Situated at the mouth of the Tagus River about a third of the way up the Atlantic coast, Lisbon is Portugal’s capital and most important seaport. It’s a compact people-oriented and inexpensive city of about 600,000. Like San Francisco, it is built on seven hills, and has known a series of earthquakes, the most destructive being the “Great Quake” of 1755, when only the hilltop areas and a few historic buildings in the heart of the city escaped devastation. Thus, most of what you see downtown today is relatively new by European standards, but it certainly doesn’t lack interest.

After The Quake one of the 18th century’s most visionary urban planners, the Marqués de Pombal, was there to plan and oversee the reconstruction. In the low-lying area below the hills and stretching to the river he laid out a magnificent boulevard, fine commemorative squares, a rectangular grid on which shops would be located, and a magnificent waterfront to display some of Portugal’s finest architecture and to greet visitors arriving by ship. It is within or adjacent to the reconstructed area that most of the city’s administrative, cultural and historical artifacts are found today.

Lisbon became the capital in 1147, after the Moors were routed. It has always been a city which values its artistic and cultural heritage, with more than thirty museums and cultural centres, many world-class, and some quite unique. It has scores of other parks, squares, recreation and leisure areas, museums and other historic sites too numerous to mention. Recreation and leisure have not been overlooked: its enormous 1000 hectare (5 sq.mi.) Monsanto Forest Park in the western part of the city is a refuge of urban tranquility, filled with pines, every conceivable type of oak and many other trees, plus a small fort. Adjacent to its boundaries are recreational sites, lookouts, restaurants, swimming pools, a campground and a children’s park. The stadium, Lisbon Zoo, Gulbenkian Museum and university are nearby. It would take at least a week to give all these features even cursory attention: I regret not having been there long enough to do this great capital justice. For an excellent “snapshot” overview of Lisbon, go to http://en.wikepedia.org/wicki/lisbon

Perhaps the most logical place to begin is at the western end of its waterfront, in an area of great historical significance called Belém. That is where ships departed for their great voyages of discovery, where defences against pirates were built, and where you’ll find two outstanding examples of “Manueline” (filigreed stone-carving) architecture that survived the Quake. They are the finely-adorned Belém Tower and the massive Jerónimos Monastery, both built in the early 16th century, and both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I found the detail in the carved stone arches within the monastery and its double-decker cloisters to be extraordinary. Most impressive, though, are the sculpted marble tombs of the explorer Vasco da Gama and the great poet Camões. The multi-disciplinary Cultural Centre, Planetarium, Coach Museum (with gold carriages used by the Kings and Emperors of Europe) and Nautical Museum are also in Belém . Finally, there are Empire Square, containing a fountain with shields representing the various colonies that once formed Portugal’s empire, and a modern Monument to the Discoveries.

Moving about 3 miles eastward along the waterfront we come to Commerce Square, an enormous welcoming plaza. Farther east are the Military Museum and the site of Expo 98, the last World’s Fair of the 20th century, complete with Europe’s largest oceanarium. Next we come to the new Vasco da Gama Bridge, Europe’s longest, which provides (at last!) a very welcome and speedy connection between the airport and the highway to the Algarve.

Behind Commerce Square are the “Baixa” district, with its multitude of banks and specialty shops (goldsmiths, silversmiths, shoemakers, etc.) and the adjoining Chiado, a ritzy shopping area. Venturing farther inland you come to the Rossio and two other squares, then the Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon’s equivalent of the Champs Élysées, which stretches to Pombal’s monument and Edward VII Park, a large formal garden and leisure area.

To provide easy access to its higher levels, Lisbon’s downtown area has funicular tramways (something like San Francisco’s cable cars), and a unique all-metal elevator tower. The best known of the hilltop areas is the sprawling and convoluted Alfama, site of both Moorish fort and Christian cathedral, birthplace of Saint Anthony of Padua, favorite haunt of sailors over the centuries, and today the best place to enjoy fado music and traditional cuisine. For some unknown reason I was instantly attracted to its Moorish fort, and always have an uncanny feeling of “déjà vu” whenever I visit it.

Lisbon’s immediate surroundings, including the “Portuguese Riviera”, will be the subject of the next article.