Sintra / Lisbon

Day One

Left company early to catch a train at 1437 hours from Neuchâtel and we reached Genèva Airport at 1555 hours. Bought a SBB supersaver train ticket at CHF 19.80 for the single way from Neuchâtel to Genèva Airport. While SBB train ticket from Genèva Airport back to Neuchâtel cost CHF 22.

EasyJet departed slightly late and we reached Lisbon Airport at 7 pm. Once cleared our customs and gotten our luggage at the airport, we then proceeded Aeroshuttle stop to wait for the shuttle bus to Ibis hotel. After deposited our luggage at the hotel room, we decided to go to Hard Rock Café and have dinner at the surrounding area.

Hard Rock Café Lisbon

Took Metro from 'Praca de Espanha' station to 'Restauradores' station. Hard Rock Café Lisbon is located at a corner of the Restauradores Square. The building, currently occupied by Hard Rock Café, used to be an old Condes Cinema built in 1950 (left photo below). We got some memorabilia and merchandises from the Rock Shop (right photo below).

Night scene at Restauradores Square

While waiting for my colleagues to complete their shopping at the Rock Shop, I took some photos of the night scene of Restauradores Square. A large obelisk and the old Éden theatre (left photo below) were spotted. The Foz Palace (right photo below), besides the old Éden theatre, has now become the Orion Eden Hotel.

Dinner at Restauradores Square

Had dinner at one of the restaurants near Restauradores Square. We got Portuguese egg tarts (left photo below) for each of us and ordered a pork ribs set with rice and French fries (right photo below) for myself. Taste for the egg tart was good but the pork ribs was average.

Day Two

Had a good breakfast at the hotel and we took Metro to 'Jardim Zoológico' station which was just one station away from 'Praca de Espanha' station. Got onto the train to Sintra at Sete Rios railway station and reached Sintra station at about 9.40 am.

Sintra

Sintra is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region and about 25-km northwest of Lisbon city. Described by Lord Byron as "Glorious Eden", Sintra's charms have long been celebrated. Once the summer residence of the Moorish lords of Lisbon and then Kings of Portugal, today Sintra is a major tourist destination in Portugal for its picturesqueness and historic palaces and castles.

In 1995, Sintra has been declared as Word Heritage Site by UNESCO.


Castle of the Moors

Took ScottURB bus number 434 and we alighted at the entrance of Castle of Moors. Bought our combined tickets from the Ticket Office (left photo below). Alternatively tickets can also be bought from the official website. This combined tickets to Castle of the Moors and Pena Palace cost EUR 14 which was cheaper compared to purchase individually where it cost EUR 6 to Castle of the Moors and EUR 12 to Pena Palace. Informative board at the entrance (right photo below) provided useful and short information on Castle of the Moors before we explored this castle.

The Castle of the Moors or Castelo dos Mouros in Portuguese is a hilltop medieval castle in Sintra. Built by the Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries during the Arab occupation as a planned military outpost on its coastline, but now only the walls are left after the damage in 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

The castle wall is a 450-meters perimeter on top of a mountainous cliff consists of a double line of military walls with occasional rectangular towers that meanders over the granite terrain of the promontory (photos below).

The castle was built on a hilltop, 420-meters above the Sintra municipality, where its slopes can be at least 40% gradients with some accented or moderate variation (photos below). Therefore it can be challenging to visitors who are acrophobia.

Several historical palaces at the foot of the hill could be spotted from the castle:

▪ Sintra National Palace (left photo below) is a well-preserved royal residence from early 15th century to late 19th century. Admission cost EUR 13.
▪ Regaleira Palace (right photo below) was initially owned by the Viscountess of Regaleira but had changed many owners since then. Now it was acquired by the Sintra Town Council in 1997 and open to public.
▪ Chalet Biester (bottom left photo) is a mansion easily identified by its black roof with turquoise trimming. It is a private property and not open to public.
▪ Pena Palace (bottom right photo) is a fairy tale like castle standing on top of a hill. This was our next destination.

