The charm and beauty of modern Lisbon is the result of an extremely long and very interesting history, and it’s the links that it maintains with that past which make it such a charming place to see today. The city’s cultural heritage can be seen and felt all throughout the city, from its renovated palaces to its impressive castle and the many magnificent churches, to the wonderfully varied neighborhoods, Lisbon breathes culture.

Lisbon City  takes its place alongside a few other capital cities which are built on seven hills and its cobble-stoned pavements and narrow, ancient streets, are full of Art Nouveau cafes and many other hidden or less hidden shops and other places to spend time and money at.

Thanks to its importance in the country and the large amounts of history that it has seen, one can expect Lisbon sightseeing to be quite a complex endeavor, and that is frankly rather true. Alongside the many museums, Lisbon also features many monuments, gardens as well as vantage points, and that’s just a small part of the many historical sights that the place offers, we’re not even mentioning the different city quarters and nightlife because there wouldn’t be enough space in this article for those as well.

As far as museums go, there are a lot to choose from, however there are a couple that you shouldn’t miss, especially if you’re on your first visit, starting with the National Art Museum. The museum’s exhibits are arranged into seven, extraordinarily fine collections focusing on Painting, Drawings, Sculpture, Engraving, Jewelry, Ceramic and Textile and Furniture.

One museum that reflects an artistic expression specific to Portuguese culture, is the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, or National Tile Museum. This is the only museum in Portugal to feature a collection of tiles, starting with the 15^th century onward.

As part of those links to its history, Lisbon’s Museu da Marinha – Naval Museum - is an important place in Lisbon, a place that displays a large collection of historical maps, boats, charts, model ships and instruments related to the very long and rich history of the Portuguese Navy and Merchant Navy as well as other ocean-faring activities responsible for many of the Great Discoveries.

Going away from the museums that the city offers, but still maintaining the water theme, one of the major monuments that the city features is the Aqueduct of the Free Waters or Aqueduto das Aguas Livres. This large aqueduct was build in the 18^th century and served to supply water to the city, it consists of 109 arches, with the tallest one being sixty-six meters.

One monument that you must not miss on visiting is the Castelo de Sao Jorge, or Saint George’s Castle. It was built in the 5^th century by the Visigoths, and then enlarged by the Moors in the 9^th century, this is a place where the very early history of the city can be seen and felt, all of these while also offering to its visitors a marvelous panoramic view of the city and the Tagus River that it sits on.

As far as religious buildings go, the Basilica da Estrela was build in the 18^th century, in late-Baroque style. This was the first church in the world dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and is one of the city’s most fascinating churches.

Keeping with the religious theme the Jeronimos Monastery is yet another interesting historical monument to not miss; having been built in a combination of late-Baroque and Renaissance styles, back in the 16^th century, the Monastery of the present celebrates the country’s Age of Discovery.

Obviously there are so many more things that one can see and do while in Lisbon, we don’t have enough space for them here, it’s suffice to say that thanks to the Lisbon Airport, the city is easily accessible to a plethora of visitors, many Lisbon transfers services being available, even those who are interested instead to visit nearby destinations such as Coimbra or Cascais, in order to take in some varied activities such as Lisbon golf.

The historic center of Lisbon is situated on seven hills, and this not only makes the city’s streets very steep, making some areas of it inaccessible to motor vehicles, but it also places Lisbon in a very exclusive club alongside cities like Amman, San Francisco and Rome, cities that are also built on seven hills.

Holiday Lisbon options vary tremendously, the city being a very diversified European capital, which still maintains strong links with its past, but also is not shy of the modern.

One of the many types of travelers that Lisbon attracts is the traveler who likes to visit various European locations to get a first-hand view of medieval and ancient history. In case you’re looking for that type of holiday Lisbon, there are a few places that you shouldn’t miss, the Sao Jorge Castle being probably the easiest one to not miss, since it’s located on the highest hill in the city; the Alfama neighborhood, the Covent of Carmo and the Se de Lisboa make that list as well.

Related to this type of historic attraction, there’s the overall architecture of Lisbon which attracts its fair share of visitors each year alone. One example of functional architecture is the Aqueduct of Aguas Livres – Free Waters, this was built at the beginning of the 18^th century and is a very imposing construction to this day.

One sight that combines the upper types of attractions, is the Discoveries Monument. It is a very interesting building erected on the River Tagus in 1960 to honor the many major explorers that sailed from Lisbon’s harbor throughout the centuries.

There are some who would go on a holiday to Lisbon as part of something of a religious trek through this highly catholic area of Europe, Lisbon being home to more than just one or two old and beautiful religious buildings.

One of the oldest such places of worship is the Patriarchal Cathedral, built in the 12^th century on the ruins of the older Moslem mosque. The building features a late-Romanesque style with a Gothic-style chapel.

The National Church of Santa Engracia is arguably one of the most beautiful churches in Lisbon, its Baroque style taking 284 years to completely bring to reality and after that inspiring the Portuguese expression of “works of Santa Egracia” meaning tasks that are endless.

However holidays in Lisbon don’t have to be limited at visiting architectural monuments and museums, even though we haven’t talked about museums at all, they are a sub-category of both historical and architectural sights. The younger visitors of Lisbon will surely not want to miss this city’s incredible nightlife, especially since Lisbon’s nightlife is considered by many to be in the top ten nightclub scenes in Europe.

The nightlife in Lisbon starts exactly when night falls, at sunset and keeps on thumping till dawn. The nightlife is so vibrant because the inhabitants of Lisbon themselves love to go out at night, and thanks to the variety of the city on the whole, there are many types and styles of restaurants and bars that populate particular areas, each of them with certain particularities. Whether you’re interested in going to the theater, or experiencing the smooth sounds of Fado, Lisbon offers that and more.

All lovers of music should check out the Fado Houses, where you can not only experience the unique emotional music of Portugal, Fado, but also great local dishes and the local atmosphere.

This has been just a very limited look at what Lisbon has to offer, there are many more museums, monuments and potential events that one can experience. All in all, the plethora of options when it comes to holidays Lisbon is extremely large, all you have to do is just book a trip and go there.