Attractions

Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon. A private collection featuring Persian art, tapestries, silver, Egyptian sculptures and contemporary French paintings.

Coach Museum, Lisbon. Located in an 18th-century riding academy attached to the royal palace, the exhibits include a Coronation Coach finished in gold leaf.

National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon. A survey of art from the 12th to the 19th centuries and home to some of Europe's finest ceramics, silver and tapestries.

Monastery of Jerónimos, Lisbon. A masterpiece of Manueline architecture which was inspired by Vasco da Gama, who is buried here with other great navigators. Nearby is the Navigators' Monument.

Pena Palace, Sintra. An 18th-century palace with golden turrets, tiled doorways and romantic gardens. The mountaintop palace offers stunning views of the region.

Sagres Fortress. On a high and windy headland stands the 17th-century fort, site of Prince Henry's 15th-century navigation school.

Conimbriga, 100 miles north of Lisbon. Originally a pre-Celtic site, it became a Roman summer resort around 150 B.C.

Foz Coa. Animal drawings were carved 10,000 years ago into the granite bank of this river, considered Europe's greatest outdoor gallery of Stone Age art.

Lourinha, about 42 miles north of Lisbon. A nest of 34 dinosaur eggs, including the fossilized embryo of a meat-eating dinosaur believed to be 140 million years old, was discovered on Jurassic Hill here.

Something Special

Commemorating the fifth centenary of Vasco da Gama's voyage to India, Expo '98 will be the last great world's fair of the century, taking place in Lisbon from May 22 to Sept. 30.

The theme is "The Oceans- A Heritage for the Future" and 145 countries and international organizations will participate in Expo's pavilions. The Oceanarium, designed by American Peter Chermayeff, is the largest aquarium in Europe. Check the Internet site at www.expo98.pf.

More than 5,000 performances of opera, jazz, rock, and fado will fill the nights.