Pena Palace

As it was rather steep and tiring to walk up the slope to the Pena Palace from its entrance, we decided to take the tram. Similar to Castle of the Moors, there was an Informative board on Pena Palace at its entrance (left photo below). Higher than Castle of the Moors, the Pena Palace at height of 480-meters offered a panoramic view of Sintra municipality (right photo below).

The Pena Palace or Palácio da Pena in Portuguese is a Romanticist castle with a hedonistic mix of vividly painted terraces, decorative battlements and mythological statues, all of which stand at stark contrast to the lush greens of the Parque de Pena forest (photos below).

The history of Sintra's Pena Palace begun in the middle ages as a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena. In the 16th century King Manuel I ordered the construction of a monastery on the site. It became a site for peaceful meditation for hundreds of years until the Great Lisbon Earthquake in 1755 destroyed it. The site remained ruins for a while until King Ferdinand II decided to transform the site into a summer palace for the Portuguese Royal Family. Reconstruction of the Pena Palace started in 1842 and lasted until 1854. It is an eclectic mix of architectural styles but is widely regarded as a wonderful exotic taste of the Romanticism architecture (photos below).

The main entrance gate of the Palace is also known as the Iron Gate (left photo below). It consists of a semi-circular arch cut into a wall crowned by five merlons. On either side is a watchtower, each one a redesigned version of the watchtowers of the Belém Tower.

The depiction of a mythological triton (right photo below) which symbolized the allegory of creation of the world. It is a monstrous half-man half fish creature resembling the hideous Adamastor, whose hair extends into the form of tree trunk, which then becomes the stems of a grapevine which encircle the whole window.

Neo-manueline style lancet style window on the western façade of the newer palace. Interesting the oculus is surrounded with different types of shells (left photo below). Terrace featuring a neo-Arab turret (right photo below) with the Statue of the Warrior in the background.

Restaurante Tasca do Xico

We decided to have our lunch at the centre of Sintra old town. After browsing the menus of some restaurants, we finally chose Restaurante Tasca do Xico (left photo below). The restaurant was rather small but occupied two levels in a cosy setting (right photo below).

Ordered a 'Cod-fish in Xico style' (left photo below) for EUR 16 and a coke (right photo below) for EUR 2.50. The taste for cod-fish was great.

After lunch we took the same route back, except we took the full train route and alighted at Rossio railway station instead.

Monument to the Restorers

The Monument to the Restorers (left photo below) or Monumento aos Restauradores in Portuguese is a monument located in Restauradores Square. It memorializes the victory of the Portuguese Restoration War where it ended the House of Habsburg and the rise of the House of Braganza lasted from 1640 to 1668.

Above the base of the monument stand two bronze allegorical figures (right photo below):

• on the Southern face is a winged male draped in a flag and holding the broken chains of foreign domain depicting 'Independence'.
• on the Northern face is a winged classically-dressed female figure holding palm on one hand and a laurel wreath on the other depicting 'Victory'.
  
  
  
  
  

Equestrian statue of King John I

The bronze equestrian statue of King John I (photos below) was inaugurated in the Square of the Fig Tree or Praça da Figueira in Portuguese in 1971. King John l was the King of Portugal from 1385-1433 until his death. He is recognized chiefly for his role in both the Portugal's victory in a succession war with Castile, preserving his country's independence and establishing the Aviz dynasty on the Portuguese throne.

Santa Justa Lift

Santa Justa Lift (photos below) is also known as the 'Elevator of Carmo'. This impressive 45-meters iron structure links downtown Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo. Opened in 1902, and originally powered by steam, it was built by the Portuguese-born French architect who was an apprentice to Gustave Eiffel. Therefore there are similarities with the Eiffel Tower!

Cost to Santa Justa Lift was EUR 6 including elevator ride and access to the viewpoint (photo below).

