Weekend Breaks in Lisbon
The Lisbon region having its sports and cultural diversity is a great holiday place to go for va- cationers seeking variety. Be it concerts, theatre, museums, nightlife, history, gastronomy or outdoor leisure sports like golf and surfing - the Lisbon region leaves no wish unfulfilled.
At the mouth from the Tagus River ("Rio Tejo") and presumably founded with the Phoenicians around 1200 B.C. as a trading post, Lisbon fascinates the customer featuring its rich cultural and historical heritage and it is always worth a weekend city break. Rolling around in its eventful history it's got witnessed many invaders including the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Alans, Vandals, Suebi, Visigoths and Moors. In 1147, the 400 years long moorish domination of Lisbon was ended when crusaders led by Alfonso I of Portugal reconquered Lisbon during the Christian Reconquista.
All rulers left their cultural imprints about the city, thereby making Lisbon an exilerating and unique mixture of one of the most different cultural and architectural influences with Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque and Traditional Portuguese architecture. In the so-called "Portuguese Chronilogical age of Discovery" relating to the 15th and 17th century Lisbon became strategi- cally significant as starting point for your Portuguese search for Africa, India, china and taiwan and Brazil. The legendary Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama left Lisbon in 1497 to disco- ver the ocean path to India.
Although Lisbon was largely destroyed by the disastrous earthquake in 1755 and entirely rebuilt in contemporary architectural style afterwards, many historical monuments have remained untouched with this nature catastrophe and are proof the cultural and historical diversity with this seaport. Of these historical sites of great interest you see Lisbon Castle/ Castle of Sao Jorge ("Castelo de Sao Jorge") built in a citadel-like style and Lisbon Cathe- dral ("Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa" or "Se de Lisboa") internal the 12th and 13th century at the end of Romanesque style, only to mention several. The Belem Tower ("Torre de Belem") having its Portuguese Late Gothic, Manueline and Renessaince Style as well as the Jeronimos Monastery ("Mosteiro dos Jeronimos") featuring its Manueline, Plateresco, Renaissance and Gothic style were built-in the 16th century and declared World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO in 1983. 
At the outset of the 19th century Lisbon was invaded and pillaged with the army of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1910 the 1st Portuguese Republic was declared. In 1998 Lisbon hosted the World Exhibition Expo ?98.
Lovers of art will like various museums in Lisbon like the "Museo do Azulejo" (Museum of Portuguese-style Tile Mosaics), the "Oceanario de Lisboa" (Lisbon Oceanarium) as well as the "Museo Nacional de Arte Antiga" (National Museum of Ancient Art). Opera lovers will appre- ciate the rich cultural agenda in the "Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos". Tourists will likely love the various cafes and restaurants as well as the numerous shopping possibilities like the Vasco da Gama Retail center and Amoreiras Shopping center. Don?t miss a fado music performance within the Alfama, Lisbon?s oldest quarter.
The public transport system in Lisbon is very well-developed and allows quick and easy acces towards the surrounding Lisbon region with Sintra, the Estoril Coast and the Setubal peninsula. Sintra along with the Estoril Coast may be found in the Ribatejo region north in the Tagus estuary (and so the name "Ribatejo" which suggests "riba do Tejo" ("on, or beyond, the banks with the Tagus")). The Estoril Coast having its beaches and holiday resorts offers a large various pleasurable activities like tennis, wandering, swimming or sailing which is the best option for beach holidays. The top density of courses with the Estoril Coast also helps it be a pa- radise for people. Surfers will favour surfing hotspots like Carcavelos and Ericeira.
Another daytrip destination simple to reach from Lisbon is Sintra. Its historic monuments such since the Nineteenth century Pena National Palace (Palacio Nacional de Pena), the 9th and 10th century Castle in the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros) and the 15th and 16th century Sintra National Palace (Palacio Nacional de Sintra) along with the Sintra-Cascais National Park are invariably worth visiting. Sintra was declared some sort of Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1995.
The Setubal peninsula (otherwise known as "Costa Azul" ("Blue Coast")) is found the Alentejo region south of the Tagus estuary (and so the name "Alentejo" which means "alem do Tejo" ("beyond the Tagus")). It is famous for the Arrabida National Park. The visitor will likely be impressed featuring its unique Mediterranean vegetation untouched by touristic development current unspoilt wildlife and may expect to see storks, flamingos and dolphins, flamingos. Dolphin watching is really a major tourist attraction. The protection area invites the traveller to varied leisure time activities such as river cruises, walking, mountain biking, riding, hot air ballooning, diving and golf.
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