Donnerstag, 13. August 2009

4 Days in Lissabon

Day 1

We arrived around noon in Lisbon and checked in at our hotel. Before walking to the city center to explore Lisbon we had coffee and some refreshments in our hotel lounge. We then walked to the old town and hiked up to the Castle of São Jorge from where we had an excellent view on the roof tops of Lisbon.

Some impressions from our walk to the Castle of São Jorge




















































Pictures taken from the Castle of São Jorge




















On our way down we stopped at a cozy bar with a marvellous view to have a drink.














We also passed Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa which constitutes the oldest church in Lisbon and had some beautiful views on the city.

Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa




















Some impressions


































































Day 2

We started our day very relaxed with an excellent breakfast in the hotel lounge. We then took the bus to the city center and from there to Bélem, a parish of Lisbon.

Sculptures in the center of Lisbon

































The most famous feature of Bélem is its tower, the Torre de Bélem. The tower has very narrow spiral stairs inside and it was really shocking to see how many people nowadays have troubles climbing ordinary stairs.














































Bélem is also kown as a place from which many of the Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery. The Monument to the Discoveries celebrates the Portuguese who took part in these discoveries.

































From the top of the monument we had a great view on the Hieronymites Monastery and the beautiful pavements infront of the monument.














































Pavements infront of the Monument to the Discoveries



























We also visited the Hieronymites Monastery which together with the Torre de Bélem are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site.








































































































Having returned from Bélem we did a ride with the very famous tram line 28 which crosses most of the old town.














We also took "Elevador da Santa Justa", a 45 meter tall lift in the city center of Lisbon, to get some great views on the Lisbon Castle, the Rossio Square and the Baixa neighbourhood.



























































































On our way down we took "Elevador da Gloria", one of the furniculars in Lisbon.

































Day 3

Today we did a day trip to Sintra, a small town near Lisbon which is UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sintra is a major tourist attraction and includes the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, the Pena Palace, the Castelo dos Mouros and the Quinta da Regaleira.

Open air sculptures in Sintra







































































Palácio Nacional de Sintra - summer residence of the kings of Portugal

































Sintra








































Pictures from the interior of the Palácio Nacional de Sintra





















































From the Palácio Nacional de Sintra we walked through the Pena Park to the Pena Palace. The hike through the park was really worth-while.



























































Below are several pictures from Pena Palace, which - as you can easily see from the pictures - has been inspired by European Romanticism.

































































































































View from Pena Palace to Castelo dos Mouros



























Castelos dos Mouros

































































View from Castelo dos Mouros to Palácio Nacional de Sintra



























Quinta da Regaleira














































































































































































Day 4

Today we took the train to Cascais, a little beach town at the shore of the Atlantic ocean. From Cascais we walked along the shoreline to the wonderful Beach of Guincho which is an eldorado for kite surfers.

Cascais





















































Some impressions from our walk






















































































































































































Beach of Guincho








































From the Beach of Guincho we took the bus back to Cascais and walked to Estoril from where we took the train back to Lisbon. From the pictures you can see that it was a really good idea to walk to the Beach of Guincho instead of staying at the croweded beaches of Cascais and Estoril.