Lisbon - A City of Hills, Nice People, Some More Hills, Amazing History, and Even More Hills (Part I)

Wendy and I have been traveling to Europe for many years, and one of the place we've been wanting to visit is Portugal.  Portugal was once one of the world's great superpowers, and much of the exploration of the world we owe to them.  Portugal is also famous for the country's connection to the famed Knights Templar, who took refuge there following the 1307 destruction of their order at the hands of the King of France.  That spirit of duty and exploration led to great explorers conquering the unknown world.  Christopher Columbus learned his seafaring ways while living in Lisbon in the late 15th Century.  Vasco da Gama, the first European to sail to India, was a member of the Knights Templar's second incarnation, the Order of Christ. With that sense of exploration to inspire us, and with a few Euros in our pockets to buy some snacks along the way (you never want to be without snacks), we set off for a week in Portugal.

Being a smaller country, using a central location as a base is a possibility.  We decided to base our stay out of the capital city of Lisbon, and to take train rides to all of the destinations outside the city.  Getting to Lisbon is easy, but will require a connecting flight.  We flew from Atlanta to Paris, had a two hour layover, and then flew to Lisbon.  You can also fly to Amsterdam and connect to Lisbon, but there are more connecting options out of Paris.  Lisbon has many wonderful neighborhoods to stay in, and we chose to stay in the Alfama neighborhood right on the water.  To get there from the airport just hop on the metro.  The subway ride takes about 20 minutes to get into town.  When you reach the end of the red line, jump on the purple line towards Santa Apalonia.  When you reach the end of that line you will walk out into the heart of Alfama.  When you walk out of the station you will notice one thing, everything around you is straight up.  As we've learned, Lisbon is apparently Portuguese for "up hill both ways." The hills around the waterline in Lisbon make you wonder how people ever built the city.  We hiked up hill to the apartment we rented on Airbnb, only to find the apartment was on the third floor without an elevator.  The apartment is wonderful though, and we highly recommend staying here. 

Lisbon will take you several days to explore.  On day one we decided to start on the outside of the city in the historic Belem neighborhood.  Every time we travel to major cities we check to see if they offer a local pass for museums and transportation.  Some are great values, while others are not worth the price,  but the Lisbon Card is a great bargain.  The 72 hour pass will run you €40, and gets you unlimited subway and train trips during that time.  From the Cais do Sodre metro station we hopped on the train (remember, the subway and trains in Europe are two different things) and were there in less than 20 minutes.  Belem is a fun little neighborhood that packs a good deal of history into a very walkable area.  The first stop for anyone getting off the train should be a straight shot to the Jeronimos Monastery.  Built in the 14th Century, the monastery costs €10 to enter, but entry is included with your Lisbon Card.  Inside the monastery you will find one of the more ornate houses of God in Europe.  Carved over several centuries, and paid for by many kings, the monks lived quiet lives in this house until the 19th Century when reforms in Portugal secularized the government, and the nation abandoned the government supported monastery.  When you leave the monastery you will turn immediately into the church, which is still active.  A mix of the earlier Romanesque and later Baroque styles that swept across Europe, this church is grand.  Were you looking for some history?  Well right when you enter the church look to your left and you will see the tomb of Vasco da Gama, the famed explorer.  You will notice most of the artists that designed the art in the church are either Italians, or Portuguese artists who trained in Italy, and that Italian influence comes through clearly in all of Portugal.  From the church we walked across the main street in Belem to the Belem Tower.  An ancient fortress that guarded the waterways leading into Lisbon, it is impressive and looks like it could still put up a great fight today.  Heading back towards the train station you will pass the Monument to the Discoveries, a massive 20th Century monument to Henry the Navigator, and the countless other Portuguese explorers who helped map the world.  You can climb to the top of the monument for an elevated view of Belem, but it will cost you.  All of this is within easy walking distance of the train station, and we were done by 2:00pm.  If you feel like you need to get a pump in while you are in Belem, hit the waterfront public gym that I think is a brilliant idea.  A person could get in a great workout, and be surrounded by history at the same time.

Leaving Belem, we hopped the train and headed back into town.  Our afternoon stop was a stroll through some of the trendiest neighborhoods in Lisbon.  Getting off at the Baixa Chiado train station, we decided to walk through the Bairro Alto (High Town) neighborhood.  When you leave the train station find the Elevador de Gloria, a funicular that will take you to the top of the neighborhood.  It's not necessary, but in a town full of hills you will be glad you rode it up, and your ride is also included with your Lisbon Card.  At the top of the hill you will find the Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alacantara viewpoint.  The view over the top of the city is impressive, and the park is lined with musicians, food shops, and artisans.  Sit down for a while and enjoy the view.  From there walk over to the Cervejaira de Trindade, the oldest beer hall in Portugal.  Built in the 16th Century, the monastic beer hall became a brewery in 1834 when the government took over the building.  Inside you will see walls lined with wonderfully painted large tile mosaics that are common throughout Lisbon.  The older tiles, located in the front, are religious in context, but as you move towards the back when the brewery expanded you will find the tile art changes to beer related imagery.  After taking in a beer (for those dark beer lovers like us ask for a preta, it's there version of a stout/porter), walk down towards the Convento do Carmo to see a remnant of old Lison.  A large portion of Lisbon was destroyed in 1755 when a massive earthquake destroyed many buildings, and many of the other buildings caught on fire in the destruction.  The Convento is nothing more now than several standing columns that show you how grand the building once was.  Across from the Convento is the Elevador de Santa Justa, a 1902 elevator that rises more than 150 feet to help the people of Lisbon summit the heights on a daily basis.  From there head down to Rua Garrett.  A trendy street lined with high end shops, there is a little something for everyone.  On one end is the Livraria Sá da Costa bookshop, a classic and used bookshop that had a surprisingly large number of English books, including first editions of Winston Churchill books, and a 19th Century copy of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  Leaving there walk down the Rua towards Bertrand Bookstore, the oldest bookstore in the world.  Only selling new books, the space is amazingly modern to have been open since 1732.  It, like Livraria Sá da Costa, has a large number of English books, and is worth the stroll through the shop.

From Rua Garrett, take a walk down hill until you get to the Mercado da Ribeira.  Along the way you will pass by some awesome restaurants, a couple of jazz bars, and even a redlight district if you are looking for that kind of thing.  When you get to the Mercado you will find Time Out Market, one of the coolest food markets in the world.  Inside the market are dozens of restaurants with authentic Portuguese food, Italian, burgers, and many other types of food.  All of the restaurants share an unbelievably lively common space that also houses beer bars, wine bars, dessert bars, and other food shops.  If you are looking for an awesome night out with more dining options than you could ever dream of you can't go wrong at Time Out.

Day 1 of our Lisbon trip was an amazing success.  We are beat from the walking, and the hills (did I mention the hills).  I seriously feel like every native born Lisbonite (that sounds good to me) must have a stair mill in their house to get warmed up each morning.  We saw some amazing sites, had a wonderful time interacting with a very nice group of people, and found some interesting shops along the way.  If you are looking for something unique, when you leave the Miradouro viewpoint turn right and wander up hill for two roads.  On a back alley we found an artist who worked right in front of us making clay animal figures.  Baking them in an oven, and painting them by hand you were able to get a unique cartoon style animal character for only €10.  The best part about it was after we left his shop it was all down hill to get a beer. 

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