Covid19 epidemic ensured that we arrived in Portugal 3 years after we were supposed to. Itinerary remained more or less the same but we did increase the stay in each place by a day – and that proved to be a good decision. You do need at least 3 days to see a city and get into its groove. 4 days would be even better for a large city like Lisboa or Lisbon. Our arrival was at Porto but I start the journey chronicles by Lisbon as this was a city I really enjoyed. Lisbon has everything a tourist desires. It has good transport infrastructure, it has magnificent architecture, it has a rich past and it has a great nightlife. As you stand in the touristy Baixa-Alfama area – you get a great view of the ocean and then you are suddenly transported back in time with the 1930’s look trams screeching to a halt near you.

Journey to Lisbon via Coimbra and Sintra

To reach Lisbon we came by road from the lovely city of Porto and having started at 9 AM from Porto we stopped at the famous University of Coimbra and the Pena palace at Sintra. We arrived at our apartment in Lisbon at around 6.30 PM after a full day of sightseeing. The highways were as good as they can be and while driving is easy on the highways – driving in cities like Porto and Lisbon is a tough task with narrow lanes and hilly terrain. Driving from one place to another gives you a great idea about the country and the kind of small cities and villages which fall between the large cities. I noticed the greenery all around the highways and very little pollution even though most vehicles were on fossil fuels.

Coimbra

Coimbra University is amongst the oldest continuing universities in the world. The town is famous due to the University, and it is a pretty town with several nice churches, green hills and the 234 km long river Mondego passes through the town giving a lovely look to the city. We had pre-booked the tickets and the entrance to the University is by time slots. It was good to spend an hour or so here getting the feel of the institution and visiting the chapel and its ancient library. We were told about the history of the University and about the thousands of bats that still reside there. As it is a continuing university the choir gave a great performance to us from the terrace and we could see classes taking place.

Sintra

Sintra is not far from Lisbon. Most people do a day trip from Lisbon as you could either do an organised tour which takes you to all the other attractions of the city or one can just take a train till Sintra station and then take cab or something till the palace. It has several attractions like the castle of Moors (Castelo dos Momos), Sintra national palace, forests, parks, Quinta da Regaleria etc. To do justice to the place one must live here for a couple of days. We just visited the Pena castle and did not go to the other attractions. Not for the last time during the trip we were caught unawares about the weather. It became cold, wet, windy and gloomy and as we climbed the mountain to get to the palace – it really did become cold and I was certainly not dressed for this so just wanted to get indoors. I hadn’t booked the tickets in advance and here also the tickets are according to time slots so we got tickets for a later time. I think one should always pre-book for such places. There was no restaurant or café around but just a dispensing machine giving out rubbish sandwiches and coffee.  Then we stood in a long queue feeling cold and hungry to enter a ‘fairytale’ kind of palace where kings and queens had spent cozy years since it was built by King Ferdinand in 19^th century. The palace looks good with its yellow and red façade and is the most visited monument of the country. It was covered in mist when we had reached but it cleared up by the end of our visit. They call Pena palace a wonder of Portugal. The palace was great but I don’t think I want to stand in long queues to see monuments anymore. Other places in the vicinity we just avoided though it was nice to walk in the huge gardens of the palace.

Reaching Lisbon

At Lisbon we stayed in an apartment in an area called the Baixa. All cafes, shops, sea, port, main square and nightlife was just a short walk away. On the very first evening I realised that we had chosen the right place to stay.

The Praça do Comércio is a huge square facing the sea. The statue of King Jose I adorns the square. Many government offices are located there along with several bars and restaurants. The place is always buzzing and if you don’t want to drink or eat you can hire a bicycle and ride it on promenade. The cruise ship docks right there so those who choose Lisbon cruises can just walk across the street while the ship is docked and party till it is time for ship to sail. Not very far is a street with temporary structures selling liquor and food. As the evening progressed the DJ took over the street and it was non stop partying.

We were not finished with the day so went to a rooftop bar and restaurant called Java. The formal restaurant was indoors with glass all around for views. The view of the sea and harbour at the time of setting sun was quite spectacular. The informal bar and snacks were out in the open. I could easily see that women outnumbered the men. As the evening progressed the crowds increased. We could never make it to the formal dining room as the waiting list was long. The snacks being served outside on the terrace were good and atmosphere was great so we just relaxed and had our drinks and food out in the open.

As we left the restaurant, the streets had come alive. It seemed all seats in restaurants and cafes had been taken, You could see revellers everywhere. It was a total party atmosphere on the streets and pavements. DJ’s and musicians had taken over certain areas and it was time for dance and loud music. We hung around for as long as we could and reached our apartment well past the midnight. The legs and body were really tired even though the energy of the place had kept us going till now. We had been in Lisbon just for a few hours and it promised a lot.

Lisbon – Day 2

Just near our apartment was a restaurant which had a long queue at 9 AM. It was a breakfast place called ‘Nicolau.’ We also stood in the queue and were treated to a very good breakfast. A good breakfast on a holiday always helps as you are constantly on the move and not sure when you will have lunch or dinner. There were a lot of boutique kind of shops in Baixa area and a lot of cafes. The area looked much more subdued and relaxed during the day. On the waterfront it was very windy and clouds were building up so we decided to take an Uber and visit the fashion outlets on the other side of town called the ‘Freeport.’ The drive was over a long suspension bridge over the sea and I loved the feel of it. Much of the day was spent at Freeport shopping at branded clothes outlets. It was just as well that we had gone away as it rained hard for a couple of hours at Baixa-Alfama areas.

When we came back it was nice and clear. With several festivals happening and ‘Portugal day’ being celebrated several roads had been shut down. The taxi driver took us through maze of narrow roads which were very steep. I wondered how people drove on such inclines with traffic being allowed both ways. Thankfully we hadn’t hired a car here otherwise it would have remained parked all the time.

