Chafariz do Carmo / Largo do Carmo, Lisbon

One of the several – and most remarkable – public fountains built in Lisbon through the 15th-18th centuries, the Chafariz do Carmo sits in the Largo do Carmo plaza, beside the convent of the same name. Of late Baroque architecture, the fountain is enclosed within a porch supported by four majestic pillars and was raised on an aqueduct that once carried water to the city. Purely decorative today, it certainly adds to the place's atmosphere and is worth having a quick look-see.

Great at all times, the cool, shaded plaza has it all: a stellar Archeological Museum (housed in the 1755 earthquake-damaged Carmo Convent), the headquarters of the National Guard (an iconic landmark in Portugal's Carnation Revolution, where on April 25, 1974, the last of Portugal's dictators, Caetano, officially ceded power to the rebels), some of the best restaurants in town offering al fresco table service, a cozy round-shaped kiosk café where there is typically a musician or group of musicians providing entertainment, and even a little market on Sundays.