PORTUGAL : The capital LISBON
Lisbon lies on the right bank of the Tagus river and in a region that
offers a rich landscape diversity.The city occupies an area of 84.6 km2.
The city comprises 53 freguesias. It is important to say that, unlike
most major cities, the city boundaries are narrowly defined around the
historical city perimeter. This gave rise to the existence of several
administratively defined cities around Lisbon, such as Loures, Amadora
and Oeiras, which in fact are part of the metropolitan perimeter of
Lisbon. The population of the city is 564 657, and the metropolitan area
(Greater Lisbon) is 2 665 000. Lisbon is located in the wider region
known as Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, with a population of 3 500 000,
constituting about a third of the population of Portugal
The historic centre of Lisbon is built on seven hills, making some of
the city's streets too steep for motor vehicles; the city is served by
three funicular services and one elevator. The western side of the city
is mainly occupied by the Monsanto Natural Park, one of the largest
urban parks in the world.
Lisbon is one of the oldest capitals in Europe. The castle, Castelo de
São Jorge, dates back to the 5th century. Conquered from the Moors by
Portugal’s first king in 1147, the city is the capital of Portugal since
1255 .The total catastrophe of the terrible earthquake of 1755, followed
by devastating fires took as many as 30.000 lives and left most of
Lisbon in ruins.The Marquês de Pombal, minister to King D. José I,
rebuilt downtown Lisbon more or less like the present-day city.
The imposing Tagus river (Tejo) flows alongside Lisboa from east to
west. Its source lies in Spain, but a good part of its journey to the
sea lies inside Portuguese frontiers before it meets the Atlantic ocean.
As it approaches Lisboa, the river bed widens to create a green and
fertile plain called the lezíria. The effect as it nears the capital is
to grace the landscape with its broad blue estuary.
Not far from the capital lies the town of Sintra, with its marvelous
surrounding vegetation and landscape, Sintra is classified by Unesco as
of outstanding cultural importance. There is no better way to see the
exuberant trees and vegetation than to take a horse-drawn carriage ride
and pass by ancient mansions before reaching the Palácio da Pena at the
top of the hill. Its fabulous romantic architecture keeps vivid the
atmosphere of a truly royal residence.
