Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, located on the coast. From the imposing Castelo de São Jorge, the view encompasses the pastel colored buildings of the old town, the Tejo estuary and the 25 de Abril Bridge. Nearby, the Museu Nacional do Azulejo displays 5 centuries of decorative tiles. Close to Lisbon, there is a sequence of Atlantic beaches, including Cascais and Estoril.
In the vast estuary of the Tejo River, this old and full of light, beautiful southern city stretches over its 7 hills along the river, with the Atlantic Ocean so close by.
“City of many and varied people” as it was called when, coming from a distant new world revealed by the Portuguese Discoveries, throughout the centuries. In the 15th and 16th centuries, gold, precious stones, silk or the most varied spices from Africa, Brazil or the Far East arrived here.
The marks of this pioneering globalization are present in architecture, gastronomy, traditions and language.
But, above all, with centuries of interracial, cultural and religious coexistence, in the affability and tolerance of the Portuguese people.
Mythically founded by Ulysses, the Greek hero of Homer's Epic, here the visitor will find real marks of the Roman presence (the Olissipo of Julius Caesar) or Moorish (the Al Usbana Islamica) and the Judeo-Christian culture.
After the reconquest (1147) Lisbon becomes the capital of Portugal in 1255.
