May 13, 2013
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is the oldest city in Western Europe. Lisbon predates London, and Paris, and Rome by hundreds of years.
Even earlier, there is evidence of Neolithic settlement, Pre-Celts, Celts and Phoenicians.
The Romans ventured to Portugal. They were followed by Germanic tribes from Europe, Moors from North Africa, Crusaders from Britannia and the Spanish from over the mountains.
Lisbon lies along the sheltered harbor of the broad Tagus River. The Tagus and the other rivers in Portugal that flow from east to west into the Atlantic provided the embarkation points of adventure, trade, discovery, conquest and colonization.