Art's vacation blog: June 2015 Lisbon and Southern Portugal

After 5 wonderful days in and around Porto, we boarded another train for the ride south through Portugal all the way to Lisbon, the capital. We had a wonderful little hotel right in the heart of the city above the upper end of the main pedestrian street which went down to the waterfront. The lst day, we checked in and then walked down thru the shopping and pedestrian area to the waters edge, taking photos of the charming city. The Elevador de Santa Justa was built in 1901 and it was designed by the same Frenchman who designed the Eiffel Tower.

Lisbon since 1755

The Praca do Come'rcio, Lisbon's huge waterfront plaza and its main arch

The Arco do Rua Agusta, Lisbon's famous main arch at the end of the pedestrian main street, the Rua Agusta which runs through the old downtown city center to the waterfront.

view from our room in our little hotel right downtown above upper end of Lisbon's main pedestrian street

Elevador de Santa Justa, a Landmark on side street in downtown Lisbon

The next day we boarded a train again for the ride north and west to Sintra. From there, we first took a bus on out to the famous, well photographed Cabo da Roca. This rocky point high above the Atlantic is the western most point of Europe. The views are spectacular. Then, we rode back to Sintra and a half day of hiking and touring the sprawling Moorish castle high on the mountain top nearby. After climbing along most of the walls and enjoying the views far across that part of Portugal, we returned to town where we had a late afternoon lunch and beer in one of the lovely sidewalk cafes. The weather was sunny, warm and wonderful, as it was every day we were in Portugal. Finally, it was back to the train for the ride back into Lisbon.

Map showing Cabo da Roca and Sintra, with Lisbon just off map to lower right

Cabo da Roca monument

view to north along coast showing lighthouse

another view to north showing rugged Atlantic far below

Immense 10th century Moorish walled castle on the mountain top above Sintra

walking along one of the many outer walls with Sintra in the distance

Another view of the vast walled castle complex

looking up towards the Palace of Pena at highest point within walled complex

Downtown in Sintra at a sidewalk cafe and what I call a truly tall cold beer !!

The next two days, I explored downtown Lisbon on my own one day. The highlight was the hike up above downtown Lisbon to the Castelo De Sao Jorge. This is the most famous tourist attraction in greater Lisbon. The castle grounds , walls and area are huge , with many stunning views out over Lisbon and to the sea. The Moors had a castle on the site since about the 10th century, before being finally overrun by the Christians in 1147. I also then hiked down to visit the huge cathedral, Se' Catedral du Lisbon, originally built in 1150. Finally , I crossed downtown to visit the ruins of the Ruinas du Campo, which was left standing after the immense earthquake of 1755 that destroyed Lisbon.

beautiful plaza only about 2 blocks from our hotel near old city center

ticket office to Castelo S. Jorge

view from Castelo S Jorge out over Lisbon, with suspension bridge in distance with Rio like Christ monument off end of bridge

main walls and moat of Castelo S Jorge

view down into Lisbon's old city center

walking along top of many walls of the huge castle complex

the main Lisbon Se' Cathedral down towards waterfront from Castelo S Jorge

cathedral interior

one of many lovely plaza scenes in the downtown with the flowering blooms

another similar scene

The ruins of Lisbons main old gothic cathedral, Igreja do Carmo, built around 1400. It was left as is after the 1755 great earthquake nearly destroyed it. The ruins site just slightly above the old city center

The main downtown plaza in the old city center

Then Sergey joined me for a days trip along the waterfront out to see the Padrao dos Descobrimentos, or Monument to the Explorers, the Torre De Belem and the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. These 3 very famous landmarks are all close together on the ocean front just west of the huge suspension bridge. The Torre De Belem was constructed in 1515 in honor of the great "Age of Discovery and also is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Mosteiro dos Jeronimos was built in 1502 and is a gothic masterpiece from Portugal's "Age of Discovery" It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Vasco Da Gama is buried inside.

The famous monument to the many famous Portugese explorers at waters edge was built in 1960 on 500th anniversary of death of Henry the Navigator and the Age of Discovery.