Lisbon

Lisbon prep here.

Lisbon is a fascinating town. A month would not be enough to explore it; we have four nights. We are staying in the Alfama district, the quaint old Arab quarter that was spared the destruction that hit much of the city in the 1755 earthquake, fire and tsunami. Narrow cobbled lanes.

Alfama street at night

Tram

Fado is a style of folk music

George drinking 'Ginja', a cherry liqueur often served in a tiny chocolate cup

Lisbon is famous for 'Pasteis de Nata', delicious cream tarts. They are to Portugal roughly what 'Sachertorte' is to Vienna. Queues line up to buy them from fashionable pastry shops.

Let me give you a potted history of Lisbon. More here.

After the invasion of the Moors in 711, Christian crusaders reconquered Lisbon in 1147. Portugal came into its own in the 15th and 16th century, when it became the first European power to explore the world, and develop an empire. A key figure in this was Prince Henry the Navigator (aka Infante Dom Henrique, 1394 - 1460), who established a school of navigation, and promoted the exploration of the African coast. Significant protégés of his included Vasco da Gama, who, in 1498, was the first to sail from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope. 

Ferdinand Magellan, also Portuguese, although he was employed by Spain, led the first expedition to sail around the world, in 1519-1522, although Magellan himself was killed on the way.

These Portuguese discoveries led to considerable wealth from trade with India, the Spice Islands, Brazil and the Far East. The Portuguese Empire eventually included  the following countries.

Spanish and Portuguese voyages of discovery

Some of the wealth from that period can be seen in some of the splendid buildings and resources in Lisbon and nearby Sintra.

Portugal had a vicious version of the Inquisition which ran for nearly 300 years. The major target of the Portuguese Inquisition were those who had converted from Judaism to Catholicism, the Conversos, also known as New Christians, who were suspected of secretly practicing Judaism. 

The History of the Inquisition, Wrapped Up in a Sausage

Lisbon also had a major earthquake in 1755 which destroyed much of the city. The architecture of the time of the Age of Discovery is known as Manueline, after the king at that time, Manuel I (reigned 1495–1521). The architecture from the time when Lisbon was rebuilt is known as Pombaline, after the Marquis of Pombal, the man in charge of the rebuilding.

The Twentieth Century was hard for Portugal. In 1908, King Carlos I and his heir were assassinated. Republicans took over, but in 1926, were replaced by a military dictatorship. António de Oliveira Salazar eventually became the dictator and ruled until his death in 1970. The dictatorship was overthrown in 1974 by the Carnation Revolution, which restored democracy.

We decided that we would try to appreciate the Age of Discovery, the Oceanarium, and Sintra, during the time we had available.

The Museu de Marinha is run by the Portuguese Navy. It is excellent.

The museum is inside the Jeronimos Monastery, an example of Manueline architecture.

The star of the show is Infante Dom Henrique (aka Prince Henry the Navigator)

On our second day, we cracked the transport system and travelled up to the Parque das Nações, which was extensively redeveloped for the Expo '98 World Fair. There are several spectacular pieces of architecture, including the Oriente railway station.

Lisbon Oceanarium

Freshwater aquarium

Jellyfish 

Lionfish

Puffin

Rockhopper penguin

Sea otters

Sunfish

We went on a harbour cruise on a dodgy 35 foot ketch. Just the two of us, the skipper and one crew. It was lovely.

Evening cruise on the River Tagus.

Happy hour on the terrace above Alfama, overlooking the Tagus River

Just north of Lisbon is an area called Sintra. It is hilly, and favoured by the royal family when the monarchy existed. Other aristocrats and wealthy people built palaces there, and they are available for tourists to oggle at. Some of it was distinctly pretentious, and suggested a decadent aristocracy.

Palácio Nacional da Pena is a nineteenth century Romantic palace, perhaps comparable to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.

Dining room

Quinta da Regaleira

It was owned by a wealthy Brazilian, who was also a free-mason. This well was built as part of an initiation ritual.

Palácio de Monserrate

Corridor at Palácio de Monserrate

There is another side to Lisbon. There is a lot of graffiti, and some homelessness. This is an underpass.

Portugal had a very severe drug problem, and dealt with it by decriminalizing all drugs in 2001. Here are some articles about the issue.

Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn’t the world copied it?  Since it decriminalised all drugs in 2001, Portugal has seen dramatic drops in overdoses, HIV infection and drug-related crime.

Drug policy of Portugal