Fun and interesting facts about Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is full of beauty and charm. However, don't scrape the surface thinking it's just like any other place in the world. Lisbon has a list of interesting secrets as you see below:

1. In Lisbon, the streets are pretty much all black and white. People say the reason for this centers around the patron Saint of Lisbon; Saint Vincent. It's said that the black represents the attire worn by Saint Vincent whereas the white represents the white outfit of the Christian Crusaders who vanquished the Moors.
2. The main river basin of the Tagus Estuary in Lisbon stretches up to 14 km (8.7 m) across and is said to be large enough to contain all the warships in the world.
3. Beneath the streets of Lisbon's downtown shopping area lies a hidden Roman Underworld with chambers, rooms, bridges and corridors. The entrance to this fascinating world is marked by a block of metal at the top of Rua da Conceicao which is only open to the public two days a year due to the dangerous conditions lurking below.
4. Lisbon was practically destroyed on 1st November 1755 as a massive earthquake tipping the scales at 8.9 took the lives of 40,000 people and could be felt as far away as Scotland and Norway.
5. Visit on of Lisbon's favorite attractions; the Torre de Belem. The tower's first purpose was to safeguard the harbor but from the late 16th century up till the 19th, the tower served as a prison. Today however, it serves as a monument to Portugal's Age of Discovery and it provides a beautiful panoramic view of the city.
6. Lisbon is also known as "the town of seven hills" which are compromised of the seven hills: Castelo, Graca, Monte, Penha de Franca, S.Pedro de Alcantara, Santa Catarina and Estrela.
7. Instead of hiking, why not take a one of a kind the Ascensor de Santa Justa (street elevator). This is another beloved landmark which takes passengers 45 meters (147f) from the Baxia elevator to the Chiado district.
8. A very large statue of Cristo Rei (Christ the King) stands on the left bank of the river. This statue was erected to commemorate Portugal's survival of World War II without its direct involvement.
9. Ironically, The Alfama, which is the oldest section of Lisbon, was spared by the 1755 earthquake and is one of the places to visit if you want to see that Lisbon is full of history.
10. The Santa Engrácia church is in the Guinness Book of Records. Why? It has had the longest construction time of all churches in the world - it started in the 17th century and in 1966 was the last dome completed.
11. Lisbon’s Vasco da Gama Bridge is the longest bridge in Europe. The world record for the largest dining table was set when some 15,000 people were served lunch on the bridge as part of the inauguration celebrations.
12. The Lisbon Half Marathon, held every year in March, is one of the most attended events of its kind in the world.
13. Lisbon is home to the Stadium of Light, one of Europe's biggest and famous soccer venues in which the main sporting team Benfica play their home game at.
14. Speaking about Benfica - the football club is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for having the largest number of fans (an estimated total of 14 million worldwide and over 170,000 registered paying supporters).
15. The first passenger streetcars were built and introduced in the U.S. in the 19th Century (New York and New Orleans). The rails are called “carris” in Portuguese and this is the name given to Lisbon’s public transport company that operates the trams today. Due to their origins, Lisbon’s trams were originally called “americanos” and the first operational route was inaugurated on 17th November, 1873.