WELCOME ΤΟLisbon

t's best known as "Rua Augusta Arch," as it’s found at the end of Rua Augusta (Lisbon main pedestrian street), but it faces Comércio Square. It's a triumphal arch designed in 1775 as a gateway to the city, but the version seen today dates from a century later, 1875. Sculptures at the top represent Glory crowning Genius and Valor, while below them are images of national heroes Vasco da Gama, the Marquis of Pombal, Nuno Álvares Pereira and Viriato. On the side facing Rua Augusta is a monumental clock featuring naturalistic motifs. The entire monument was restored in 2013, and an elevator was placed inside to allow visits to the terrace. From there, there’s a wonderful 360-degree-view over Praça do Comércio, Rua Augusta, the cathedral, and all of downtown. Before reaching the terrace, visitors pass by a small exhibition telling the story of the arch, and can see the mechanisms that make its clock work. Only 35 people are allowed at the top at a time, but as it receives a relatively small number of visitors, there’s usually no waiting.

Northeast of Eduardo VII Park is the Gulbenkian Museum, one of the world's great museums and one of Europe's unsung treasures. Part of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, it houses a magnificent collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Asian, and European art. It was substantially renovated and modernized in 2001 (many of its masterpieces were on display in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art during renovation), and can't be missed during a visit to Lisbon. This is one of the world's finest private art collections, amassed over a period of 40 years by oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, who was one of the 20th century's wealthiest men. In his later years he adopted Portugal as his home, and donated all of his stupendous art treasures to the country when he died in 1955 at the age of 86. Of the many highlights is a haunting gold Egyptian mummy mask, an exquisite 2700-year-old alabaster bowl, a series of bronze cats and other priceless treasures in the Egyptian section, a stunning collection of Hellenic coins and a 2400-year-old Attic vase in the Greek and Roman section, rare pieces of Chinese porcelain, Japanese prints, and rich 16th- and 17th-century Persian tapestries.

It used to be considered the most majestic gothic church of Lisbon but today it is just a bunch of ruins; despite that, it is imperfection itself that makes Carmo Convent such a charming place to visit. Its arches seem to be holding the sky. The lack of roof was not intentionally designed by the architect who projected the convent; the roof collapsed during the devastating earthquake of 1755. Carmo Convent suffered from very severe damages; Queen Mary I ordered to rebuild the church, but reconstruction works were never completed. In the 19th century, during a very romantic cultural climate, it was believed that the ruins were already very fascinating by themselves and therefore the restoration project was abandoned. It would be almost impossible nowadays to undertake reconstruction works again, as in the collective imagination the Convento do Carmo is famous for being a church without a ceiling and tourists come here to admire the sky framed by suspended arches.

The Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) is a project of the EDP Foundation, and is spread over two neighboring buildings -- Portugal’s first power station and a modern construction designed by British architect Amanda Levete. It has almost 3000 square meters for exhibitions and events, and was originally directed by the former curator of contemporary architecture of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Pedro Gadanho.The museum presents the relationship between art and new technologies, through contemporary and international exhibitions. The curvy, white-tiled building (which resembles a wave rising towards the river) is one of Lisbon’s modern icons, and even if you don’t go inside to see the exhibitions, it’s worth a stop for the view from the top - you may walk around, and even on top of, this waterfront landmark. The exterior staircase descends into the water, creating a large public space. The former power station dates from 1908 and was in use until 1975. It opened to the public as a museum in 1990. The industrial architecture is immaculately preserved, and all of the original machinery can be seen on the way to the MAAT’s temporary exhibitions.

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) stands 52 m tall. This stunning monument was designed to commemorate the Age of Discoveries in Portugal. It was inaugurated in 1960, on the fifth centenary of one of the country’s great discoverers, Prince Henry the Navigator, who discovered the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde. The Monument to the Discoveries is made up of a group of sculptures that represent the prow of a caravel (a small sailing ship constructed by the Portuguese to explore the Atlantic Ocean). Leading the ship is Prince Henry the Navigator and behind him are many other great Portuguese discoverers - only one of them is a woman, Queen Filipa de Lencastre, who was Prince Henry’s mother. If you would like to see Belém from above, we recommend you visit the observation deck on the top of the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. The views of the monument, the city’s western neighborhoods are impressive, but the most beautiful view is a marble mosaic at the foot of the Monument that represents a compass, with a world map in the center. The compass was designed by Cristino da Silva and is 50m in diameter. It was given to Portugal by the Republic of South Africa.

Despite its somewhat out-of-the-way location, this delightful museum is well worth a visit, presenting five centuries of decorative ceramic tiles, or azulejos, tracing the history and production of the art form. Its collection is the only of its kind in the world, and contains a splendid array of tiles from as early as the 15th century, along with displays on how they're made. It's housed in the monastic buildings of the Madre de Deus Convent, which, after renovation following the Great Earthquake, had its interior turned into one of the city's most magnificent. The splendor and opulence of the chapel dedicated to St. Anthony and the chapter house are particularly impressive. Noteworthy amid the rich decoration, are panels in the ceiling with gilt frames set with paintings, including portraits of King João III and his queen, Catherine of Austria. Several other glorious paintings in the church depict the life of saints, and filling the main vault are scenes from the Life of the Virgin. The highlight of the museum is a blue and white composition of 1300 tiles, 23m in length, of Lisbon's cityscape made in 1738, prior to the Great Earthquake, and reputedly the country's longest tile piece.

São Jorge Castle (Castelo de São Jorge) is one of Lisbon 's most emblematic landmarks. The silhouette of the Castle stands out both by day and when illuminated at night, located on the summit of São Jorge hill, the highest in Lisbon. The hillside also houses two of the city’s neighborhoods called Alfama and Castelo. A small fortress was built by the Visigoths during the fifth century. It was modified and enlarged by the Moors in the mid-eleventh century and during the reign of Afonso I of Portugal (1109 – 1185), it was altered and in later years transformed into a Royal Palace. Finally, it was completely restored in 1938. The Castle reached its maximum splendor during the thirteenth century and lasted until the sixteenth century when it was occupied by both the Kings of Portugal and the Bishop. Most of the castle was destroyed over the years, especially in the Great Earthquake of 1755, but still includes a long extension of walls and 18 towers that were restored in the early 20th century. One of the castle's inner towers, the Tower of Ulysses, holds the Câmara Escura, a periscope that projects sights from around the city.

Сreated as the Fine Arts Museum in 1884, the Ancient Art Museum is Portugal’s “national gallery,” with paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Housed in a 17th-century palace, it displays most of the “national treasures,” plus art from around Europe and the Asian lands that traded with the Portuguese. Much of the collection dates from the so-called “Age of Discovery,” the period between the early 15th century and the late 18th century, when Portuguese navigators opened the sea route to the East, creating the first exchanges between European cultures and different parts of Asia, Africa and the Americas. Some of those navigators are among the sixty 15th-century personalities depicted in the museum’s showpiece, the Panels of St. Vincent. It’s the first known collective portrait in Western Art, and considered the greatest masterpiece of Portuguese painting. Attributed to artist Nuno Gonçalves, it also features the most famous portrait of Prince Henry the Navigator. Also from that period are fascinating Japanese screens illustrating the Portuguese arriving in Japan, and the Belém Monstrance from 1506 made with gold and gems brought back by explorer Vasco da Gama.