Lisbon, part 2

Lisbon is a beautiful city! It’s nice to just walk around and enjoy the surroundings. The city is built on seven hills and every now and then you’ll get a glimpse of the rooftops and the river between the buildings. More than this there are plenty of viewpoints in the city. The city has plenty to offer and I did not have time for everything on my 2,5 days there.

The red markers are described in this post.

Castello São Jorge (1)

The São Jorge castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Lisbon. It lies on top of a hill in the eastern parts of the city overlooking the historic centre of Lisbon and the Tagus river.

It costs 8,50 euro to enter. Everyday there are free tours given of the castle area. The tour begins in the courtyard where you have an amazing view over the city. To this view the guide talks about the history of Lisbon and the different neighbourhoods.

Before or after the tour you can buy a glass of wine from ”wine with a view” and sit down and do just that, enjoy the view. I think it’s really fun they have these small wine wagons here and there.

After the walk on the terrace with a view the tour continues to the castle itself. Nowadays the castle is mainly walls with courtyards.

The tour lasted for about an hour and I thought it was really interesting. I learned many things about the history of Lisbon and its need for a castle.

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in Europe and has an interesting history. During the years it has suffered from plenty of earthquakes. In 1755 a devastating earthquake struck which led to a big fire and big parts of the centre being destroyed. After this earthquake the city was rebuilt to as it is today, with two big squares Praça de Rossio and Praça de Comércio.

Praça de Comércio (2)

Praça de Comércio lies by the river Tagus and is one of the biggest squares in Europe. The square was the centre of commerce and the port for all the ships departing and arriving in Lisbon. The buildings surrounding the square served as customs and regulated the port activities.

Connecting the square with Rua Augusta, a main street of Lisbon, is the Rua Augusta Arch. It was built to commemorate the earthquake of 1755.

If you walk through the arch from the square and look to the right you’ll find the entrance to the arch. If you buy a ticket you can actually go up in the arch and get a pretty fine view over the square and the rest of the city.

Rua Augusta is a street that connects the two main squares in the downtown area Baixa. Here you’ll find plenty of restaurants and stores.

Elevador de Santa Justa (3)

On the Rua Augusta lies the elevator Santa Justa. It connects the commercial street with the upper level of Chiado. Pretty useful so you don’t have to walk so many steps of stairs.

You have to pay for a ticket to ride the elevator and then another one for getting on the balcony and get the view over the city.

Praça de Rossio (4)

At the end of the Rua Augusta you get to the other big square Praca de Rossio. This is another meeting point in the city with restaurants, cafés and theatres. On the north side of the square lies the Teatro Nacional de Maria II.

Miraduoro de São Pedro de Alcântara (5)

One of the beautiful miradores in Lisbon is this one. From Praca de Rossio you can walk up hill for quite a bit before you reach this small park in Barrio Alto. If you don’t like to walk uphill you can take the ascendor Gloria which stops just beside the mirador.

When I was there the outer part of the balcony was closed for renovations. It was a real shame since I really was looking forward to this view. I took some pictures standing on a bench reaching the camera as high as I could.

Mirador Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (6)

Another beautiful mirador is the Sophia de Mello in the Graca area. As you can see you will have a beautiful view over Lisbon. Of course there’s a café too so you can enjoy the view while eating or drinking. A really nice area in my opinion!

Lisbon is a picturesque city and I had many photos with me home from the trip. A really nice city for a weekend break.