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Guimarães, which is reportedly the oldest city in the whole of Portugal, was built in the middle of slightly hilly landscape. In 1139, Alfonso Henriques proclaimed himself king Alfonso I. and chose Guimarães for his royal seat. Although the capital city of Portugal moved quickly to the city of Coimbra and the seat of a king to the city of Porto, Guimarães remained forever a birthplace of the nation. The proof of the city’s importance is the characteristic shape of the local castle, which appears on the Portuguese coat of arms in the middle of the state flag.

The city center is full of the narrow medieval streets that are lined with shops and cafes and invite you to a pleasant walk. The oldest street is Rua de Santa Maria, which is paved with cobblestones and decorated with the old houses with ornate statues. It leads from the main square, Largo da Oliveira, along the palace Paço dos Duques up to the castle. This is the biggest tourist attraction of the city.

Castle Castelo de Sao Miguel is composed of huge square castle tower, which is surrounded by eight smaller towers with battlements. It was built in the 10th century to protect the city against attacks of Moors and Normans. About 200 years later, it was spread thanks to the initiative of Henry of Burgundy. According to the legend, Alfonso I. The chapel inside has a mysterious character because the floor is made of gravestones of the first Portuguese kings and their ancestors.

During your visit you should not miss a visit to the charming church of São Francisco, which was built in 1400 in the Gothic style.

City of Guimarães is also known for its football club Vitória de Guimarães. The stadium is located in the northwestern part of Guimarães and is quite large in comparison with the city. Forests surrounding Guimarães consist mainly of non-native eucalyptus. The current population of the city is more than 52,000 inhabitants.

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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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This has been built on the river Tagus, close to Portugal’s capital – Lisbon. The traffic was heavy here and people were suffering from traveling from one place to another one.

The length of the Vasco da Gama Bridge is about 17 kilometers and it is the 9th longest bridge in the world. It took only about three years to complete the bridge. Cable-stayed and viaducts technologies have been used to construct this bridge. Normally, it would take about twenty minutes to cross the bridge and it would surely be a pleasant experience for all the travellers.

The bridge was opened to public service in 1998 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the invention of the route from Europe to India. By the way, Vasco da Gama was one of the most successful Portuguese explorer and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.

Special aspect of this bridge is that it has been built within 18 months with over three thousand workers and should survive for at least 120 years. A 40 years long contract has been given to a private company to take care of the cost so the government didn’t have to spend money for the project. Though only six lanes are available at present, there is enough space to convert it into eight lanes bridge, when it is required.

If you are Technical Monuments lover, and already visited Paris with Eiffel Tower, now you should go more to the south and try driving across this technical gem.

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