Wonders of Lisbon in a Day!
Hey you! Is Lisbon one of your dream destinations?
Does munching on a roasted crab and chilling by the cool breeze and picturesque
view make you tingle? Do you wonder how many days you’d need to let Lisbon sink
all of its exhilarating beauty in you? Then you’ve come to the right place!
While on a summer trip in Europe, we decided to tug
the strings on our itineraries a little and somehow squeeze out a day for
Lisbon. Now, if
you don’t already know, Portugal is a small country which shares its entire
northern and eastern boundary with Spain. The capital city is Lisbon and has a
population of about 10.46 million. This country has been home to explorers like
Vasco de Gama and Magellan and is also a home to the footballer Cristiano
Ronaldo.
So,
getting back to the one day trip in Lisbon,
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| Aparupa's lipsmacking travel to Lisbon |
We flew in from Madrid with Iberia Airlines (which
is the national carrier of Spain) and the trip took around an hour and thirty
minutes. Instead of taking a cab, we chose to take the metro. The metro
map is quite simple; there are the following 4 lines:
a. Linha Azul (Blue Line)
b. Linha
Amarela (Yellow Line)
c. Linha Verde (Green Line)
d. Linha Vermelha (Red Line)
The Red line connects the airport and is
the most convenient way to travel to and from the city and the airport.
The best way to travel inside the city is through tram and metro. The top 5 tourist attractions of Lisbon (according to various websites) are :
- Belem Tower
- Monument of discoveries
- Jeronimos Monastery
- Ajuda Botanical Gardens
- Rossio Square
All these locations are
easily accessible through tram. My personal recommendation would be to visit
these attractions in the order of which I’ve mentioned them.
I) To reach Belem Tower, you
can take the tram line 15E from Praca
do Comercio and get off
the stop “Belem”. The Tower is about a 20 minute walk from there.
Belem Tower
II) During your walk to the
tower, you will pass the Monument of Discoveries (which also has a museum
inside). You should stop and take pictures there as the monument is built with
the backdrop being the Atlantic Ocean. The area is lively with tourists coming
and going, lovely cafes (some of which are 24 hours open) and the calming sound
of the water. You have to continue walking straight and soon you will reach
Belem Tower.
Monument of Discoveries
III) After that, you would have
to walk back to the nearest subway to cross over to the other side where you
will find Jeronimos Monastery. Jeronimos Monastery is surrounded by beautiful
gardens and if you’re lucky, you’ll find a flea market right next to it in the
evening.
Jeronimos Monastery
IV) Ajuda
Botanical Gardens is also at a walking distance.
V) To
reach Rossio Square, you have to board Tram 15E from Belem and get off at Praca da Figueria which is the last stop. Beware of pick
pockets because the tram will be completely packed and that’s like winning a
lottery for all these pick pockets.
Food suggestions you can't ignore!!
For
food recommendations, I will suggest Rossio Square, as it is full of cafes and
small restaurants with a huge variety of food.
If
you want to eat somewhere near Belem Tower/Monument of Discoveries, there is a
wonderful café just opposite to the Monument of Discoveries (it’s on a faux
pier).
Try
the Octopus Salad or the heated Oysters there; they’re wonderful! You’re bound
to try some sea food as the catch is always fresh.
Heated Oysters Octopus Salad
This
is the best itinerary (from a personal experience) if you have only one day to
spend in Lisbon. Of course if you can manage another day or two, that’ll be an
icing on the cake as you’ll be able to visit many more places and explore even
more.
