Portugal

Music: Fado (=fate, fadista=Fado singer)

Cape Roca: the westernmost point of continental Europe.

People:

• Vasco da Gama: c. 1460 - 1524. Portuguese explorer, the first European to reach India by sea.

Lisbon

To / From airport: Metro red line to city center.

Districts:

• Rossio / Baixa / Chiado: shopping areas
• Alfama / Castelo: acient area, Moorish quarter
• Amoreiras: modern area, with high rises. stretching out to the north.

Attractions

• Torre de Belém (Belém Tower): medieval fortified tower.
• Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery)
• Ponte 25 de Abril: Golden Gate-style suspension bridge.
• Ponte Vasco da Gama: Vasco da Gama Bridge. 17 km, the longest bridge in Europe.
• Torre Vasco da Gama: the tallest building in Portugal.
• Oceanário de Lisboa: Aquarium
• Castelo de S. Jorge: 11th-century, hilltop Moorish castle, overview of the city, in the Alfama district.
• Museu do Fado
• Queluz National Palace (Palácio Nacional e Jardins de Queluz)

Transportation hubs:

• Oriental Station: long-distance and suburban trains, metro, buses.
• Santa Apolónia: Terminal train station.

Day Excursions:

• Cascais / Estoril: resort towns, white sand beaches, along the Costa do Estoril.
• Coimbra: a riverfront city in the central Portugal, former capital of the country. Largo da Portagem.
  • Coimbra University: the oldest of Portugal.
  • Portugal dos Pequenitos: Theme park with miniaturized version of Portugal.
• Setúbal: 3rd largest city. 25 min ferry from Lisbon's Terreiro do Paço Ferry Terminal (metro blue line)
  • Forte de São Filipe: city overlook.
  • Castelo de Palmela.
• Sintra:
  • Sintra National Palace (Palácio Nacional de Sintra): 11th century Moorish palace.
  • Pena Palace (Parque e Palácio Nacional da Pena): 19th-century, Romanticist palace on a high rock & former monastery site.