Time for some fun facts about Lisbon! Having visited this city last year, I learned some random facts that I would like to share with you now.
Lisbon City
Lisbon is the oldest city in Western Europe.
Lisbon Capital
Another fun fact about Lisbon is that it officially is not the capital of Portugal. There are no official documents.
Lisbon – City of 7 hills
Lisbon is known as the city of 7 hills but actually doesn’t have 7 hills. Apparently there are more than 7 and it was miscounted on purpose.
National Symbol of Lisbon
The Raven/crows are the symbol of Lisbon and are called Vincent because when Saint Vincent was buried, they escorted his body to the grave.
Christo Rei Statue
Another fun fact about Lisbon is that it has its own Christo Rei statue, just like the one in Brazil. It represents the survival of WWII.
Lisbon Tram
One of the most famous attractions in Lisbon is a tram (TRAM 28 to be precise), which is actually stolen from the Americans.
Football in Lisbon
Lisbon is famous for football – 214 football clubs are registered in the Football Association of Lisbon.
Oldest Bookstore
The oldest bookstore in the world is in Lisbon. It is about 4 sqm big and holds around 4000 books. Whenever a customer wants to enter the store, the owner has to leave it.
Lisbon Cafe
In Cafe Martinho da Arcada in Lisbon, two tables are always kept empty and are permanently reserved for 2 famous dead writers/poets (Fernando Pessoa & Jose Saramago).
Lisbon National Dish
A famous local delicatessen is “Pastel de Bèlem“. The original recipe is secret and has never been written down but memorized. Only about 5 men know about it.
Lisbon Aquarium
Lisbon has the biggest indoor aquarium with 70 million liters of water and different kind of species, who all swim in the same water.
Beer Import
Lisbon was the first country that imported Guinness beer from Ireland.
Those were some 12 fun facts about Lisbon. I hope you learned a bit. Also, check out 10 fun facts about Amsterdam and 7 Fun Facts about Ireland as well as 11 Fun Facts about Barcelona.
