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| Beth surveying her Queendom from the terrace of the National Pantheon |
In 1998 Lisbon hosted 143 participating countries and welcomed 11 million visitors to Expo '98. The theme for this five month event was: The Oceans" A Heritage for the Future. While looking toward the future, the event also celebrated the 500 year anniversary of what is referred to as the age of discovery. This was the time when Portuguese explorers were discovering new lands and establishing trade for the first time with many Asian countries. The expo was a time when many visitors discovered Portugal. Their tourism industry has been on the rise since then.
Although the growth slowed some in 2018, it once again set a new record high, something it has done for eight consecutive years.
Today we ventured out eastward along the Tagus River to one of the newer barrios, the Expo barrio. It is so named because this is where Expo '98 was held. Although most have been repurposed, many of the buildings that were built for Expo '98 remain. They are now condos, apartments, office space, restaurants and shopping areas. One of the center pieces of Expo '98 that is still being used for it's original purpose is the Lisbon Oceanarium, the largest indoor aquarium in Europe. Admission to the Oceanarium was around fifteen dollars (US) and it was well worth the price of admission. The huge aquarium in the middle can be viewed from two levels and there are viewing windows all the way around. Additionally there are a number of smaller aquariums/display tanks on the outside. All the information is in multiple languages including English.
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| The Lisbon Oceanarium |
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| Along the riverfront in the Expo Barrio |
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| Flags representing the 143 countries that participated in Expo '98 |
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| Expo '98 Plaza |
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Oriente Transportation Center in the Expo Barrio (Trains, metro
and buses)
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We walked from our hotel to the Expo barrio, which was a little over five miles. Once we were done looking around we took the easy way back by catching the number 728 bus. We got off a little short of our hotel area to visit one other site in the Alfama barrio, the National Pantheon.
There's a lot that can be said about the National Pantheon, but one of the first things that came to my mind was "what took you so long"? Records indicate that construction began in 1681 but that it wasn't completed until 1966! It was originally intended to be a church (The Church of Santa Engracia), however, it is now a monument known as the National Pantheon. It is the final resting place for many of Portugal's more famous people, including politicians, authors and athletes. Although there was a trickle of visitors coming through when we were there it was no where near as crowded as many of the other sites in that area, making it somewhat of a hidden gem. Like the Oceanarium, it's well worth the small admission price to see the inside, as well as the view of the city from the terrace that can be reached by climbing up the 175 steps from the ground level.
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| The National Pantheon |
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| Front View |
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| Me blocking a good view of the interior |
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| The dome of the National Pantheon |
Tomorrow is our last day in Lisbon. We've got a full day planned here and we will then be taking an overnight train to Salamanca, Spain. It may be a couple of days before I get the next blog posted.
It's easy to see why Portugal continues to set new tourism records year after year, and also why in both 2017 and 2018 it was named Europe's Leading Tourism Destination by the World Travel Awards.
World Travel Awards
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| We don't do all that walking for nothing! Waffle with Banana, Nutella and Ice Cream |