We decided to check out the ‘Time out market’ or ‘Mercado da Ribeira.’ I was told that the food here is the best of best but I wasn’t prepared for the scale of the food market. They said it was the collection of best chefs serving the best food and I believe whoever said this. You could also get the best of wines and any kind of liquor. Wines were extremely cheap in Portugal. Everything was here in abundance – Snacks, main course, desserts…………you name it. The place was packed and I couldn’t even see its end. Though Mercado da Ribeira is the most popular and most visited – there are many other food markets in Lisbon like Mercado de Campo de Ourique and Mercado de Fusao.

After this it was time to check out the nightlife and what better place than the ‘pink street’ or  ‘ Rua Nova do Carvalho’. Lisbon being an important port had many sailors coming so this area of ‘Cais do Sodre’ was the red light area of the city near the port. Now it has changed its character and has become the street of bars and pubs. The street is painted dark pink and it is a waste of time coming here during the day. It is at night the street comes alive and if you don’t get place to sit on the outdoor chairs on the street itself – then climb up the stairs as each building has many bars. Some of them are quirky like ‘Pensao Amor’ which has an erotic theme. Time here passes quickly and you can keep sipping your drink and watch all the fun. Cais do Sodro also has many upmarket restaurants including Michelin starred restaurants nearby and also as I mentioned earlier the ‘Time out market’ is very near. As the bars operate till 4 AM – the people hang around but restaurants shut by 11 PM so better to have dinner on time.

Lisbon – day 3

Our last day in Lisbon before we moved further south to the Algarve area. We hoped that the weather would stay good so we could do some sightseeing. It was important to learn how a small country such as Portugal had conquered much of the world including parts of India. The answer lay in the Maritime museum in Belem area. The museum is maintained by the Navy and it is in a very impressive building. You have to buy a ticket to get in and it’s really worth it. You learn how they built ships, how they conquered the unbeatable Atlantic ocean and how the discovery of cape of good hope route gave them access to countries like India and Japan. You learn about their kings who encouraged ship building and expeditions and you learnt about Christopher Columbus, St Francis Xaviers and Vasco Da Gama. The models of ships they made, the stories of expeditions etc are all there. They even have a children’s section with ship models. It’s definitely worth a visit.

Next to the museum is the ‘Mosteiro dos Jeronimos’ or Jeronmos Monastery. It was erected in early 1500’s near the launch point of Vasco Da Gama’s first journey and it has tombs of a few Kings. The tomb of Vasco Da Gama was also shifted here later. We admired the building and its architecture but did not go in as there were serpentine queues to get inside the Monastry. This building is a UNESCO world heritage site along with the ‘Tower of Belem’ on the waterfront of Tagus river opposite the Monastery.

The tower is a 16^th century fortification which served as embarkation and disembarkation for explorers of the country. There were nice gardens near the tower of Belem and we relaxed for some time before moving to Almada to have a look at the Rio de Janeiro inspired ‘monument to the Christ’ perched up very high in the air.

The LX Factory

If you move away from Baixa-Alfama area for a touristy atmosphere and leisurely lunch – LX factory is one such place. We went for lunch here but it has a very vibrant night party scene also.  It was once an old industrial complex for textiles but now houses bars, restaurants, boutique shops and art galleries. It is trendy and chic. The atmosphere is rustic and creative and it has rooftop restaurants also offering good views.

On Sundays they have a flea market where youngsters walk around on cobbled streets sipping beer and shopping. If you want some more excitement then visit the ‘Village underground’ nearby which is made of shipping containers and buses including a double decker bus.

By the evening we had got a good hang of Lisbon and had done whatever was possible in 2.5 days. It is when you visit a city such as Lisbon that you realise that it would be fair to spend a week here as there are loads of things to see and do. We had done whatever we could but an important thing left to do was travel on tram 28 – and we managed that later in the evening. It runs from Martim Moniz to Campo Ourique passing Graca, Alfama, Baixa and Estrela on the way. It takes sharp turns, brakes hard and climbs steep gradients. We used it as a tourist but it is used by the residents of the city as a legitimate mode of transport. One can buy a 24 hour transport ticket from a metro station otherwise each ride becomes expensive. Trams are so integral of Lisbon that it would be a pity if you visit the city and not ride one. And these are not the modern avatars of trams but still retains the looks and features of the ones which ran in 1930’s.

Next morning was our train to Faro (Algarve) so it was time to pack and move on. It is another story that the train got cancelled at the last minute and then it was time for some crisis management. We had to reach Faro, then go to the airport to pick up our rental car and drive to the city of Lagos. All this was handled and we did make it to Faro and Lagos and Albufeira. The Algarve story will follow soon.

Tips for Planning to Portugal

• There is no direct flight to Portugal from India so it has to be a connecting flight from some place in Europe. We did Delhi-Frankfurt-Porto-Faro-Frankfurt-Delhi. Porto to Lisbon and Lisbon to Faro was internal travel by road/rail.
• Very difficult to get Portugal visa appointments as the slots didn’t open this summer. But Schengen visa is valid.
• For short distances you can travel by trams, metros or buses. But we used mostly Uber. They also have Bolt for aggregator cabs. The Ubers were very good and well maintained.
• People are generally good and helpful. A lot of taxi drivers were from our very own Jallandhar in Punjab.
• If you hire an apartment then be prepared for self check in and manage things on your own as they don’t deploy personnel at apartments. People only come for cleaning in the morning.
• Food should not be a problem and even if you don’t like Continental or Portugese food – there are enough Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian restaurants to be found.
• Though our train was cancelled – it remains a good option to travel from Porto to Lisbon and Lisbon to Faro.