Lisbon, Portugal

June 2013

Travel around Lisbon and you’ll experience how walking in history feels like. Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal and is extremely popular for its café-lined boulevards. Talking about Lisbon and not mentioning its Fado music is impossible.

I had the opportunity to watch a Fado show and it was truly an amazing experience.  Whenever planning to visit Lisbon, do keep in mind the weather of the place as to be able to enjoy it the best. Although the place has warm, dry summers, it is best to visit in the month of June. This place hosts two significant and most visited events of the year; Fado Festival of traditional song and the Fiesta de Santo Antonio. Both these events are celebrated in different districts and are among the most favorite by tourists and the locals.

 

Belem Tower

Lisbon’s most iconic and the most sightseeing landmark, Belem Tower has its own charms. These exuberant decorations add an undefinable beauty to the site.  You will find a magnificent statue of Mary and child on the terrace as a symbol of protection and safety of seafarers.  Belem Tower is no doubt the center of attraction as this small tower is built in the center of Teju Estuary for the purpose of protecting Lisbon. The architecture of this tower is famous for a number of intricate designs and styles including Moorish watchtowers.  The good thing about Lisbon was that the tourist attractions were just walking distance.  It was a beautiful sunny day to walk around, so I was off to my next destination.

 

Monument of Discoveries

Monument of Discoveries is a monument by which showcases the true history of Portuguese. This monument is part of the 15th-century exploration of Portuguese where the European ships went back to Asia in search of the lands and trade avenues. The ships went through this monument and therefore this was named prominently in the history of Portugal and Europe.

The monument shows 33 statues of people who were part of the Age of Discovery and gave the respect to those great people who left their family for the good of the country. The monument was huge and beautiful.  It has a big sword if you were looking in a different angle.

Along with paying respect, this monument stands in front of people to show how Portugal grew and went out to discover its identity reminding everyone who was involved in bringing Portugal out of dark ages.

 

Christ the King Statue

This enormous monument which was built in 1959 is a testament and thank Christ for sparing Portugal in World War II. This is one of the top 10 most famous Christ statues of the World along with Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This landmark is the sole attraction of southern bank of Lisbon, which attracts a number of tourists to come and pay a visit here.  It is considered as a pilgrimage destination for a number of locals and outsiders too.

It is inspired by the great statue Rio de Janeiro and is constructed when Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon visited it and ordered the construction of a statue of Christ in Lisbon. This was actually my first tourist attraction to visit. The view was spectacular.  From here, you will have a great view of the “Golden Gate” of Lisbon, the April 25th Bridge.

 

April 25th Bridge

25 de Abril Bridge is the bridge that provides the fantastic view of Lisbon and serves as and grateful entrance to the city. It is popularly referred as The Golden Gate of Lisbon. Built by San Francisco engineers, this highly influenced monument offers spectacular and extravagant outlook to the city. The visitors and travellers regard it as breathtaking a view and one of its kind experiences. This beautiful piece of engineering gathers your attention, and you cannot miss its sight.  It is the largest suspension bridge in Europe, stretching across the river.  It is definitely a must visit and worth seeing the monument of Lisbon. This Golden Gate-style bridge has managed to capture the interest of thousands of visitors and is ranked among the greatest attraction the capital city has to offer.

Monastery

The history of Monastery Lisbon dated back to 1501 and took around 100 years to complete the construction. The time period is quite visible in the work presented by the architects and is now considered to be the main Monastery of Lisbon. The monastery is located on Tagus River near the Belem, you just literally have to cross the street.

The monastery shows visible artwork from the 14th century and is present in still the same situation carrying the old traditions to the modern population; this site was also classified as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Food

Portugal is renowned for the use of a variety of spices in their cuisines and for bingeing and popularising the use of tomatoes and potatoes and tea in the whole Europe.

Fresh seafood is undoubtedly the most common and wanted cuisine all across the country. Tripes are one other unique and a flavoured dish containing meat especially tripe and internal organs and white beans and vegetables. For those who knows me very well, I love seafood. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner everday.

Wine is the traditional drink of Lisbon. Red, white or green, all sorts of wines are extensively in use by the people here. Portugal is the major exporter of wine in the world. Port wine is one of the most popular wines of the city. Available in both red and white, these wines are served with desserts that add extra flavour to the drink.  I had the chance to try green wine.  It was served chilled and it was refreshing.  Green wine are young grapes that were made into wine and believed that it needs to be consumed within a year.  Oh yeah, it was unlimited wine so I was totally in heaven.

Lisbon, Portugal is a place where you move with history on your side and can experience what the real history looks like. They have kept their monuments intact in a way that they still speak many languages and talks to all the tourists coming to visit them.