Great views of nearby area like Rossio Square (left photo below) and the Tagus River with the highest point of Rua Augusta Arch (right photo below) could be seen from the viewing platform.

Panoramic view of the Lisbon view with São Jorge Castle standing over the hill (photo below).

After some pictures taken from the viewing platform of Santa Justa Lift, we then walked towards the Commerce Square.

Commerce Square

The Commerce Square, or Praça do Comércio in Portuguese, is a large harbour-facing plaza with an area of 175-meters by 175-meters totally 30,600 square meters.

Rua Augusta Arch

The Rua Augusta Arch or Arco da Rua Augusta in Portuguese is a stone triumphal arch-like building in Commerce Square. The back of the arch has a clock when viewed from Rua Augusta street (left photo below) while the exquisite decoration of figures on the arch made it striking (right photo below).


The symmetrical buildings besides the arch on the square were filled with government bureaux regulating customs, port activities and restaurants at its ground floor (left photo below).

Three colossal figures topped the arch representing Glory rewarding Valor and Genius (right photo below):



▪ The female allegory of Glory, which is dressed in peplos and measures 7-meters, stands on a three-step throne and holds two crowns.
▪ Valor is personified by an Amazon, partially covered with chlamys and wearing a high-crested helmet with dragon patterns, which were the symbols of the House of Braganza. Her left hand holds the parazonium with a trophy of flags behind.
▪ Genius encompasses a statue of Jupiter behind his left arm. At his left side are the attributes of writing and arts.

Below the figures is the coat of arms of Portugal (left photo below) and the figures of Vasco da Gama and Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo (right photo below) stand above the columns.

Equestrian Statue of King Joseph I

The Equestrian Statue of King Joseph I (left photo below) is an icon in Lisbon and its location in the busy Commerce Square means the statue is always in the public eye. Joseph I reigned as King of Portugal from 31 Jul 1750 till his death on 24 Feb 1777.

Standing at 14-meters high, the monument consisting of a bronze equestrian statue on a large richly decorated lime stone pedestal. The statue depicts King Joseph I on his horse symbolically crushing snakes on his path (right photo below). It is the first cast bronze statue in Portugal and is the oldest public statue of Lisbon and the country.




The Equestrian Statue stands on a pediment flanked respectively by left and right, by allegorical sculptures of Triumph and Fame, which symbolize the submitting of the continents to the Portuguese:



▪ Triumph, leading a horse representing Europe over a human figure representing America (bottom left photo).
▪ Fame, driving an elephant representing the Asia over a human figure representing Africa (bottom right photo)

Cais das Colunas

Cais das Colunas is located at Commerce Square, in the historical center of Lisbon; its marble steps used to be the noble entrance into the city, through which heads of state and other prominent figures have arrived (left photo below). It used to give access to ferry boats and other vessels connecting Commerce Square to the Tagus' south bank. They're representative of wisdom and devotion.

25 de Abril Bridge

The 25 de Abril Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning over the city of Lisbon to the municipality of Almada. Inaugurated in 1966, it has a total length of 2,277-meters and was the longest suspension bridge in Europe. On the end of bridge stand the Sanctuary of Christ the King (right photo below).

Dinner at Rossio Square

Decide to have dinner at Rossio Square. Could not remember the exact restaurant that we went, but I ordered a typical fried chicken set at EUR 8 (left photo below). Taste was rather standard.

Another noticeable building at Rossio Square is the Queen Maria II National Theatre (right photo below). Built around 1450, the building is the best representative of Neoclassical architecture. Its main façade consists of a portico with six ionic columns and a triangular pediment.

Day Three

Woke up early and saw the amazing Aqueduct from the hotel room.

