As the slow, rickety Intercidades train crossed the April 25th Bridge, we arrived in our final destination on this trip and one of my favorite cities in Europe — Lisbon. I had spent a week exploring it alone when I finished my Master’s Thesis and was so excited to return.
Lisbon City Walk
We started our first full day in Lisbon with a city walk through the different districts to get acquainted with its major highlights. So proud of the team for making it to everything in one day!
Baixa-Chiado
Our Airbnb was right in the middle of the Baixa district, which is the only flat district in all of Lisbon. So naturally, that was where we started our walking tour. The Rick Steves Lisbon City Walk (link to the tour map) took us through the major squares. Along the way, we learned some interesting Portuguese history. Did you know most of Lisbon was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755? Almost everything was rebuilt since then in the pragmatic Pompaline style, particularly in the Baixa-Chiado, the business districts.
What’s unique about Lisbon was that instead of building brand new, some buildings (particularly churches) preserved what they could of the original structure and left them exposed to remember the devastation of the quake. For example, the Church of São Domingos, the exposed beams and columns still showed the scorch marks of the fires that followed the 1755 earthquake.
The Rossio Square was the largest square in Lisbon and was surrounded by many shops and cafes. The train station nearby, which the square was named after, sports ornate, Moorish influenced doorways.
By this point on the trip, even my parents were infected with the need to take silly photos with statues! The neatly laid stone streets and plazas were painstakingly done, block by block, by skilled workers like the ones we took photos with.
Bairro Alto
In case you didn’t know, Lisbon is super hilly, almost San Francisco like. To get from the lower districts to the Bairro Alto, we rode the famous Gloria Funicular from the 1850s. Since it was a popular tourist attraction, the tickets were set at 3.70 euros per person for a round trip. No, we couldn’t buy single trips. And no, we couldn’t share.
I picked up some roasted chestnuts that I had been eyeing since Italy. It was just such an autumnal thing to do! Then we stopped into the Port Wine Institute to sample 2 glasses of the strong sweet wine. Said “Bom dia” to a nice old grandma enjoying some sun on a balcony in this regular residential neighborhood. Small moments like this are what I love the most on travels.
A couple of blocks from the Port Wine Institute was a little square called Largo Trindade Coelho, where we found a statue holding a golden ticket. Legend says if you rub the ticket it would bring you good fortune!
The Carmo Convent was perhaps the most unique Gothic Cathedral experience I’ve had because there was no roof! It was amazing to see the arches that had withstood the 1755 earthquake still soaring high. There was also a small but excellent archaeological museum inside. Not only did it hold artifacts from the cathedral, but also of the earliest people discovered in Portugal. Among the artifacts were two small mummies that were a bit freaky.
Right behind the Carmo Convent was the top of the Elevador de Santa Justa, where we took in some gorgeous views of the entire city. Known as the Eiffel Tower of Portugal, it was designed by an apprentice of Gustav Eiffel. I guess I forgot to take a photo of it from the bottom… Oh well.
We stumbled upon a packed little restaurant selling traditional grilled fish for lunch. It was a simple and hearty meal of fresh fish and potatoes and was super cheap.
The walk ended at the Cafe Brasileira, where I had a lovely conversation with Fernando Pessoa. Overall, the walk took about 4 hours.
Alfama & São Jorge Castle
After a siesta back at the flat, we headed back out to the oldest district of Lisbon, Alfama. Lisbon is bowl-shaped, and Alfama is on the opposite hills from the Bairro Alto. Thankfully there was a convenient elevator that took us half way up because none of us were excited to climb the steep hills on foot.
The Castle looked just as I remembered and we timed the trip so that we could catch the sunset while there. Great views over the city and the Tagus River towards the April 25th Bridge.
Time Out Market
It was a long (underestimated) walk to reach the Time Out Market for dinner. It’s a big open space where popular restaurants around town all had little booths like a cafeteria. It was super crowded and you better bet you would be waiting a long time for the popular places. It was so crowded that we ended up having to sit separately so we could eat! You do pay a premium for the trendy atmosphere, but it was very good food, and therefore worth a checkout.
Belem District
On the last day in Lisbon (skipping the day trip to Sintra for a separate post), everyone was a bit low on energy and we took things much slower in the morning. It also didn’t help that it was a super hot and sunny day without a trace of cloud in the sky… Although I didn’t take any photos, of course we had some yummy Pasteis de Belem before we left!
Monastery of St. Jeronimos (Jerome)
It was almost deja-vu because I came here on a similarly sunny and hot day 7 years ago. Blue sky, green lawn, and the limestone majesty that was the monastery. Considering none of the other “reservation recommended” places we had been to on this trip were that bad, we didn’t prebook the tickets. Big mistake. The line was super long and slow-moving in the sun. There was another option to buy tickets at the Archaeology Museum, which had shorter queues and was indoors.
We barely made it inside in time to catch the free French/English combo tour. The guide was very brief but gave some great highlights. It was cool to learn some things that I didn’t know last time. For example, the four symbols of Portugal are the Shield of Portugal, the Cross of the Military, the Armillary Sphere, and the Rope used for ships. Fun fact, masonry workers signed each stone during the construction of the monastery and were paid by the number of stones laid.
Discoveries Monument
Across the street from the monastery was the Discoveries Monument. The monument was interesting for historical reasons, but there really wasn’t that much to see. The map of the Portuguese maritime explorations was cool though!
Belem Tower
Another long line to get into the Belem Tower since only 120 people were allowed to enter at any time. All the traffic had to go through a tight spiral stairway, which was set to a timer that allowed people to either go up or down, but most people ignored it. My recommendation is to skip the inside and just enjoy the outside view. The inside was quite sparse.
Cervejaria Ramiro
We went to a highly rated seafood restaurant back in Lisbon for our last Portuguese dinner. Honestly, it was a little overhyped. There were no fish options but all shellfish. Since I’m allergic to some shellfish, I was only able to eat crabs and shrimp. The food was okay, but the house white wine was good. We were each given a set of a plastic mallet and flat square to crack the crabs. It was fun, messy, and potentially dangerous because pieces of shell flew everywhere!
Lisbon never disappoints. It is much more under the radar than the popular European cities like London and Paris, but it just has a special old-timey charm different from others. Put it on your list for your future travels!!
C.