Praça do Rossio

Officially named Praça D. Pedro IV, a king that runned away from the French invasion to Brasil, where he setled the "new portuguese capital", asking his people to "be nice to the french ones". An emblematic square, since the Roman period in Lisbon, a place for fairs and markets, it was a hippodrome, bullring, seat of the inquisition, eventually a meeting place for poets, writers and politicians. Nowadays it remains one of the busiest places in the city, where you can find some historic cafes, the traditional florists and the National Theater D. Maria II. It was here that the "Calçada Portuguesa" pavement, made with basalt and limestone was used for the first time in 1848. (Tip: visit at night to see the fountains illuminated.)