- Lisbon is the oldest city in Western Europe. In fact, only Athens is estimated older if you look at Europe as a whole. Lisbon was founded by the Phoenicians in 1200 BC.
- Technically, Lisbon is not the capital of Portugal. There are no official documents that confirm that. Apparently it happened by chance when King Alfonso III settled with his court in Lisbon. That made sense of course since Lisbon was already the largest and most important city in Portugal.
- The raven is the symbol of Lisbon. According to legend, two ravens travelled with the body of São Vicente, the patron of Lisbon. Vicente Zaragoza was buried in the Algarve, near Sagres, since the year 303. King Afonso, I had the body dug up and shipped it to Lisbon. You can also find this story in the Lisbon coat of arms.
- Many streets and squares in Lisbon are tiled in black and white. This is said to have its origins at São Vicente: white represents the clothing of the Crusaders, while black was the favourite colour of São Vicente.