As you land to the airport you start loving Lisbon. The
positive vibes of the city captures you once you see the beautiful sunset
through palm trees. Just take the metro
to city center. The metro system is developed and fast. Once you get a card for
0,50€ you can load as much as you want in order to use it in metro,bus or tram.
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| Alfama |
The city may seem small but actually it’s not. The downtown
part Baixa didn’t wow me neither Baio Alto during day time. However Alfama is
another thing. It’s the only neighbourhood that survived the 1755 earthquake and
it’s just beautiful. Tiny little streets, with colorful buildings. It was the
Moors who lived there and the name comes from “Alhama” which meant hot baths.
As you wonder in the little streets getting lost is inevitable however this
leads to good conclusions such as discoveries of local cafes, shops.
Alfama is the best neighbourhood to listen to Fado music.
I recommend you to
make a reservation because Fado music is popular for both locals and tourists.
I personally prefer when women
sing . I had the chance to listen to Fado in different places and top three
were A Tasco de Chic, Club de Fado and Sr Fado. I have listened good music and
had tasty food there.
While you are in Baio Alto area try café/bars
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| Park Cafe |
especially for watching the sunset in these terraces is a unique experience and
rather romantic. My favorite one was the “Park”.
It is named Park because it’s a at the
terrace of a parking lot! To have access to the café you need to enter the
parking lot and climb up the stairs and then you reach a heaven. So blissfully
decorated place with lots of trees and wooden chairs. Another place to go is
Noobai Café. This terrace also offers a breathtaking view and good cocktails.
Night life of Baio Alto is very vivid there are in total 64 little crossing streets with full of bars. What I suggest is bar hoping and wondering in the streets with your drink, don't stuck in one place!
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| Chapito |
Another
must go place is Chapito. Chapito is located close to castle so again imagine
the view! It offers very tasty food and good quality of wine. At first glance
the entrance of the place looks like a theater with huge lightbulbs and first
you enter to a shop and then pass to the restaurant. According to locals the in
night is Sunday. However I went on Saturday night and it was full.
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| Entrance of the elevator in Baixa |
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| Plaça Commercial |
I would definitely recommend a visit to St.George’s castle.
It’s one of the best preserved castles in Europe and it survived really heavy
bombardments. The castle was built solely for military purposes and inside
there are ancient canons, tiny stairs to climb up to towers and a breathtaking
view. Around the castle there are cute cafes and souvenir shops. Once you are
outside the castle if you walk to left you can reach to Alfama if you take the
right turn you can reach to city center. Since Lisbon has been constructed on
seven hills, sometimes it can be tiring to climb up. However they have
solutions for this as well: public elevators!! There is one close to castle which
takes you to Baio Alto and another one to downtown to sea level. There is an
arch in Plaça Commerciale where you can go up to have a view of the city, it’s
the same view of the elevator that has been built by Gustave Eiffel’s
apprentice to connect downtown to Baio Alto. But the view from the castle beats
them all. Plaça Commerciale is also called white square because everything in
the square is made by white marble. Also Lisbon is a very clean city, there is no
garbage on the streets.
I strongly recommend you to take the bus towards Belem or
tram 15 to see Jeronimos monastery, Belem Tower and statue. In the monastery
there is the tomb of Vasco de Gama. Generally Lisbon is a city which is proud
of the Discovery age and they have many monuments as a reminder.
I really fell in love with the Lisbon. It’s a happy city
with its colored buildings and decorated curbstones. I would recommend you to
visit Lisbon during June because it’s the month when they welcome summer and
celebrate St. Antonio month. Every street even the tiniest ones are decorated
with colored flags and ornaments and there are public concerts in every placa.
So every day passes like a carnival. Music is coming out of every corner, people
are dancing on the streets, and they are very helpful and welcoming. I felt
like as if I am in my hometown although I didn’t understand Portuguese.
SINTRA
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| Overview of Sintra from the bus heading to beach |
If you are staying let’s say 4/5 days take the train to Sintra,
which is an amazing town, and visit. To be honest I thought Sintra was a small
town with its place and castle but it’s not! It’s so beautiful so no wonder
it’s under Unesco protection.
It’s a big
town built on a hill with many things to see. First of all Pena Place which was
the summer palace for the monarchs is breathtaking both inside and outside.
It’s park is also quite astonishing but generally in Sintra the nature captures
you the most.
Then there is the Royal
National Palace, Monserrate Palace and Moors Castle. You can visit them of
course but I preferred to walk by them and then I took the bus to the beach.
Before going to the beach you can chill at the nice cafes and respire the
rustic and romantic atmosphere of the town. And I almost forgot don’t forget to
taste “traveseirros” in patisseries of Sintra. I highly recommend Piriquita
These long, sugar coded 'pillows' are best still warm, and they are freshly
made all through the day. The outside is a flaky shell, inside filling is with
egg yolk and sugar and almond.... Of course the recipe is a secret, under lock
and key, patented and worth a fortune. There are a lot of imitation pastries
around, but none as perfect a combination as the original of Piriquita. The
main coffee-shop is right in the middle of the Historical Center, and it is closed
on Wednesdays.
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| Pena Palace Entrance |
Let’s not forget the beaches! Although they are packed especially
during weekends they are worth going to try surfing, to watch the surfers and sunbathing.
There are many options for the beaches depending on your taste. You can go to
isolated beaches and be peace with the wild nature or you can be a bit more
luxurious. 
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