Lisbon Portugal October 2007 - 90 photos - 1504 views

Lisbon (Lisboa) is the capital of Portugal. This city used to be the center of one of the biggest empires of all times, with colonies in America, Asia and Africa. Portugal is a small country on the west of the Iberian peninsula. It has more than 800 km of Atlantic Coast and it’s the most western country in mainland Europe with many historical buildings and monuments. First we went to "Carbo da Roca", which is The westermost point on the continent of Europe, the poet Camões defined as "where the land ends and the sea begins". Apart from the lighthouse, there is a tourist desk, where we bought a certificate for being there.  
 
We also went to the spectacular National Palace in Sintra, which is one of the most important examples of royal architecture in Portugal. The Palace was used by kings as summer residence and a hunting lodge for over 600 years. It has the greatest collection of Mudéjar tiles in the country. It is topped by two large twin chimneys built over the kitchen, which have become the symbol of Sintra. In 1910, the Palace became a National Monument. In the 1940s, it was restored by architect Raul Lino, who tried to return the Palace to its former splendour by adding old furniture from other palaces and restoring the tile panels. It has been an important historical tourist attraction ever since.  
 
The next day, we made our way to Fatima and visited the Sanctuary Basilica where the tombstones of Jacinta and Francisco are and the Chapel of Apparitions, heart of the shrine. There was a mass going on when we were there. In Valinhos is the place where the Lady of Fatima appeared for the 4th time on 19 August 1917. Before we leave Portugal, we stopped by the "Comercio" Square in front of the Tejo (Tagus) River. The Comercio square sits in downtown Lisbon, the Cidade Baixa, a grid of small streets in the valley. We also went to the Belém Tower and Jerónimos monastery from the 16th century, which are classified by UNESCO as World Heritage are a must for visitors.