This recent holiday is not my first time in Portugal. I have had two business trips for sales conferences to Lisbon when we were bussed from the airport to a hotel. We then sat through several days of presentations then were bussed back to the airport. As a presenter on both occasions I was not bold enough to venture out after 23:00 for late night exploration. Last year we explored Belém a little but did not see central Lisbon.

 

This year I realised I did not even have a mental picture of the centre of Lisbon. Books and articles on Portugal regularly feature the Jerónimos Monastery (shown above) or the Torre de Belém or the Navigator's Monument. However all of these places are in Belém rather than Lisbon itself. Of course Belém is only 6 km west of the centre of Lisbon but while historically important it is not the capital.

This holiday we decided to take a walk around the city centre and we were pleasantly surprise. We started out at Santa Apolónia railway station and headed upward in a northwesterly direction through the narrow streets of Alfama. This was the Moorish old town and the streets are narrow, crooked and in many cases just pedestrian stairways. It was difficult to follow a particular direction and we ended up zigzagging northwestward and updward.

At the top of the hill is the castle of São Jorge; this was again something I had never seen in photos of Portugal, yet well worth the walk.

 

The castle was originally built by the Moors but subsequently extended after the reconquest. It is possible to go inside the main keep and to walk along the walls and go into the towers providing you pay the entrance fee.

It also offers great views over the city centre such as the view below to the Rossio square and station to the north west.

 

The Rossio is at the north end of the Baixa district that was devastated by the 1755 earthquake and tsunami. It is now laid out in a grid iron pattern.

We wandered down the hill towards the Baixa hitting a street where trams made the journey uphill.

 

Now I must admit I have seen pictures of Lisbon's old trams. The street here is Rua de Santo Antonio de Sé where we also stopped for lunch. Turning left after a few blocks we came into a huge square with a victory arch and numerous government buildings. The square looks out on the south side to the Tejo river.

Despite the fact that Lisbon itself does not seem that well known by most UK people, I think it is will worth a visit and would like to explore more on a future visit.