Wonders of Lisbon in a Day!

Thursday, 16 March 2017

Wonders of Lisbon in a Day!

Posted by Unknown on 07:09 in | Comments : 1

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,

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.

Thursday, 16 March 2017

Wonders of Lisbon in a Day!

Wonders of Lisbon in a Day!