Contents
We had the New Year in Lisbon, Portugal, but before I talk about Lisbon, let me tell you a little story….
We now go overseas every other New Year. This is because we alternate where we spend Christmas, either Leeds or Cornwall, but the real reason is that Joel is a party pooper. On our first New Year’s Eve together, he was in bed before Big Ben chimed at midnight. This is because he is boring, isn’t really into New Year’s Eve and is boring (I meant to put that twice, it’s not a mistake, ha!). He said the only way to keep him up past midnight was to do something interesting, so that’s what we have done ever since – travel to a city to see the new year in, and so far, we’ve done Prague, Krakow and Lisbon.
Two out of three of these New Year’s breaks have involved drama at the airport. Krakow was the absolute worst, with drama on both the departure and arrival flights, but I’ll tell you about that some other time. This time around, it turned out there was industrial action at Lisbon airport for our departure flight, which meant a diversion to Faro airport, south of Portugal, followed by a three-hour coach trip. It also turned out that EasyJet were the only airline that wouldn’t pay for the agency staff brought in because of the industrial action. So thanks for the detour, EasyJet, you tight gits. It wasn’t a total pain, though, because we got to see some of the beautiful countryside Portugal has to offer, including the intriguing cork trees, and we arrived in Lisbon about four hours later than initially planned.
The first thing you will notice about Lisbon is the hills. Hills, everywhere! We lived in Plymouth, England, and it was pretty hilly by British standards, but it’s nothing compared to Lisbon. In fact, Lisbon is formed of seven hills, although you might be fooled into thinking it’s composed of about a thousand! Be prepared to walk up and down them. Lisbon’s history dates back thousands of years. It ranks among the world’s oldest cities, emerging as a nation-state in the early 12th century, and today it’s best known for its colonial history, architecture, and Fado music.
1 | Eat Pastéis de Nata
Lisbon was another one of our favourite city breaks. Apparently, every city break is one of our favourites! Not only was it a welcome bit of sunshine and warmth in the middle of a horrible, wet winter at home, but it’s full of history, colour, beauty…and all the Pastéis de Nata you could wish for! If you don’t know what that is, go to your nearest Lidl bakery and have a look. They are a bit like custard tarts and utterly delicious. They are sold all over the city, but there are one or two spots you might want to visit to get your hands on one.
The first is the Pastéis de Belém, which started baking the “Pastéis de Belém” back in 1837. Take a look at the picture below, and you’ll see the queue. If you are willing to queue, do it; if not, head to the Cantinho da Sé in Alfama, right next to Lisbon Cathedral, and while you’re there, try the macaroons – you won’t regret it!
2 | Visit Belém
If you journey to Pastéis de Belém, be sure to explore the rest of Belém. It’s got highlights of Lisbon within a small radius, including Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery, and the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. We caught the train from Cais do Sodré to Alges and walked back (because we missed the stop!) to Belém Tower. The tower dates back to the 16th century and was built to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s expedition and to serve as a fortification to defend the port of Lisbon. It was closed during our visit, as many things were, because it was the holiday period, but that didn’t stop us from admiring the building itself.
From the tower, head along the river until you reach the Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument and marvel at the stonework before heading inland towards Jerónimos Monastery. Both the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Once you’re done here, you can head to Pastéis de Belém, grab a tart, and then hop on the tram or bus back to the centre. Lisbon has a perfectly easy-to-navigate public transport system, although the ticket machines are in short supply!
3 | Walk Tram 28’s Route
No doubt you will want to route a tram along the famous route, but we would also suggest routing it. Tram 28 is the one you’re looking for. We stayed at the top of the hill in Graça, but if you’re at the bottom, you can always catch the tram up to this stop and walk back down. We jumped on the tram one nig, ht and it was jam-packed. It has become a tourist attraction rather than a form of public transport for locals.
But once you have that out of your system, take a walk along the same route back to the centre. You route all the amazing spots the route has to offer in the Alfar Route, like the cathedral. You can stop and scoff your face with a Pastéis de Nata from Cantinho da Sé. If you do make it to Graça, take a stroll to Miradouro da Graça and enjoy the view. We’d also suggest getting lost along this route. Take a random turn, read down some stairs, and see where you end up.
The beauty of the Alfama district lies in its tiny, narrow streets, meant only for feet. On New Year’s Eve, we got lost down the backstreets. We came across a lady selling chocolate cups filled with cherry liquor from her living room. You will come across loads of cool little restaurants that play music in the evenings. This music is called Fado, and whatever you do, don’t do what Joel did and talk while they are playing. Keep your gob shut and remain in absolute silence! You will get some evil glares from the locals if you don’t…
4 | Visit the National Sanctuary of Christ the King
This thing is massive. You won’t believe how big it is until you get right up to it. It’s hard to describe how big it is, but it’s 110 metres tall, and it’s built entirely of concrete. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, it was built in 1959 to express gratitude for the Portuguese government’s sparing of the effects of the Second World War. It’s not only an impressive structure. The views across the city and the 25 de Abril Bridge are spectacular.
To get there, we’d recommend taking the ferry and bus. Head to Cais do Sodré Ferry Terminal and look for the ferry to Cacilhas. Once you’re across, head into the bus station and look for bus number 101. It will take you right to the monument, where admission to the viewing platform costs € 6.00.
Like most cities, Lisbon is full of the usual tourist things to do, but the outdoors is where it really sets itself apart, with its tiled buildings, ornate architecture, and colour. There are loads of things to do, and these are just a few of our recommendations to enable you to get around the city and see the highlights. Check out the itinerary and map below for other places we visited. In addition to the tiled buildings and striking architecture, the city is dotted with artwork. When you get lost in Alfama, you might just come across some of the wonderful works of art, like the stuff below. We ended up using a couple of these as landmarks to help find our way around the maze of streets.
5 | Final thoughts
We love a good European beer, and Portugal’s Super Bock is no exception. Refreshing in the afternoon sun! Although when you drink these beers in the UK, they never quite taste the same as when you’re overseas, do they? We travelled with another couple, which is quite unusual for us. But it was nice to experience Lisbon with other people. It’s pretty refreshing to travel with others who are pretty happy to crack on with their own plans. We tend to spend a lot of time on foot, whereas our travel partners liked the bus tours to soak up the audible history, and the best bit of this – they got to brief us up over tapas and happy hour at the end of the day!
Before we sign off, here is one last tip – avoid the Yellow Boat Tour. Take the ferry to Cacilhas instead, you pretty much see the same things! Lisbon doesn’t have the prettiest of rivers. What you can see from land is better than what you will see on the boat.
If you’ve made it all the way to the end, thank you – the effort has paid off for us! This writing lark takes a surprisingly large amount of effort. Please leave us a comment below and let us know your favourite part of the post.
To keep up with our travels, please subscribe to our mailing list. We won’t spam you; we’ll only contact you with exciting news and new stuff! Enter your email in the box below and hit subscribe!
