Portugal – Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon is one of my earliest blog visits and what fond memories I still have of this city. I remember the hills most of all, they are everywhere. Counter this by taking trams everywhere – unusual for me not to walk, but long slopes in hot, sunny weather do not go together well. The fun was actually the trams, an unexpected delight, many still in their old regalia and preserved so well. You are nearly touching the walls of the side buildings as they negotiated the narrow alleys.

See the Geronimos Monastery and gaze at the spectacular modern bridge over the Tagus estuary. Sip cold drinks in the main square cafes and dine al fresco in any of hundreds of restaurants at night …. bliss.

My trip to Lisbon was a long weekend event but I found that I covered most of what I wanted to see. There is always more that you want to do once you get there. Unless you are going to take up a small residence period you have to work out in advance where to go, how to get there and how to make the most of the precious time you have there.

How to get from Lisbon airport to Jardim Zoologico Metro station.

I had planned how I was going to get to my hotel. Catch the Metro from the airport to São Sebastião Metro station on the red line. Change onto the blue line direction Amadores Este, two stops along this line I get off at Jardim Zoológico. Exit the Metro, with my back to the Zoo I walk 2 mins along the main road to go under the road bridge. 2 mins further to go under the train bridge and my hotel is there in front of me to the right.

I should not be able to miss it as it is 22 storey high with its name written down the length of it!!! And that is exactly what happened. It was so, so easy to get here from the airport that a taxi was an unnecessary, environmentally polluting expense.

Where I stayed in Lisbon.

I stayed at the 5 star Corinthia Lisboa …… one of the best hotels I have stayed in on my travels. Good because not only is the style, cleanliness, and attention to detail great but that the staff were so friendly and naturally helpful too. They chatted to me professionally but informatively whenever I asked them anything about getting around the city. They gave me a map, explained everything so I knew exactly what to do ….. such a welcome.

The room was amazing – perfectly comfortable with a sumptuous seating area and table, comfy huge bed and glorious bathroom.  The views were amazing. You see over the rooftops of the city from, not only being in such a tall building, but from being up on a higher area of the city. If you get an executive level room you also get the top floor executive lounge with all the extra complimentary snacks and drinks.

There is also marvellous views across the other side of town to the famous Pont 25 de Abril Bridge and the Roman aqueduct that runs across the nearby gorge.

Get the Lisbon card.

Lisbon does have a “Lisbon Card” (click here for info), which gets you free use of all trams, buses and local trains and free entrance into most (but not all) the main tourist sites. It gives you discount of 10-50% on many others so it’s important to do the maths and see if it works for you. Its available for 24 hrs (20E), 48 hrs (34E) and 72 hrs (42E) as of 2019.

We bought it as after doing the maths it worked out much cheaper for us. It also gave us the chance to use it to get to the sites that are farther away – not everything is in the centre! The tram rides in themselves are a delight and as Lisbon is so hilly if was definitely a godsend for the uphill visits!

The original Palace square was here but the earthquake and fire that destroyed it and much of Lisbon in 1755 meant the whole area was reconstructed into what we have today. In the centre is the massive statue of King Jose I on his horse.

It is also a mini transport hub as here there is a Metro station and a large tram stop. Opposite is the ornately carved and imposing 1875 Arco da Rua Augusta, with its white carved statues and ornamentation.

The periphery buildings are mainly big restaurants with huge seating areas outside in Summer to take in the views, catch the sun and people watch. Tourist prices too I’m afraid but even if just for just a coffee, it has to be done!

Praca do Rossio

So from the big arch go under it and up the Rua Augusta. Here you can just meander around the streets with no set route. Just meander looking at the old buildings in the geometric street plan and take in the 18th century rebuilt area.

Make sure you go to Praça do Rossio with its picturesque fountain, wavy pattern mosaic pavement and see the views. There is a big column with a statue of Pedro VI on the other side from the fountain with the backdrop of the National Theatre behind.

