Lisbon

About Lisbon

Lisbon is Portugal's capital and a major Atlantic homeport for transatlantic repositioning cruises and Mediterranean turnarounds. Ships dock at one of three terminals (Santa Apolónia, Jardim do Tabaco, or the newer Lisbon Cruise Terminal), all within a few kilometers of the Alfama district. The Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery, and the Sintra palaces (40 minutes northwest) are the headline sites. Famous pastéis de nata and fado fill day-on-foot options.

• Lisbon is the westernmost capital city of mainland Europe and the only one located on the Atlantic coast — a geographic distinction that made it the natural launch pad for the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries.
• The city is the second-oldest European capital (after Athens), predating Rome, Paris, and London as an established settlement; Julius Caesar elevated it to a municipium called Felicitas Julia.
• The catastrophic 1755 Lisbon earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, destroyed much of the city; the subsequent reconstruction by the Marquis of Pombal gave central Lisbon its distinctive Pombaline architectural grid.
• Lisbon sits on seven hills (colinas) above the Tagus River, a topography that inspired its iconic network of funicular trams (elevadores) — the vintage yellow Tram 28 route is one of the most photographed in Europe.
• The Tower of Belém and the Jerónimos Monastery, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, stand in Lisbon as monuments to the Age of Discovery and the Manueline architectural style unique to Portugal.