• Lisbon (or Lisboa) is the capital of Portugal since 1256.

• Originaly known as Alis Ubbo by the Phoenicians, Olisipo by the Greeks, Olissibona by the Romans and Al-Ushbuna by the Moors.

• The siege of Lisboa took place on 1147.

• Lisboa received its Charter in 1179 from the first King of Portugal, D. Afonso Henriques.

• The 1755 earthquake killed thousands of people and devastated a great part of the city. The estimated magnitude is between 8.5 to 8.7 on the Richter scale.

• Lisboa is known as the city of the seven hills: São Vicente, Santo André, Castelo, Santana, S. Roque, Chagas and Sta. Catarina do Monte Sinai.

• Lisboa has nowadays 556 797 people (Data from Censos, 2001 ).

• The area of Lisboa (including surrounding towns) has around 2,1 million people (Data from Censos, 2001 ).

• Standard time zone: No UTC/GMT offset.

• International country code: + 351 (Portugal).

• Latitude:  38° 42' North; Longitude:  9° 05' West.

• Language: Portuguese

• Currency: € Euro

• Electricity: 220 V/50 Hz. Round two-pin plugs are used.