Originally the site of Expo ‘98, Parque das Nações has become a new focus for
Lisbon. With its contemporary architecture, family-oriented attractions and
modern living spaces, the park has renewed the eastern waterfront, an industrial
wasteland as recently as 1990. Even from a distance, the soaring geometry of the
platform canopies over Santiago Calatrava’s Oriente Station set the
architectural tone for the development. The impressive Portugal
Pavillion , designed by the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira has
an enormous reinforced-concrete roof suspended almost miraculously, like a
sailcloth, above its forecourt.

The Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciencia Viva  (Knowledge and
Science Pavilion) is a modern museum of science and technology that houses
several interactive exhibitions. Views can be had from the cable car that lifts
visitors from one end of the park to the other or the Torre Vasco
da Gama , Lisbon’s tallest building. The promenade along the river,
which offers delightful views of the Tagus at its widest and the impressive
Vasco da Gama bridge, is not to be missed. The 10-mile (17-km) long Vasco da
Gama bridge is the longest in Europe and was completed in 1998. Also in the area
are the Sony Plaza and Pavilhão Atlantico, which host concerts and sporting
events.