Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To reach the Parque das Nações, take the train or metro to Gare do Oriente and follow
the signs to the waterfront. The riverside promenade is great for two-wheel adventures. To
rent your own set of wheels, check out Tejo Bike (
Click here
)
, located just east of the
Centro Vasco da Gama. For a bird's-eye view of the park, take a ride on the
Teleférico
(Aerial
Tram;
www.telecabinelisboa.pt
;
Passeio do Tejo; adult/child one-way €4/2;
11am-1.30pm & 2.45-7pm)
, which
glides above the river's edge.
DON'T MISS
A WONDROUS ART COLLECTION
Set in a lemon-fronted, 17th-century palace, the
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(Ancient Art Museum;
www.museudearteantiga.pt
; Rua das Janelas Verdes; admission €5, free
10am-2pm Sun; 2-6pm Tue, 10am-6pm Wed-Sun) is Lapa's biggest draw. It presents a star-studded collec-
tion of European and Asian paintings and decorative arts. Keep an eye out for highlights such as Nuno
Gonçalves' naturalistic
Panels of São Vicente,
Albrecht Dürer's
St Jerome,
Lucas Cranach's haunting
Salomé
,
and Gustave Courbet's bleak
Snow
. Other gems include golden wonder the
Monstrance of Belém,
a souvenir
from Vasco da Gama's second voyage; and 16th-century Japanese screens depicting the arrival of the
namban
(southern barbarians), namely big-nosed Portuguese explorers.
Oceanário
(
www.oceanario.pt
; Doca dos Olivais; adult/child €13/9; 10am-8pm)
The closest you'll get to scuba-
diving without a wetsuit, Lisbon's Oceanário is mind-blowing. No amount of hyperbole
does it justice, with 8000 species splashing around in 7 million litres of seawater. Huge
wraparound tanks make you feel as if you are underwater, as you eyeball zebra sharks,
honeycombed rays, gliding mantas and schools of neon fish.
Keep an eye out for oddities such as filigree seadragons, big ocean sunfish, other-
worldly jellyfish and frolicsome sea otters. You'll also want to see the recreated rainforest,
Indo-Pacific coral reef and Magellan penguins on ice. The conservation-oriented oceanari-
um arranges family activities from behind-the-scenes marine tours to sleeping with the
sharks.
AQUARIUM
Pavilhão do Conhecimento
(
www.pavconhecimento.pt
;
Living Science Centre; adult/child €7/4; 10am-6pm Tue-Fri, 11am-7pm Sat & Sun)
Kids won't grumble about science at the interactive Pavilhão do Conhecimento, where
they can launch hydrogen rockets, lie unhurt on a bed of nails, experience the gravity on
the moon and get dizzy on a high-wire bicycle. Budding physicists have fun whipping up
MUSEUM
