The town of Lisbon stands on the Tagus near the Atlantic Ocean.
It is built on several hills surrounding a lower part named Baixa which is the old traditional town.
The town was destroyed by a terrible earthquake followed by a tsunami during the night of November 1rst of year 1755. The fires due to the mode of heating and lighting at this time dramatically increased the destructions. More than 60,000 people died and 85% of the town was in ruins. It is the reason why few monuments built before this date still exist. Only few districs far from the epicentre have kept old buildings, like Belém with the magnificent Hieronymites monastery.
Following this dramatic event, the town has been rebuilt under the authority of the Marquess of Pombal whom statue dominates the town on an impressive perspective down to the river.
Upstream on the Tagus, a modern district built for the World Fair of 1998 opens in contemporary architectures and is the place of the bridge Vasco De Gama, 17 km long, also built at this occasion which crosses the Tagus in its widest point.
Downstream, an evocation of both Americas with the bridge of April 25th (date of the Carnation Revolution which ended the dictatorship of Salazar), built by the same company as the Golden Gate in San Francisco. The bridge is dominated by the monumental statue of Cristo-Rei which reminds Cristo-Redentor of Rio Janeiro.
In the little towns near Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Estoril you can see beautiful houses, former royal or noble residences.
For the photographers, the surrounding hills offer large points of view on the town where clear facades and red roofs look great on the background of the river under a sky with nice light clouds.
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