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The beautiful Rossio Station
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| One of the arched doors with the name "central" still inscribed, and statue |
On either side of the square there is a fountain and in the centre a 27mt high column with a statue of Dom Pedro IV on top.
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One of the fountains in the square, the wave cobblestones
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| Dom Pedro IV column and statue |
On the north side is the neoclassical 1840's Dona Maria II National Theatre, with 6 Ionic columns that were originally in St Francis church which was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.
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National Theatre at Rossio Square
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Known as the city of the 7 hills, Lisbon has about 30 "Miradouros" (viewpoints) scattered around the city. One of our tuk-tuk stops was at popular Miradouro Santa Luzia, next to the small church of the same name, which are the headquarters of the Order of Malta in Portugal, in the parish of Alfama.
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Saint Luzia church and us at the St Luzia viewpoint
The dome of the National Pantheon (left) and St Stephens Church (right), and cruise ship
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The view over the rooftops below, extends to the port where we could see a huge cruise ship, and to the left we can see St Stephen's Church, which was originally built in the 12th century, originally with two towers, but one was damaged in the 1755 earthquake. The church was later renovated and reopened in 1773.
To the right you can see the dome of the National Pantheon, originally the Church of Saint Engratia when it was built in 1682, becoming the Pantheon in 1916.
The dome was only completed in 1966, making it the monument that took the longest to be complete in Portugal! In Portugal when something takes ages to be completed, we say: "it's like the St Engratia build".
The Pantheon was built over the site of a previous church that was desecrated by a robbery in 1630, when a Jew was blamed and executed and later exonerated.
Before he died, he said that a new church would never be completed...
As if he had predicted it, just months after the start of construction in 1681, it collapsed due to a storm on a poorly built foundation.
It now holds the tombs and cenotaphs of famous Portuguese who distinguished themselves in politics, culture, science, sports - who made a mark in the history of Portugal and took the image of the country beyond borders - people like the great fado singer Amália Rodrigues, the footballer Eusébio, presidents, explorers like Prince Henry the Navigator, poets...
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| National Pantheon |
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| St Vincent Church near the Pantheon |
Next stop was the "Miradouro Senhora do Monte" (viewpoint Lady of the Hill) where we can see most of the city below, including the 25th April Bridge and the Christ the King statue across the Tagus River and the Saint George Castle atop a hill.
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| The small church of Senhora do Monte (Lady of the Hill) |
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| Views over to the 25th April bridge (middle photo), castle (right) |
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| St George's Castle on top a hill |
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| The very long tile panel indicates all the visible monuments from this viewpoint |
We stopped at the Elevador do Carmo (Carmo Lift or Santa Justa lift), in the parish of Santa Justa. The lift connects the lower streets of Baixa (downtown) with the higher streets of the parish of Bairro Alto (the lowest and highest points of Lisbon).
This beautiful structure was built in 1902 by French architect Raoul de Mesnier du Ponsard, an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, which explains the structure's similarity with the Eiffel Tower.
The top of the 45mt high structure reached via a spiral staircase also has a great view over the city, including Rossio Square, the castle and the river.
At the back of the Carmo lift is the Convent of our Lady of Carmo, now home to the Carmo Archaeology Museum. Next to it stands the gothic Carmo Church, at the time the largest church in Lisbon.
With its bare arches and no roof, the church is a poignant reminder of the devastation suffered during the 8.9 earthquake on 1st November 1755, which killed hundreds of church goers that were gathered for the All-Saints celebration, and the fires from the toppled candles that raged on for days.
I've actually never been inside, or visited the museum, but it's one place I would like to return to on my next visit to Lisbon.
Our last stop was Praça do Comércio (Commerce Plaza), one of the largest squares in Portugal with 30,600m2 (320,000 ft2). It's just across from the Tagus River and is also known as Terreiro do Paço (Palace Yard), as it was before its total destruction in the 1755 earthquake the site of the Royal Palace of Ribeira. |
Commerce Square with Arch of Augusta Street
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| The 1775 Statue of King Jose I, during which reign the earthquake took place |
Our fun 2 1/2 hour tuk-tuk tour finished, and we met up with my niece Tania and her baby at the Hard Rock Cafe, then back into the cars to Cascais, prepare and have dinner, then we took my sister Luisa to the airport that night.
The following day I got a ride with one of nieces into Lisbon so I could go and pick up our Portuguese passports and ID's which we had done in the Algarve and they had been sent to the main office for collection.
The offices were near the Vasco da Gama shopping centre, one of Lisbon's most modern shopping malls, located in Parque das Nações (Park of Nations), also known as Expo, in the area built during the World Expo 1998.
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| Sign at Vasco da Gama shopping centre |
The Expo area is the most modern part of the city, with a train/bus station across from the shopping centre, "Gare do Oriente" (Oriente Station) which was designed by famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and inaugurated in May 1998 as part of the '98 Expo World Fair. 
