Portugal Things to Do Tips by traveldave

A pleasant way to experience Lisbon is to wander on foot in the Alfama district. The area offers a glimpse into Lisbon's past, as well as spectacular views from miradouros, or scenic overlooks, established throughout the district. The Alfama is characterized by compact houses lining steep, narrow streets and stairways.

Nowadays, many immigrants from Mozambique and Cape Verde live in the Alfama, and their restaurants and night spots feature African food and music.

The Alfama is the oldest surviving section of Lisbon. When the city was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, the Alfama survived, thanks to the solid bedrock of the hills on which it is located.

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The Tagus River (visible in the background) rises in the highlands of Spain, and flows through Portugal's fertile Ribatejo Plain before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Lisbon.

Lisbon was founded near the mouth of the Tagus River, where it spreads out so wide that it forms a natural harbor. Lisbon's strategic location on the Tagus River, coupled with the large protective harbor, helped ensure that Portugal would become the primary maritime power in western Europe.

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The Igreja de São Vicente de Fora can be seen on the hilltop in the distance from the Miradouro de Santa Luiza. The church was built in the Italian Renaissance style by Felipe Terzi between 1582 and 1627. It contains the marble tombs of the entire Bragança dynasty, including King Jõao IV and King Manuel II.

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Directions: The Igreja de São Vicente de Fora is located on Largo de São Vicente, in Lisbon's Alfama district.

The Sé, or Cathedral, was ordered built by Dom Alfonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, shortly after the Moors were expelled from Lisbon in 1147.

The Sé has a fortress-like façade because it would be more than a century before the Moors were finally banished from the country, and they still represented a threat to Lisbon when the cathedral was built.

The Sé contains a font where it is believed Saint Anthony of Padua was baptized.

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Directions: The Sé is located on Largo da Sé, in Lisbon's Alfama district.

The Praça do Comércio is Lisbon's grandest square. It was laid out following the 1755 earthquake which destroyed much of Lisbon. With its waterfront location and classical buildings, it was intended as a gateway leading from the banks of the Tagus River into the streets of the Baixa district to the north.

The centerpiece of the Praça do Comércio is an equestrian statue of King José I, the king at the time of the earthquake and the subsequent rebuilding.

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The Monument of the Discoveries was commissioned by the Salazar regime in 1960 to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument honors Portugal's age of exploration and discovery.

The design of the 170-foot (52-meter) monument is in the shape of a stylized caravel with Henry the Navigator at the bow. Along the sloping lines on each side are sculptures of mariners and royal patrons responsible for Portugal's age of discovery, including King Alfonso V, Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Cabral, and Magellan.

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Directions: The Monument of the Discoveries is located on the Praça da Boa Esperança, just off Avenida de Brasília.

The Torre de Belém, or Bethlehem Tower, sits on the banks of the Tagus River, and marks the spot from which Vasco da Gama and other explorers set off on their voyages of discovery.

Commissioned by King Manuel I, and constructed between 1515 and 1521, the Torre de Belém originally served as a fortress. It features open balconies, Moorish-style watchtowers, and battlements in the shape of shields.

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Directions: The Torre de Belém is located on Avenida da India, just west of the Monument of the Discoveries.

The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, or Jerónimos Monastery, is a monument to Vasco da Gama's discovery of India in 1498. It was constructed in the uniquely Portuguese Manueline style of architecture (named after King Manuel I), and took 70 years to complete. Construction was funded by a five-percent tax levied on all precious stones and spices flowing into the country from Africa and the East Indies.

The building, which has been a museum since 1893, contains the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, the Maritime Museum, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Planetarium.

The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

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Directions: The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is located on the Praça do Império, just off Avenida da India.

Vasco da Gama was one of Portugal's greatest explorers. He sailed to Calicut (now Calcutta) in India and back, between 1497 and 1499, opening the spice trade to Portugal. His voyage threw Portugal into competition with Muslim and Venetian spice traders.

The nineteenth-century Tomb of Vasco da Gama, located inside the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, is carved with ropes, armillary spheres, and other seafaring symbols.

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Directions: The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is located on the Praça do Império, just off Avenida da India.

The village of Sintra is located in the Serra da Sintra near the Atlantic coast, where warm southerly winds clash with moist westerlies, causing a microclimate which is cooler and wetter than in the surrounding countryside. Its pleasant climate made it a favorite summer retreat for Portugal's royal family and nobility. Nowadays, their palaces and villas dot the surrounding hills. These historic buildings led UNESCO to name Sintra a World Heritage Site in 1995.

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Directions: Sintra is located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) to the northwest of Lisbon and is easily accessible by car or train.