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Belem is an 18-century royal palace, which is today the official residence of the President.
Pointed Stones palace The pointed stones palace was built in the sixteen century for a son of a vice-king of India. The
idea of the decoration reminds us the same style used in palaces like the shells palace in Spain and the diamonds palace
in Italy. It's curious to mention that there are six doors for one manor house.
Ajuda royal palace The statue of king Charles, one of the last kings of Portugal, is in front of the best royal palace we
have in Lisbon, from the beginning of the 19 century, built after all the terrible earthquakes of Lisbon. It's a palace with
a neoclassical facade, as it was fashionable all over Europe, and near the entrance there is a fine collection of statues
made by the school of artists who came to work here. Although their voluptuousness tells about life inside the walls,
they are still too austere, compared to the coziness of the interior. The interior is appropriate to a period when royal
families used to spend much of their time inside their dwellings. It's a jumble of furniture of different styles and
countries, most of them gifts from several monarchs of Europe. Paintings and portraits of the royal family match with
Spanish and Portuguese tapestries, French, and Italian chandeliers, Chinese and German porcelain, Portuguese and
French furniture, Egyptian, Portuguese and Italian marble and it all ends in a fantastic dinning room.
City Council The town hall of Lisbon, built in the second half of the 19 century, was a witness of important events of
the Portuguese history, like demonstrations of the republican revolution. Its facade in neoclassic style has an elegant
frontispiece with the coat of arms of Lisbon. We always see there the flag of Lisbon, showing the boat with two ravens,
a symbol of Saint Vincent, patron saint of Lisbon.
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Parliament It was built in the end of the 19-century, on the place of a former convent of the 17-century, which was enlarged in the beginning of the
19-century to house the Parliament of Portugal. It has an imposing neoclassic facade and is watched over by two guards, keeping deputies safe inside.
They keep their job like 2 lions, eager to defend the Constitution. This is the place where deputies meet since 1834 and is one of the most imposing
buildings of Lisbon, not far from the center.
Other palaces We can see a lot of other interesting little palaces, manor houses, mansions, spread all over the city. Most of them date from the 18 and 19
centuries, as the previous ones were destroyed by the strongest earthquake in Portugal, the one of 1755. They were built for the aristocracy of Portugal in
the outskirts of Lisbon, and they are now integrated in the 21st century of Lisbon. There's an old song describing Lisbon as an antique and aristocratric
town, so full of charm and beauty, accounting only for the many ancient buildings which survived time and earthquakes as well as the many single family
homes, some of them located in the busy and central parts of the city.
Bullring Not really a palace, but it's one of the imposing buildings in Lisbon. The bullfight ring dates from the end of the 19-century. Bullfighting was a
main sport for the aristocracy in the past and the Portuguese bullfight with its special characteristics, like bullfighting on horse back and tackling the bull
by hand is a must for strong spirited people.
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