"Lisbon" a Lisbon Travel Page by kris-t

Lisbon (in Portuguese, Lisboa) is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is the seat of the district of Lisbon and capital of Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region. Lisbon has a population of 564,657 and its metropolitan area has a population of 2,665,000.

The heart of the city is the Baixa or downtown; this area of the city is being considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The Baixa is organized in a grid-system and a network of squares built after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, which leveled a big part of the medieval town. The Castle of São Jorge and the Santa Maria Maior Cathedral are located on one of the seven hills of Lisbon, to the east of the Baixa. The oldest district of the city is Alfama, close to the Tagus, which has made it relatively unscathed through the various earthquakes. Other monuments include:

The Castle of São Jorge, atop the tallest hill of the central city, Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square), Rossio Square, Restauradores Square, Elevador de Santa Justa, an elevator (lift) in Gothic revival style, built around 1900 to connect the Baixa and Bairro Alto. Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower. The city of Lisbon is rich in architecture; Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque, Traditional Portuguese, Modern and Post-Modern constructions can be found all over the city. The city is also crossed by great boulevards and monuments along these main thoroughfares, particularly in the upper districts; notable among these are the Avenida da Liberdade, Avenida Fontes Pereira de Mello, Avenida Almirante Reis and Avenida da República.