Aqueduct

Built in 1746 to bring the city its first clean drinking water, Lisbon's remarkable aqueduct (left photo below) is made up of 109 stone arches, which were the tallest stone arches in the world when they were built. Its total length is 58-km, but the most visible part are the 14 arches crossing the Alcantara valley where the best views are from Campolide train station. The tallest of the Aqueduct rise to a spectacular 65-meters from the ground with a span of 29-meters. Astoundingly, it all survived during the 1755 earthquake.

Ribeira Market

While waiting for our tram outside 'Cais do Sodré' Metro station, we saw the Ribeira Market or Mercado da Ribeira in Portuguese (right photo below). It is a market inaugurated in 1882 for food and other products.

Took tram 15E and alighted at Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (for Belém) stop.

Jerónimos Monastery

The Jerónimos Monastery or Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Portuguese (photos below) is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome. King Manuel I built it in 1502 on the site of a hermitage founded by Prince Henry the Navigator, where Vasco da Gama and his crew spent their last night in Portugal in prayer before leaving for India. It was built to commemorate Vasco Da Gama's voyage and to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for its success. Jerónimos Monastery now houses Maritime Museum and the National Archaeology Museum.

It was declared as World Heritage Site along with the nearby Tower of Belém by UNESCO in 1983.

The South Portal is a shrine-like entrance which is of 32-meters high and 12-meters wide (left photo below). The Madonna is on a pedestal on top of the archivolt (right photo below), surmounted by the archangel Michael, while above the portal there is a cross of the Order of Christ.

Its ornate feature includes many carved figures standing under a baldachin in carved niches (photos below).

Monument of the Discoveries

Monument of the Discoveries or Padrão dos Descobrimentos in Portuguese (left photo below), is a monument that celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery / Exploration during the 15th and 16th centuries. On either side of the ramps of the monument are a total of 33 figures from the history of the Discoveries (right photo below), together with the main statue of Henry the Navigator who is holding a model of a carrack (bottom photos).

This monument consists of three levels: the auditorium with space for 101 people, a stage of 18 square metres with film projection booth, a secondary level with two halls for exhibition; and the last level with four rooms for exhibitions as well. The top level offers views of Tagus river and neighbouring Belém areas.

Belem Lighthouse

While walking towards Belém Tower we saw this peculiar lighthouse (left photo below) on the waterfronts of Tagus River. This lighthouse was built for the Portuguese World Exposition in 1940 to mark the 800 years foundation of the country and also the 300^th anniversary of the restoration of Independence from Spain. It never worked as a real lighthouse.

Doca do Bom Sucesso

This dock (right photo below) formerly belonged to Portuguese Navy but has been transformed into Lisbon Maritime Aviation Center in 1917 and opened to pleasure craft with 163 berths for boats up to 15-meters in length.

Belém Tower

Belém Tower or Torre de Belém in Portuguese (photos below) is a 16th century fortification located on the banks of Tagus River at Belém area that served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance, and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style.

Since 1983, the tower has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Jerónimos Monastery.

The structure was built from lioz limestone and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre, four-storey tower. The upper tier of the bastion is crowned by a small wall with bartizans in strategic places, decorated by rounded shields with the cross of the Order of Christ encircling the platform (left photo below). The southern part of the second floor is dominated by a covered veranda with a loggia, consisting of an arcade of seven arches, resting on large corbels with balusters. It is covered by laced stonework to form a porch, and its sloped roof ends in a sculpted twisted rope (right photo below).

We took back the same route back to hotel. After gotten our luggage that we deposited at the hotel, we then took the Aeroshuttle at EUR 3.50 to Lisbon Airport.

Lunch at Lisbon Airport

Had our late lunch at Expresso restaurant (left photo below). Ordered a typical Portuguese dish – Arroz de Pato or Portuguese duck rice (right photo below) at EUR 9 for myself. Taste was delicious and flavorful.

Flight back

After custom clearance, we boarded our flight back to Genèva Airport. Nice view from the flight could be seen after its take-off (photos below).

Reached Genèva Airport at 1935 hours. With this, it ended our short weekend trip to Lisbon.