Lisbon, Europe’s version of San Francisco

Lisbon is the capital and by far the largest city in Portugal. We felt very at home here and it reminded us of San Francisco in so many ways. It is an amazing city set along the huge, wide Tagus River that looks more like a bay. There are seven hills, unique neighborhoods, lots of restaurants, old trams, and even a bridge that looks like the Golden Gate Bridge.

We also decided to get the Lisbon Card, which provides entrance to all the attractions and is an unlimited travel pass. This forced us to really get out there and see everything Lisbon had to offer in order to get our money’s worth, so be forewarned that this post is extensive.

Our first jaunt to the main commercial district of the city, the Baixa, began with a little confusion as to where we were and we got turned around a few times, which was fine because we ended up exploring some parts of the city we wouldn’t have otherwise. Eventually, we did make it down to one of the main streets Rua Augusta with the elegant Rua Augusta Arch at the end of it.

On the other end of the arch is a large plaza overlooking the river called Praca do Comercio. It is lined on three sides by yellow-colored government buildings. This used to be the site of the Ribiera Palace, the Royal Palace for over 200 years, which was destroyed (like so many other parts of the city) by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 1755. The statue is of King Jose I, who was the reigning king during that earthquake.

The Rua Augusta connects the Praca do Comercio to another important large square called Rossio, or the Pedro IV Square. A famous street called Sapateiros Street dumps into the square through the Bandeira Arch shown above. The statue is of Pedro IV and at the far end is the Maria II Theater.

We stayed in the northern part of the city in an apartment that had a shared kitchen and we took full advantage of it since we hadn’t had home cooked meals since France. Here is Megan with a pull-basket that can be found in many parts of Europe. It’s genius!

The next day, we headed to the National Coach Museum in the Belem district, which is on the western part of the city along the river. The museum itself used to be a Royal Horse Riding Arena. It has a really wonderful long hall filled with royal carriages of Portugal and other countries as well.

Next, we traveled across the city to visit the Museo Do Azulejo, or the Tile Museum. Tiles were and are a big industry in Portugal and they love it. It can be found everywhere, on interiors (above) and exteriors (below). The museum had examples of tiles throughout Portuguese history and had some very informative exhibits about tile production.

The museum is housed in what was the Convent of Madre Deus, founded in 1509, and included this really nice and highly decorated chapel.

We also had some fun with several cutouts of their life-sized tile pieces.

The Lisbon Cathedral sits along one of the famous tram lines and is about halfway up the hill. It was built in the Romanesque style in the second half of the 12^th century, but has undergone many alterations and renovations over the years.

Here we are enjoying the tram ride up the hill. Thankfully this was one of the least crowded trams we rode during our stay.

On one side of the top of the hill is this lookout point over the Graca district and the river.

We strolled down the hill through the Graca district, which is known for its meandering streets and hanging laundry.

The next morning we headed back out to the Belem district (where the National Coach Museum was) to see the Jeronimos Monastery. It is founded by Henry the Navigator and the current structure was built over the 16^th Century, in the Manueline style. The interior of the church is impressive with some intricately carved columns and web-like ceiling arches. Also of note, is that Vasco De Gama’s tomb (below) is in the church, along with Luis de Camoes, the Shakespeare of Portugal.

The giant-scale courtyard of the monastery is magnificent. There are beautifully carved archways everywhere, and there are a number of really nice passageways and rooms off of the courtyard. One of these rooms contained an exhibit with a timeline that had the history of the Monastery, Portugal, and major events in the world stacked concurrently; this was awesome and we wished we could have brought home a copy of it they were selling.

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) is across from the Monastery along the river. It celebrates Portuguese explorers from the 15^th and 16^th Centuries, including Henry the Navigator (at the front), King Afonso V (2^nd), and Vasco De Gama (3^rd). The monument is 52 meters high and you can climb it if you so desire.

We walked along the river to the Belem Tower, an amazing defensive tower built at the mouth of the Tagus River in the early 16^th Century. To get to it, you walk along a wooden platform, since it is sort of surrounded by water, depending on the tide. Through a portcullis, you enter the casemates (pictured below), that has a ring of cannons. Below that are several cells used to house prisoners over the years.

We climbed the tower and visited the several levels of it and the roof. You get some pretty great views out over the river and you can look down onto the terrace below. The terrace was another level of cannons and there are watchtowers all along it.

We took a tram up the hill above Belem to visit the Ajuda National Palace. It was built in the 19^th Century for the Kings of Portugal and it is very ornately decorated, like so many other European royal palaces. What was strange about this one was that there was absolutely nobody there. One of the people that normally sits in their chair staring into space and occasionally making sure you don’t touch anything, came up to us and told us all about the palace and different treasures in it. She even showed us this interesting vase that spun on its base so that all sides of it can be viewed. On the way, we got a great view of the 25 de Abril Bridge that connects Lisbon to Almada on the other side of the Tagus. It was built by The American Bridge Company, that got the inspiration from the Golden Gate Bridge (they built The Bay Bridge, among many other bridges, and also buildings like the Sears Tower, The Empire State Building, and the Chrysler Building).

We later climbed the Santa Justa Lift, which is 45 meters high and connects the Baixa neighborhood to Carmo Square. It’s definitely a tourist attraction since you could walk up the hill infinitely faster than it takes to wait in line, but the experience of riding in a cramped elevator built in 1900-02 was worth it. It if looks sort of Eiffel Tower-esque, it’s because the designer Raul Ponsard was an apprentice of Eiffel. At the top we got a great twilight view out over the city.

The Castle of São Jorge sits on the high hill overlooking the city. Fortifications have been setup there since the 2^nd Century BC (and inhabited since 6^th Century BC) and in the 13^th Century it became the royal palace. It has gone through many building phases and is an imposing structure looming over the city. It is well-preserved and you can walk all over it and along the defensive walls (which definitely do not meet American safety codes). There is a little museum that exhibits some of the archeological finds there dating back to the earliest human inhabitants, and in another area of the castle there are some preserved foundations of early settlements.

Another cool feature of the castle was this periscope made of mirrors and lenses that projects a real time image on this bowl shaped screen. It produces a surprisingly clear and magnified image that displays everything in real-time; you could see people walking, buses and cars, boats, and airplanes taking flight.

At the castle, there is also a strangely mixed community comprised of peacocks and cats. We were lucky to catch this fellow showing off his features. He didn’t seem at all bothered by people moving past him as he was blocking the entrance to the café.

The National Pantheon is just down the hill from the Castle and is a huge, white, domed structure built in the 17^th Century as the Church of Santa Engrácia and later converted into the Pantheon. We climbed up the top to the roof where you get a great view over the river and visited the ornately decorated and spacious interior.