 32 figures represent important Portuguese adventures from the Age of Discovery.

 

The monument is built close to the river banks and close to the area where in 15th and 16th century ships departured to discover the New World or to establish trade relationships with India and the Orient.

 

 

Great monument close to Tagus River and the 25th April Bridge on the background.

 

 

The bridge is long and can be seen from everywhere. It has been designed by the same architecture who designed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.The bridge connects Lisbon to Almada where the statue of Cristo Rei is.

 

 

Our first day, in this spectacular city, was full of emotions, just a fascinating experience which cannot be forgotten.

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