Arco da Rua Augusta

This triumphal arch closes the north side of Lisbon's grand riverside square and marks the entrance to the pedestrian shopping street beyond. Conceived after the 1755 earthquake but completed only in 1875, it is crowned with allegorical statues of Glory rewarding Valour and Genius, along with figures of national heroes. A lift and a final spiral stair carry visitors to a rooftop terrace where the clock mechanism sits beside sweeping views over the Tagus estuary and the tiled rooftops of the Baixa.