Lisbon was such an enjoyable city, I thought it deserved it's own post. We enjoyed it so much that we ended up NOT doing a day trip to Sintra (a forested resort town close to Lisbon with Moorish castles, a palace and other national buildings). We just wanted to take it slow and continue experiencing the city.
Sometimes our arrival into a city can feel overwhelming. There is usually a list of the things we want to see and do, but don't know how to go about it in an organized fashion (I guess planning things helps, but we like to stay flexible). I've said it time and time again, thank goodness for Rick Steves guidebooks.
In his Portugal guidebook, he has 3 great walking tours through Lisbon that take you through the neighborhoods and hits all the highlights; Alfama, Bairro Alto, Baixa, and Alfama.
A L F A M A
After dropping our bags off in the hotel and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we still had plenty of daylight to take advantage of. We hiked up the hill towards the Castelo de Sao Jorge and enjoyed these views before making our way to the...{ Miradouro do Recolhimento }
The Belém is about 30 minutes SW of downtown Lisbon. It's a beautiful neighborhood that has a number of highlights that made the little trek there worthwhile.
{ Jerónimos Monastery }
We thought we were getting ahead of the crowds by getting to the monastery by 10am. Wrong! There was already a sea of people filling the plaza in front of it (I think they mostly came from cruise ships). This was a sight we really wanted to see, but given that there were a handful of other sights to visit, we decided to admire it from the outside and move along.
This is a concrete monument built in 1940 to commemorate 500 years since the death of Henry the Navigator. He was involved with the Portuguese Empire during the 15th century and made numerous maritime discoveries.
{ Torre de Belém }
B A I X A
This is where we we stayed. On every street and around every corner it seemed that there were intricate tile patterns on the streets and building facades, a street car to hop on, a view of the water or a view overlooking the city.
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| The beautiful central station |
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| Praça do Comércio |
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| Santa Justa Elevator, built in 1902 |
B A I R R O A L T O
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| The street car we took up the hill to this neighborhood |
Flexibility is key! Beautiful photos as always.
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