The Colombo Centre (Centro Colombo in Portuguese) is a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

located in the parish of

Carnide Carnide () is a '' freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Located in northern Lisbon, Carnide is north of São Domingos de Benfica and Benfica, east of Lumiar, and directly south of Lisbon's border with Odi ...

in Lisbon and attracts many visitors. It is situated next to the ''Lusíada'' avenue and the ''Segunda Circular''; there is a bus terminal next to the building and the

Lisbon Metro The Lisbon Metro ( pt, Metropolitano de Lisboa) is the rapid transit system in Lisbon, Portugal. Opened in December 1959, it was the first metro system in Portugal. , the system's four lines total of route and serve 56 stations. History In ...

station '' Colégio Militar/Luz'' allows visitors easy access to Colombo.

History

It opened on 15 September 1997. The architecture of the space, as well as its original decoration, was themed to the

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafari ...

, one of the most important periods in the

history of Portugal The history of Portugal can be traced from circa 400,000 years ago, when the region of present-day Portugal was inhabited by Homo heidelbergensis. The Roman invasion in the 3rd century BC lasted several centuries, and developed the Roman provi ...

. The squares and hallways inside the mall have names alluding to the Elizabethan era, such as "Avenue of the Discoveries" and "Square

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted tow ...

". From 2007 and 2009, the mall renovated its interior design completely, mixing contemporary concepts with the originals. This mall has been designed with environmental concerns in mind, therefore it has implemented several policies towards energy saving, waste recycling and others.

Shops

It has shoe shining, clothing stores, food stores, stationery stores, a chapel, and a supermarket. Additionally there are 9 cinema screens, a bowling alley, an outdoor garden and over 60 restaurants. It is the biggest shopping mall of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

by total number of stores. It has more stores than any other shopping mall in Portugal, having stores as

Fnac Fnac () is a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its head office is in ''Le Flavia'' in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. It is an abbreviation of Fédération Nationale d ...

Zara Zara may refer to: Businesses * Zara (retailer), a fashion retail company based in Spain * Zara Investment Holding, a Jordanian holding company * Continental Hotel Zara, Budapest, Hungary Music * ''ZaRa'', an EP by Merzbow * "Zara", a 2011 si ...

, Sport Zone,

Adidas Originals Adidas Originals (often stylized as adidas Originals) is a brand of a line of casual and sportswear created by German multinational corporation Adidas. It consists of a heritage line, specializing in athletic shoes, t-shirts, jackets, bags, ...

and the largest

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...

store in Portugal.http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/10/04/economia/1349353077.html The mall has 119 725 m² and 340 stores. The Towers of Colombo, which were seen in the initial project as an integral part of the Centro Colombo, were only started in 2007 due to an embargo by the Lisbon city council, which was ultimately decided in court. "Torre Oriente" (East Tower) was finished first and "Torre Ocidente" (West Tower) finished in 2011.

References

External links

Official site of Colombo Centre
{{Authority control Shopping centers in Portugal Buildings and structures completed in 1997 Colombo Centre 1997 establishments in Portugal