Look along Rua St Justa to get a view of the unique decorative metal elevator of 1901 that takes you (for a fee of about 6E) to the higher level up the city street. Make sure you look at the building to the left of the Theatre. It is the most fabulously ornate entrance building to a railway station, with its horseshoe shaped portals and carved stonework.

Just round the corner is the Praça dos Restauradores and wide square with an obelisk and lined round the edges with so many different designed buildings.

We took the Metro up to Marques de Pombal station and walked into the park from here. Further up there is a mirador (viewpoint) that looks down the entire length of the perfectly maintained hedgerows and lawns of the park, with great views.

It is here that many of the city’s best hotels are also located eg Four Seasons and Intercontinental – if you fancy a high end drink and rest !

We caught the Metro back to the centre when we had completed our detour and boarded a tram for our next stop. It takes about 30 mins to get there and the Metro does go this way so make sure you know which bus or tram to take. We were headed for possibly the biggest attraction in Lisbon – the Monastery

The Monastery was inaugurated on the orders of Manuel I (1460-1521) in 1495. It was to be built in a richly ornate architectural style now called, funnily enough, “Manueline”. It wasn’t finished for another 100 years and was intended as a mausoleum for the Royal family. It went through many refurbishments until 1833, when the religious orders were dissolved and the monastery was abandoned.

The monastery withstood the 1755 earthquake without much damage. Of note is that Vasco de Gama, the famous Portuguese seafarer and explorer is buried here. He discovered Southern Africa and India and spent the night in prayer here before departing on his historical expedition to the Orient in 1497. He is buried in a side area in a large tomb.

Attached to the monastery is the Church of Santa Maria with its high ceiling and ornate interior.

The church and the monastery, like the nearby Torre de Belem, and Pradao dos Descobrimentos symbolise the historically important Portuguese Age of Discovery. This whole area is a huge national historical section of Lisbon with so much to see, so give yourself a few hours at least. Nearby are 4 national museums, a lakeside park and lots to walk around and admire.

For refreshment, across the road from the big tram stop is one of Lisbon’s most famous cake shops “Pasteis de Belem”. It sells the well known “pastel de nata” cakes. You have try this national cake – a bit like a custard tart, you can’t miss it as its opposite MacDonalds !!!

You can go up to the viewing platform and from there are fabulous views. You can see  to both bridges over the Tagus estuary, over the nearby Monastery-church complex and views of the two next door Museums.

On another day we took the tram ride up to the top of the Alfama area and to the Castle of St George, “Castelo di San Jorge”.

The tram ride alone is enchanting as it goes up steep roads, trundling around the curves. It passes so close to the narrow alley walls that you can reach out and almost touch them.

We also stopped off at the mini tram hub on Santa Helena Square. Here we had a few beers in the glorious sunshine of the square at a café and admired the views over the roof tops and towards the river.

We actually noticed that the liner Queen Elizabeth was docked in the quayside on our walk previously to the tram stop. I managed to now also get a pic of it from the Square high above. From the square there are the famous views over the terracotta tiled roofs on the city and beyond.

The cool breeze, the drinks on the table, the sun in the sky, vistas of the horizon and cute trams trundling by gave this rest stop on the square a unique and wonderful feeling.

We caught the tram again and went up the last leg of the tramway and then it was a short walk up to the castle gates and we were in. The Castle of St George is of mixed architecture, Moorish mainly but many parts from the 11th century also. It contains a small village area, ruins of the Royal Palace, a museum and battlements. You can walk along the wall tops to get majestic views over all Lisbon and the estuary.

Where to eat in Lisbon.

On our last night we went out of the hotel to dine. As the night was very warm we wanted to dine al fresco. We had seen so many open air restaurants and bars on our walks that we headed back into town to an area we had seen many that looked great. We headed for Rua das portas de Santo Antao which runs up from the right side of the national Theatre in Rossio district.

It was full of outside restaurants all very busy and the choice was enormous. We picked one that looked good and had Portuguese food that we wanted to try and enjoyed the night…. the deserts were the highlight and well deserved !

June, 2014