Lisbon

Seven hills, one earthquake and eight centuries of kings, sailors and saints.

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Historic places in Lisbon

• Jerónimos Monastery — King Manuel I founds the monastery at Restelo, paid for by the spice trade, to give thanks for Vasco da Gama's voyage.
• Belém Tower — A live rhinoceros sent from India lands in Lisbon in 1515; a stone rhino head on the tower is traditionally linked to it.
• Monument to the Discoveries — Built in plaster for the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition, the ship-shaped monument is rebuilt in stone in 1960 for the 500th anniversary of Henry the Navigator's death.
• Lisbon Cathedral — After Afonso Henriques takes Lisbon from the Moors in 1147, a fortress-like cathedral rises where the main mosque stood.
• Carmo Convent ruins — On 1 November 1755 the earthquake brings down the roof during mass, leaving the Gothic arches open to the sky to this day.
• Royal Riding School (old Coach Museum) — Built in 1787 as the Belém Palace riding school; in 1905 Queen Amélia turns it into a museum for royal coaches.
• Rossio Square — Workers lay the black-and-white wave pavement 'Mar Largo' across Lisbon's oldest main square.
• 25 de Abril Bridge — Opened on 6 August 1966 as the Salazar Bridge, it is renamed after the 25 April 1974 revolution that ended the dictatorship.
• Marquis of Pombal Square and Monument — The column completed in 1934 honours the Marquis of Pombal, who rebuilt Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake, lion at his side.
• St. George's Castle — Afonso Henriques and northern crusaders besiege and capture the Moorish castle, making Lisbon Portuguese.
• Commerce Square and Rua Augusta Arch — The 1755 earthquake and tsunami destroy the riverside Ribeira Palace; Pombal rebuilds the waterfront as an arcaded square.
• Monastery of São Vicente de Fora — In 1582 Philip II of Spain, newly crowned king of Portugal, orders the medieval monastery rebuilt in grand Mannerist style.
• National Pantheon (Santa Engrácia) — Begun in 1682, the church stays unfinished for almost 300 years, giving Portuguese a phrase for endless works.
• Santa Justa Lift — In 1902 Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard's iron lift opens, carrying passengers from the Baixa up to Largo do Carmo.
• Church of São Roque — King John V has a chapel built in Rome, blessed by the Pope, then shipped in pieces to Lisbon and reassembled here.
• Church of Santa Luzia and viewpoint — Azulejo panels on the church wall show crusaders storming the Moorish castle in 1147 and Terreiro do Paço before the earthquake.
• Ajuda National Palace — After fire destroys the wooden royal residence used since 1755, a stone palace is begun in 1796.
• Madre de Deus Convent (National Tile Museum) — Queen Leonor founds the convent of the Poor Clares in 1509.
• Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Museum — Calouste Gulbenkian settles in Lisbon in 1942 and later leaves his art collection to Portugal.
• Estrela Basilica — Queen Maria I vows a church if she bears a male heir; the basilica is begun in 1779.
• Graça Convent and viewpoint — Augustinian friars found the convent on one of Lisbon's highest hills in the 13th century.
• Águas Livres Aqueduct — King John V's aqueduct begins bringing fresh water to Lisbon in 1748.
• Church of Santo António — Tradition places the birth of St Anthony of Padua in a house on this spot.
• Fronteira Palace — The 1st Marquis of Fronteira, a Restoration War commander, builds the palace in the 1670s.
• House of Spikes — Brás de Albuquerque, son of the viceroy of India, builds a house covered in diamond-pointed stones.
• Church of Santo Estêvão — One of Alfama's medieval parish churches, rebuilt in baroque form in the 18th century.
• Municipal Square and Pillory (City Hall) — On 5 October 1910 the Portuguese Republic is proclaimed from the balcony of Lisbon City Hall over this square.
• D. Maria II National Theatre — Opened in 1846 on Rossio, the theatre is gutted by fire in December 1964 and rebuilt behind its original facade.
• São Carlos National Theatre — After the 1755 earthquake destroys the royal opera house, Lisbon merchants build this opera house in 1793 in about six months.
• National Museum of Ancient Art (Alvor Palace) — A 17th-century noble palace on the Janelas Verdes becomes Portugal's national art museum in 1884.
• Rossio Railway Station — In 1890 the neo-Manueline station with horseshoe doorways opens, its trains vanishing into a tunnel under the city.
• Restorers Square and Foz Palace — The 1886 obelisk honours 1 December 1640, when Portugal threw off 60 years of Spanish rule.
• Tejo Power Station — From 1909 this coal power station lights Lisbon; its brick halls are now part of the MAAT museum campus.
• Senhora do Monte Chapel and viewpoint — Pregnant women, queens among them, came to this hilltop chapel to sit in the stone chair of São Gens for a safe birth.
• Casa do Alentejo (Alverca Palace) — Behind a plain street door, a 17th-century palace hides a neo-Moorish courtyard created for an early-20th-century casino.
• Campo Pequeno Bullring — In 1892 Lisbon opens a neo-Mudéjar bullring with onion domes, inspired by Madrid's arena.
• Church of São Miguel (Alfama) — One of Alfama's oldest parishes; its gilded baroque interior is among the few church interiors in the quarter to come through the 1755 earthquake.
• Bairro Alto — In 1513 Bartolomeu de Andrade and Francisca Cordovil are allowed to divide their land into plots; the new quarter is called Vila Nova de Andrade.
• São Pedro de Alcântara Viewpoint — The terraced garden is laid out on two levels in the nineteenth century, with a romantic fountain on the upper terrace.
• Alfama — The name Alfama comes from the Arabic al-hamma, 'hot springs'.