VASCO DA GAMA TOWER

Description

Essentials about the Vasco da Gama Tower in brief

The Vasco da Gama Tower is one of Lisbon’s modern sights. The observation tower with adjoining hotel building is located on the Parque das Nações (Park of Nations) site on the banks of the Tagus River, which was developed for the 1998 World Expo. At a height of 145 meters, the Vasco da Gama Tower is the tallest building in Portugal and from the vantage point you can enjoy a magnificent panoramic view over the Tagus River and many of Lisbon’s sights.

The architecture of the Vasco da Gama Tower

True to the motto of Expo 98, “The Oceans: A Heritage for the Future,” the tower is intended as a memorial to the navigator Vasco da Gama and to express the Portuguese people’s attachment to the sea, something that architects Nick Jacobs and Leonor Janeiro have evidently succeeded in doing. The base extends into the Tagus like a ship’s bow, the steel structure represents the sail of a caravel, and the tower body is like a mast with a lookout.

The use of the Vasco da Gama Tower

After the Expo, the tower was to continue to be used as an office and commercial property, but too few new tenants were found. In 2004, the observation deck and the tower restaurant were finally closed. In 2007, the conversion of the Vasco da Gama Tower into a luxury hotel began, which opened in 2012.

After many years without a public viewing terrace, the Vasco da Gama Tower now once again has a vantage point from which visitors can enjoy a magnificent panorama over the Tagus and many of Lisbon’s riverside sights, including the Vasco da Gama Bridge, Parque das Nações and the Oceanarium.