Lisbon Metropolitan Area in the context of "Metropolitan areas in Portugal"

Lisbon, officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Lisbon, is the capital and most populous municipality of Portugal, with an estimated population of 575,739, as of 2024, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city (second overall after Reykjavík), and the only one along the Atlantic coast, the others (Reykjavík and Dublin) being on islands. The city lies in the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula, on the northern shore of the River Tagus. The western portion of its metro area, the Portuguese Riviera, hosts the westernmost point of Continental Europe, culminating at Cabo da Roca.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world and the second-oldest European capital city (after Athens), predating other modern European capitals by centuries. Settled by pre-Celtic tribes and later founded and civilized by the Phoenicians, Julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding the term to the name Olissipo. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it was ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, most notably the Visigoths. Later it was captured by the Moors in the 8th century. In 1147, Afonso Henriques conquered the city and in 1255, it became Portugal's capital, replacing Coimbra. It has since been the political, economic, and cultural centre of the country.

Coimbra, officially the City of Coimbra, is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of 319.40 square kilometres (123.3 sq mi).It is the fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, and is the largest city of the district of Coimbra and the Centro Region. About 460,000 people live in the Região de Coimbra, comprising 19 municipalities and extending into an area of 4,336 square kilometres (1,674 sq mi).

Among the many archaeological structures dating back to the Roman era, when Coimbra was the settlement of Aeminium, are its well-preserved aqueduct and cryptoporticus. Similarly, buildings from the period when Coimbra was the capital of Portugal (from 1131 to 1255) still remain. During the late Middle Ages, with its decline as the political centre of the Kingdom of Portugal, Coimbra began to evolve into a major cultural centre. This was in large part helped by the establishment of the first Portuguese university in 1290 in Lisbon and its relocation to Coimbra in 1308, making it the oldest academic institution in the Portuguese-speaking world. Apart from attracting many European and international students, the university is visited by many tourists for its monuments and history. Its historical buildings were classified as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2013: "Coimbra offers an outstanding example of an integrated university city with a specific urban typology as well as its own ceremonial and cultural traditions that have been kept alive through the ages."

Braga (European Portuguese: [ˈbɾaɣɐ], also [ˈbɾagɐ] ; Proto-Celtic: *Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality had a resident population of 201,583 inhabitants (in 2023), representing the seventh largest municipality in Portugal by population. Its area is 183.40 km. Its agglomerated urban area extends to the Cávado River and is the third most populated urban area in Portugal, behind Lisbon and Porto Metropolitan Areas.

It is host to the oldest Portuguese archdiocese, the Archdiocese of Braga of the Catholic Church and it is the seat of the Primacy of the Spains. During the Roman Empire, then known as Bracara Augusta, the settlement was the capital of the Roman province of Gallaecia and would later become the capital of the Kingdom of the Suebi, one of the first territories to separate from the Roman Empire in the 5th century. Inside the city there is also a castle tower that can be visited. Nowadays, Braga is among the most noted entrepreneurial and technological centers of the country, as well as a major hub for inland Northern Portugal, and it is an important stop on the Portuguese Way path of the Road of St James. The city hosted two games of the UEFA Euro 2004 and was the European Youth Capital in 2012.