Easter weekend (in Germany, Friday and Monday are public holidays) is just perfect for a city trip. You don’t need to take leave days from work but still have four days time, nevertheless. Backside, of course: it’s more expensive and crowded. But: if you want calm, you should go to a graveyard.
Watch this short video for our impressions of the city!
Hotel
Firstly our hotel: We stayed at Sete Colinas. Officially only a two stars hotel, decent prices, not in city centre, but perfectly connected to the Metro. Breakfast was marvelous. Rooms and bathrooms were clean and large enough. Staff was friendly and competent. We had a lovely stay and can really recommend this hotel.
One weekend is not enough to discover this great city in deep. But you can definitely see a lot of it and get lost in the small lanes.
Street Art
What’s interesting: Street Art everywhere! Only mess for some, but it’s tradition in Lisbon since times of Carnation Revolution. You should definitely have a look at it. Motives tell you a lot about this city and their inhabitants and show the artist’s talent.
Azulejos
Blue story telling tiles! They’re almost everywhere and some kind of landmark!
Tram 12 E/ Tram 28 E
We arrived on Friday morning and started with two of the most famous viewpoints Miradouro das Portas do Sol and Miradouro de Santa Lucia.
Most tourists take the Trams 12 E or 28 E to get there. On the one hand side, those Trams are typical for Lisbon and one of the main sights. On the other hand side, they are extremely crowded, which doesn’t make it a comfortable ride. Furthermore, this can lead to annoying situations.
Our recommendation: Try it once, this is enough and really fun. You can use the ‘Viva Viagem’ day ticket for the Trams.
Lisbon is to be discovered on your feet. Although they might hurt after a while. It is well connected to other parts (Belem) and other cities (Sintra, Cascais).
Pastéis de Belém
Many sights are not cheap, and especially on easter weekend, queues are often long. Sometimes it’s possible to skip them.
Well, not in case of Pastéis de Belém. No problem, as we were there some years ago and tried these delicious pastries. Also, you find delicious Pastéis de Nata everywhere in the city.
Luckily there’s more to see in Belém. Trams and buses regularly ride there.
Mosteiro dos Jéronimos
We didn’t see it from inside, as queues were too long. According to our guide book, Vasco da Gama’s sarcophagus is inside.
Torre de Belém
Entrance fee: € 8 and, again, long queues. A nice cafe is just around the corner.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
A monument for all voyager’s with 33 important persons from the times of great discoveries. Among others, Henry the voyager. It was built in Salazar era.
Also great: Compass Rose Mosaic with a world map. You could have a nice view from up the monument. Again, it’s expensive and queues are long. Of course, many do it nevertheless.
An earthquake on November 1st, 1755 destroyed Lisbon almost completely. The Lower Town (Baixa Pombalina) was rebuilt in rectangle streets. It’s bordered in North and South by three of the main squares in Lisbon:
Praça do Comércio
Square of Trade. It’s the entry to Lower Town from the Tejo River. A pompous square for represantative purposes.
Praça da Figueira
Square of the Fig Tree.
Rossio
Here’s also the train station to Sintra. The square consists of typical mosaics and fountains.
In Santo António, there’s Campo Mártires da Pátria. A beautiful square near the German Embassy and the Goethe Institute in Lisbon.
We also wanted to enjoy the great weather by night. We really loved Largo do Carmo in Chiado district.
It’s close to Santa Justa Elevador. You can have a drink here and the evening come to an end. Great atmosphere! If you want more action, you should go somewhere else.
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