Friday February 18, 2011 at 10:31AM from Sabine K.
What to see and do, Avenue de Berna

A city icon signifying Portugal’s age of discovery, Belém Tower sits on the northern banks of the Tagus River near its mouth into the Atlantic. Many great Portuguese explorers launched expeditions from or visited here, including Prince Henry the Navigator, Bartholomeu Dias, Ferdinand Magellan, Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus.

The tower and the nearby Jeronimos Monastery, the resting place of Vasco da Gama, both have been declared UNESCO World Heritage sites. The monastery’s magnificent ornate main entrance features an abundance of gables, pinnacles, and carved figures standing  around a statue of Henry the Navigator, who founded a hermitage on the same site.

Located within a landscaped park, at the intersection of Avenue de Berna and Avenue António Augusto de Aguiar, the Gulbenkian Museum contains 1,000 permanent pieces of ancient and modern art from Eastern and Western civilizations. Established from the estate of Calouste Gulbenkian, the museum contains Oriental, Classical, Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian and Persian art as well as European masterpieces by Degas, Manet, Monet, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rodin, Van Dyck, and many others. Admission is €4 general, €2 for students and seniors free for children under 12.

For an experience you’re unlikely to find anywhere else, visit the popular Coaches Museum, containing the world's largest collection of royal coaches. Housed in the old Horse Riding Arena of the Belém Palace, the collection includes carriages made in Italy, Portugal, France, Spain, Austria and England from the late 16th century through the 19th. One spectacular example is the ceremonial coach given by Pope Clement XI to King John V in 1715.

To experience Lisbon’s nightlife, visit the Bairro Alto, Lisbon’s cultural and bohemian heart. Dating from the 16th century, its sloped cobbled lanes lead to a multitude of interesting bars, shops and restaurants that stay open late. One of the best walking districts, the Alfama is diced by narrow medieval alleys and small squares. Its many churches and whitewashed houses with wrought-iron balconies make for interesting photographic composition. Make sure to bring along a map as it’s easy to get lost in this area.

Tags: business_break, sightseeing