Lisbon – city of 7 hills
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Lisbon, in Portuguese Lisboa, is a city, a port and the capital of Portugal. Located on the Tejo River, it is the westernmost capital city in continental Europe and serves as the country’s chief port, largest city and commercial, political and tourist centre. Lisbon owes its historical prominence to its natural harbour, one of the most beautiful in the world, from where the vessels from the Portuguese Discoveries of the 15th and 16th centuries, would sail to define new maritime routes for commerce and new territories to conquer.
The city centre was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755 but was rebuilt by the Marquês de Pombal and has been reconstructed as a bustling modern metropolis. That event ignited the city’s most significant urban renewal project since the reconstruction that followed the 1755 earthquake, including the construction of the integrated road-rail Vasco da Gama Bridge and other extensive enhancements to the city’s transportation infrastructure.
Despite modernisation, Lisbon retains the air of a 19th-century city with the general outlines remaining for hundreds of years. Lisbon is still a city of balconies and vistas. Some of the most striking of the latter can be seen from the ‘miradouros’, the terraces maintained by the municipality on seven of its hillsides. Many Lisboetas, as the people of Lisbon are known, claim their city has seven traditional hills, like Rome.
Lisbon is also home to Fado music, a profoundly melancholic and expressive singing style often heard in cafés and restaurants, mainly in the historic quarters of Alfama and Bairro Alto.
You will find several sports and recreational areas here and many housing developments are planted with trees and grass, their small parks adding to Lisbon’s collection of dozens of public gardens. There are also botanical gardens and a zoo within the city.
Invest in Lisbon with its traditional buildings, well-kept and loved, where not just the walls, but also ceilings are adorned with patterns of beautifully painted ceramic tiles called ‘azulejos’. Discover why this whole city is one big museum.
Contact our knowledgeable team of Property Advisors who will be happy to help you find your home in Lisbon: hello@PortugalProperty.com or call us on +351 308 800 878 or 0800 014 8201 free from the UK.
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Published in: Guide to Portugal / Miscellaneous / Portuguese Life