Portugal

The more than 110,000 square meter (1,184,030 sq ft) Cemitério dos Prazeres consists of a system of... 73 roads. Many important Portuguese personalities from the last two centuries, including many artists and politicians, are buried in the "Cemetery of Pleasures", which was opened in 1833. With loving care and attention the rich citizens of Lisbon have constructed splendid sepulchers for their loved ones here. Chapel-like buildings containing tables and chairs, picture frames and even pretty curtains hanging in front of tiny windows give the impression of miniature living rooms. But while the dead from rich families are buried in these mini houses, the dead from poorer families have to make do with an uncomfortable walled compartment. Visitors to this cemetery enter a bizarre realm filled with beauty and blatant injustice. more

The Hieronymus Monastery is the most significant historical building in the whole of Portugal and is... one of the city's finest examples of Manueline architecture. King Manuel I had the building constructed in extravagant splendour in the heyday of the country's expeditions from 1502, funded by the lucrative trade with Asia. Several architects worked on this enormous task for around 100 years. The west wing was not completed until the 19th century. In 1984 UNESCO placed the monastery on its World Heritage List. Very impressive is the south portal with 24 life-size figures of saints and dignitaries. The Blessed Virgin Mary of Bethlehem stands in the centre. On the centre pedestal stands Infante Dom Henrique, better known as Henry the Navigator. At the main entrance, the west portal, the birth of Jesus is depicted in picture scenes. Many of the most important personalities in Portuguese history are buried in the church grounds. more

Porto, the city that gave the country its name, sits on two hills above the mouth of the Douro. You get... your first view of the old city from the Dom Luis I iron bridge, which spans the sloping, rocky Douro valley. Old houses side by side, narrow, twisting alleyways, little taverns and shops below granite arcades are what give Porto its particular charm. Narrow commercial buildings with splendid facades, whose balconies are covered with creeping plants, are evidence of Porto's long tradition as a merchant city. The metropolis of north Portugal has always been thought of as a liberal and cosmopolitan place - as the "City of Work": by southern standards, the place seems really busy. Almost everything revolves around port wine, which is filled and stored in the many wine cellars in Porto's sister city, Vila Nova de Gaia on the other side of the Douro. Since it was named European Capital of Culture in 2001, Porto's cultural life has taken a giant leap forward: Museums and historical buildings were restored and in future the cultural programme will also remain as extensive and demanding as it is at present. more