Lisbon has earned popularity due to natural panorama, marvelous architecture, attractive tourist spots and shopping plaza. If you have already chalked out plans to visit this city to spend your holidays, you will have to prepare beforehand properly to ensure hassle free air trip to this capital city which is situated in Lisbon. In this connection, you must make a short list including the major attractions in Lisbon.

Major Attractions in Lisbon

The World Heritage Belem Tower is the pride of Lisbon as Paris is proud of having Eiffel Tower and Londoners should remember London for Big Ben Tower. However, at the same time, it will be tomfoolery if you forget to mention the name of Jeronimos Monastery which must be enlisted in your travel program as well. Every year numerous visitors arrive at international airports of Lisbon with main objective to visit marvelous monuments, castles, national parks, zoo, heritage buildings and shopping malls which have become indispensable part of Lisbon. Manueline of the Belem and Pombaline styles have made this city more glamorous in terms of architectural charisma. Lisbon always invites foreign visitors cordially. Therefore, there should not be any doubt about the gentle lifestyle in this city.

Keeping in touch with modern technology, Modern architects have upgraded this city into a sophisticated place which houses numerous luxurious hotels, restaurants, spa centers, large and extended shopping plazas and departmental stores. Broad highways with smooth drivable road surface will give you golden chance to undergo long nocturnal car drive through the towns of Lisbon.

Significant Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is devoted to old and modern art. It was established in accordance with the wills of Calouste Gulbenkian, an Armenian businessman and philanthropist who lived between 1869 – 1955 and became one of the richest people in the world. Thus he could make one of the largest private art collections in the world, which is now available to the public right here.

Finally, you must not forget to set your feet on open ground of Saint George’s Castle. It is a marvelous historical site which you can watch from Bairro Alto as well. Oceanarium is another point of enticement for travelers and tourists. In this regard, you can buy an informative travel guide book, gifts, colorful pictures, descriptive notes, reviews and feedbacks about Lisbon.

Once you are in Lisbon, do not forget to drive along the longest bridge in Europe and 9th longest one in the world – Vasco da Gama Bridge.

If you have already been to Lisboa or just know some of the “must visit” places, please let us know by commenting below.

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Orava Castle, Slovakia by Wojsyl

The Castle itself was constructed at the site were an old wooden fort had once stood during the Mongol invasion. The old Fort unfortunately did not survive the invasion, and soon after was replaced with the Orava Castle, which stands today. And while the Castle has undergone a number of reconstructions throughout the centuries, the most extensive reconstruction occurred back in 1611.

Unfortunately, as the centuries went on the Castle eventually fell into disrepair until the early 1800s when it was burnt to the ground completely. However, thanks to the extensive efforts of the government as well as locals, another major reconstruction effort began shortly after the end of World War II.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects about the Orava Castle is that of the entrance to the Castle. There are three levels of the Castle, which includes lower, central as well as upper parts. As a result, anyone who enters the Castle will have to walk through a tunnel under which the Castle’s dungeon can clearly be seen beneath. The highest part is on a steep rocky limestone cliff 112 m above the Orava river. Middle part consists of medieval buildings – Corvinus Palace and the Palace of Ján from Dubová village. The lower castle is particularly Thurzo Palace and the castle church where some members of Thurzo family are buried, the older tower and terrace. On this terrace there was a summer theatre for several years.

Today the Castle itself serves as a Museum to not just the Castle, but also to the archaeology of the region, the history of the settlements along the Orava River as well as the nation. There are countless exhibits that can be found throughout the Castle including a regular theatre and street performers. One of the most interesting aspects about visiting the Orava Castle is that it is open in the night-time to allow visitors to have a truly enchanted experience.

The basic admission is €5 – €6 and often include also the fencing duel or several music concerts from the previous periods. If you are planning your trip to Slovakia, do not forget to visit Orava castle, you will be surprised how nice it is.

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