Short travelogue of Lisbon, Portugal, which takes in the city’s historical buildings and the shoreline of the River Tagus. The film opens on the banks of the River Tagus, by a pier which has two white stone columns at the end. In the background the red 25 de Abril Bridge spans the river, and passengers disembark from a white sightseeing boat. In the centre of Lisbon, the Rua Augusta Arch, a large stone monument made up of tall columns and statues of historical figures, dominates an open...

Short travelogue of Lisbon, Portugal, which takes in the city’s historical buildings and the shoreline of the River Tagus. The film opens on the banks of the River Tagus, by a pier which has two white stone columns at the end. In the background the red 25 de Abril Bridge spans the river, and passengers disembark from a white sightseeing boat. In the centre of Lisbon, the Rua Augusta Arch, a large stone monument made up of tall columns and statues of historical figures, dominates an open square. In front of the arch, on a white plinth, is a green statue of King José I of Portugal. Mrs Hall, the filmmaker’s wife, strolls through the ornamental gardens behind a palace building, taking in flowerbeds, classical statues and lily ponds. By the side of a street, a flower stall offers a riot of different colours and shapes. A woman waters the various bouquets while others browse. From the streets of the city, the bright white dome of the Basilica da Estrela peeps out over the tops of buildings. Men lounge under a marble trellis covered with greenery, behind which the dome can again be seen. In a narrow street, people sell goods such as fresh fish from doorways. Washing hangs out of windows, men chat in groups and a woman sits with a group of children making a hemp sack. Another leans out of her window and smiles at the camera. Girls balance water jugs on their heads by an outdoor fountain. An elderly man wearing a woollen hat chats to a smiling girl. A woman has crates of long, thin fish for sale. There are boats moored in the harbour, where the large white obelisk of the Monument to the Discoveries is a beacon on the shores of the Tagus estuary. Mrs Hall inspects a statue of a lady holding a dove, and the small cast-like structure of the Belém Tower sits by the shoreline. A white horse statue stands behind a great cathedral. An inner courtyard has decorative gardens, cloisters with fine stone carving on the ceilings, arched windows and balconies.