Explore Lisbon's delights: Ancient seaport offers music, monuments, tuk-tuk tours

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

"The Carpe Diem Kids"

The Monument to the Discoveries is a magnificent tribute to Portugal's power on the seas. It juts upward to depict the country's explorers, rulers and sailors who made history in their explorations of the world.

SAILING INTO Lisbon on the majestic Tagus River, two imposing architectural wonders catch our eye. We see the stunning limestone Monument to the Discoveries. Intricately carved, it pays homage to the country's explorers, royals and navigators who set out to explore the new world. Nearby the imposing Belem Tower stands guard on the river's bank as it has done since built as a fort in the 16th Century when Portugal was king of the seas.

The Tower and Monument reveal the layers of Portugal's long seafaring history.

We admire Prince Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama and Ferdinand Magellan, men who did the near impossible in the day: found the sea route to India, discovered the Azores and Madeira, and circumnavigated the globe.

Somewhere over the rainbow is the delightful city of Lisbon, Lisboa in Portuguese, awaiting your discovery.

THE TAGUS River meanders through the Alfama, or old quarter, urging walkers to follow it, and soak up the sights, sounds and smells of centuries of progress and some remarkable disasters. A horrible earthquake is etched into the city's memory, and Portugal has sent off more explorers per capita than any other small country. We always enjoy a tuk-tuk ride with our friend Tomas, who knows and loves the city of his birth. Highly recommended, a leisurely way to meander and learn where to catch a concert, shop for tiles or book a side trip to Sintra and its hillside palaces., Old and sturdy, with exciting new buildings going up, Portugal is proud of its maritime tradition and its knowledge of the sea.

Exploring Lisbon by tuk tuk is a fun way to get around. Here Tomas, center, takes Keller, Jane, Cookie and Rick around the city's winding streets.

The museums of Lisbon celebrate the rich history and culture of this Portuguese capital city. To appreciate Lisbon's dramatic stone architecture, take a guided walking tour.  It will point out the fascinating Maritime Museum, one of the most important in Europe, evoking Portugal's domination of the seas. It's perfect for families or anyone who adores all things nautical. The city's many other museums focus on everything from Lisbon's rich maritime past to decorative Portuguese tiles, and everything in between.

Fado is a national art in Portugal, where singers and musicians convey the emotion of stories.

A FADO MUSEUM pays tribute to the national musical form, with concerts and tips on where to hear fado, highly recommended. Fado is deeply imbedded in the culture -- soulful, melancholic, and expressive. The word fado means fate or destiny.

Other museums offer gems ranging from colorfully rendered miniatures of Portugal's famous doors to well preserved artifacts from the vast Portuguese empire.

The city is also mecca of lively restaurants and inviting squares to relax and chat.

Lisbon is a mix: stately, new, ancient and contemporary, fun and full of fascinating surprises. It is an enduring city, glistening and inviting through the centuries as a prime seaport and welcoming and economical tourist destination.

Lisbon's gothic and Romanesque cathedral features many tombs, including Vasco da Gama's.

One of Europe's most unsung and least visited cultural capitals, Lisbon is often overlooked in favor of Paris, Rome and the Scandinavian capitals. We have found it to be welcoming, a bit cheaper than other European capitals. Can't beat the food, music and charming people.

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Park Guell's Dragon Stairway invites visitors to climb into the magical world created by Lisbon's famed architect Antoni Gaudi, whose name is synonymous with the captivating city of Barcelona.

UP NEXT: We return to another favorite southern Europe city, Barcelona. With fascinating masterpieces created by genius designer Antoni Gaudi, it is replete with eye-catching architecture. Buildings reflect the Catalan modernist movement, giving Catalan architecture worldwide recognition. Barcelona blends art nouveau, neo-gothic, and oriental styles in a unique architectural potpourri not seen anywhere else. Come along won't you?