Lisbon Private Tour

Just fifteen days after the end of Expo 98 (World Expo), the “Parque das Nações” with an area of ​​330 hectares was born in the same place. With an intense urban rehabilitation in the following years, where formerly there were refineries, warehouses, open dumps and slaughterhouses, became the noblest area of ​​Lisbon, with a modern construction, with a direct connection to the train and Metro that greatly simplified the trips to the center of Lisbon. With the end of the Expo the cultural and business spaces that had been used in the Expo, such as; the Atlantic Pavilion (now the Meo Arena), the Oceanarium, the Vasco da Gama Tower, the Camoes Theater and the Lisbon pavilions and the Lisbon International Fair (FIL), among others. An authentic success since the eastern part of the city thus gained a new neighborhood with a population mostly of the upper-middle class and, according to the data provided by the municipality, it is also the youngest and with more schooling.

Alfama, the oldest Lisbon quarter, this old Medina with small rows and alleys, a perfect defensive system during the Arabah period in Portugal from the 8th to the 12th century, after the Christian reconquest the Arab civilization that lived here were moved to the “Mouraria” neighborhood. Discover Alfama is plunged in the Portuguese authenticity, Fado, the most typical and charismatic Portuguese music, was born in this pour neighborhood in the midst of this melancholy of the Portuguese whom they called “saudade”.

The Saint Antony’s church, built at the exact place where Saint Antony was born near by theres the Lisbon Cathedral, the construction was responsibility of D. Afonso Henriques (first King of Portugal) in the 12th century when the city was conquered by the Moors. The site was the site where an ancient mosque already existed. earthquakes felt in Lisbon having been remodeled over the years in order to present itself as it is today.

Continuing our Lisbon Tour we will visit Lisbon’s downtown, “Baixa” and understand the importance of the terrible earthquake of 1755 and what the same did and change the Portuguese minds and even in the Portuguese architecture. Buildings were built in a completely different way, wider streets and lots of squares, already predicting that something like that could happen again, even with a type of anti-seismic construction of the sec. XVIII, Marquis de Pombal, the statesman responsible for the reconstruction of Lisbon as well as all the economic and social changes born after the earthquake.

At the top of “Parque Eduardo VII” (king of England) we have a wonderful view of the city and we will stay to realize the Portugal / England relationship with several treaties and alliances between, and their effects on the formation of the portuguese colony Brazil into a new independent country. The perfect place to stay to understand why Lisbon is considered the city of the seven hills and also the reason for the designation “Baixa” of Lisbon.

Belem or Bethlehem a district to the west of central Lisbon, a must of Lisbon that combines historic monuments, fascinating museums and very attractive gardens, all of which line the cooling waters of the Tejo Estuary. The place where of Lisbon’s shipyards and harbors, and from here Portuguese 15th century explorers discovered the sea routes to India, Africa and Brazil, commemorating this glorious past, funded by the vast wealth that flowed into Portugal from the colonies. Time to visit the “Jerominos” Monastery from the 16th century, as well as the Belem tower this lovely fortress and the explorers monument.

The visit and degustation into the Pasteis de Belem factory is mandatory, this century-old pastry that didn’t allowed the success change the will of the first members of the family to keep the place unique in the sale of this wonderful Portuguese sweets.

Time now to “climb” another Lisbon hill and know these two neighborhoods so different and at the same time so similar. Bairro Alto neighborhood, known for its crossroads of streets that over the weekend fill with thousands of young people, come to enjoy of what is known as the most bohemian Lisbon neighborhood, next to it we have the Chiado neighborhood where culture and art live hand in hand, or if it is not here that the great majority of theaters in Lisbon are concentrated, as in the oldest bookstores of the modern world.