Couple of days Breaks in Lisbon
The Lisbon region featuring its sports and cultural diversity is a perfect holiday spot for va- cationers seeking variety. Whether it is concerts, theatre, museums, nightlife, history, gastronomy or outdoor leisure sports for example golf and surfing - the Lisbon region leaves no wish unfulfilled.
At the mouth with the Tagus River ("Rio Tejo") and presumably founded from the Phoenicians around 1200 B.C. being a trading post, Lisbon fascinates the visitor using its rich cultural and historical heritage and it is always worth a weekend city break. In its eventful history it's witnessed many invaders including the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Alans, Vandals, Suebi, Visigoths and Moors. In 1147, the 400 years long moorish domination of Lisbon was ended when crusaders led by Alfonso I of Portugal reconquered Lisbon during the Christian Reconquista.
All rulers left their cultural imprints on the city, thereby making Lisbon an exilerating and unique blend of probably the most different cultural and architectural influences with Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque and Traditional Portuguese architecture. During the so-called "Portuguese Day of Discovery" between the 15th and 17th century Lisbon became strategi- cally crucial as starting point for your Portuguese investigation of Africa, India, the Far East and Brazil. The legendary Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama left Lisbon in 1497 to disco- ver the water approach to India.
Although Lisbon was largely destroyed by way of a disastrous earthquake in 1755 and fully rebuilt in contemporary architectural style afterwards, many historical monuments have remained untouched with that nature catastrophe and therefore are evidence the cultural and historical diversity of this seaport. Among these historical sites of curiosity you find Lisbon Castle/ Castle of Sao Jorge ("Castelo de Sao Jorge") built in a citadel-like style and Lisbon Cathe- dral ("Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa" or "Se de Lisboa") integrated the 12th and 13th century at the end of Romanesque style, in order to mention a few. The Belem Tower ("Torre de Belem") using its Portuguese Late Gothic, Manueline and Renessaince Style and the Jeronimos Monastery ("Mosteiro dos Jeronimos") using its Manueline, Plateresco, Renaissance and Gothic style were built-in the 16th century and declared World Heritage Sites with the UNESCO in 1983.
At the start of the 19th century Lisbon was invaded and pillaged through the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1910 the initial Portuguese Republic was declared. In 1998 Lisbon hosted the entire world Exhibition Expo ?98.
Art lovers will relish the different museums in Lisbon including the "Museo do Azulejo" (Museum of Portuguese-style Tile Mosaics), the "Oceanario de Lisboa" (Lisbon Oceanarium) along with the "Museo Nacional de Arte Antiga" (National Museum of Ancient Art). Opera lovers will appre- ciate the rich cultural agenda with the "Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos". Tourists will likely love various cafes and restaurants along with the numerous shopping possibilities for example the Vasco da Gama Shopping center and Amoreiras Shopping center. Don?t miss a fado music performance from the Alfama, Lisbon?s oldest quarter.
The public transport system in Lisbon is very well-developed and allows quick and easy acces for the surrounding Lisbon region with Sintra, the Estoril Coast as well as the Setubal peninsula. Sintra and also the Estoril Coast can be obtained from the Ribatejo region north with the Tagus estuary (hence the name "Ribatejo" which means "riba do Tejo" ("on, or beyond, financial institutions of the Tagus")). The Estoril Coast using its beaches and holiday resorts offers a large variety of pleasurable activities like tennis, wandering, swimming or sailing and it is the best option for beach holidays. The high density of courses on the Estoril Coast also causes it to be a pa- radise for players. Surfers will favour surfing hotspots such as Carcavelos and Ericeira.
Another daytrip destination easy to reach from Lisbon is Sintra. Its historic monuments such as the Nineteenth century Pena National Palace (Palacio Nacional de Pena), the 9th and 10th century Castle in the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros) along with the 15th and 16th century Sintra National Palace (Palacio Nacional de Sintra) and the Sintra-Cascais Park will always be worth visiting. Sintra was declared a global Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1995.
The Setubal peninsula (otherwise known as "Costa Azul" ("Blue Coast")) is found in the Alentejo region south from the Tagus estuary (and so the name "Alentejo" this means "alem do Tejo" ("beyond the Tagus")). It can be legendary for the Arrabida National Park. The customers will likely be impressed using its unique Mediterranean vegetation untouched by touristic development and also the unspoilt wildlife and will anticipate seeing storks, flamingos and dolphins, flamingos. Dolphin watching is a major tourist attraction. The nature protection area invites the traveller to numerous leisure time activities such as river cruises, walking, biking, horse riding, heat ballooning, diving and golf.
To learn more about day trip from Lisbon check out this useful webpage.