This next post sort of gives you an overall glimpse of how you can spend one full day in Lisbon Portugal. We stayed in Lisbon for two nights but explored the surrounding area on day two, seeing the town of Sintra, the National Palace of Pena and then the Belém district.
We actually had to take an Uber from Sintra to Belém in the afternoon which is funny because in a previous post I stated that we almost never take Ubers while on Vacation. In this case we had to though because it was about a 30 minute drive, which is way too far to walk.
The main draw to Belém is its 16th century Tower located on the edge of the Tagus River. It was originally built to protect the city of Lisbon and then later converted into a lighthouse (Source).
A giant square structure accessed by a wooden bridge, standing alone at the edge of the water surrounded by a small sandy beach - it was quite a unique looking monument.
There was also a grassy park located behind it and a promanade that followed the river for some distance which made for a nice little walk in the late afternoon.
The promanade took us passed the harbor
to another large monument called Padrão dos Descobrimentos.
It's original construction was completed in 1940 and commemorates the early Portugese explorers (Source)
It was a nice looking monument and I really liked the detail work of the statued figures.
We saw some interesting means of transportation in town starting with these little yellow, three wheeled carts that could be rented to tour the area.
We saw a young couple having fun driving one in the downtown Lisbon area. It was hilarious when they passed. They're so tiny, like a little go cart of sorts.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum were the horse drawn carriages that we saw clip clopping through the streets.
Two modes of transportation marketted for two very different types of people, but equally fun looking in their own way.
Part cathedral and part museum, the Jeronimos Monestary was also worth checking out in Belém. It was a massive structure built like a palace and was absolutely beautiful inside. I would say that it's a must see monument of the district.
The last thing on our list of things to do was of course to eat Pasteis de Nata from the location in which they were born.
Pasteis de Nata were originally created in the 1830's in what was then, the small town of Belem. Specifically they were invented by nuns at the Jeronimos Monestary and shortly thereafter the bakery seen in the photos above and below, which is located a little ways away from the Monestary, opened up and began to sell the world renowned dessert. (Source)
The line up outside the location was quite long, but it moved very fast and we really couldn't go to Belém without stopping in for the delicious and quintessential treat of Portugal. It was one of those few times that we waited in a line up, but under 10 minutes wasn'ttoo long and it was worth it. The workers inside moved like an assembly line, continuously packing boxes with their warm pasteis.
We walked across the street and sat on a park bench to eat them.
A part of me was thinking that they wouldn't be very good. I thought that the bakery would be like many other famous locations that start out as something special and then over time turn out to be crap as the business pursues greater and greater profits by using cheaper and cheaper ingredients. Places often use their famous name to continue to produce sales it seems. Maybe I'm just cynical that way though, because I was quite wrong in my assessment. The pasteis were delicious and I dare say that they were probably the best that we had in the country during our vacation.
The park we sat in was a nice little green space and had one last statue and monument for us to admire.
After that we tried walking back to our hotel in Lisbon but eventually realized that it was way too far for us given how much walking we had done already. We walked for around 45 minutes and still had an hour left to go. We walked a little further and then called for another Uber that took 7 minutes and only cost 5 euros. I don't know how many kilometers we walked that day but I was in pain by the end and my fitbit stated that I had walked for 37 thousand steps!
Though I was almost hobbling that night, I would do it all again to eat another one of those delicious Pasteis de natas.
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That's a unique monument, indeed, that's worth seeing and visiting too.
I love the little yellow cars. I wonder if they are electrical? It must be fun touring the town in one of those, or if you want to feel like royalty, then maybe you could opt for a carriage ride 😅
The pastry looks moist, or should I say "provocative"? 🤣
Yeah the cars probably are electric, though I don't know for sure.
😆🤣😂
Bro even if those pastries look a bit small, totally worth the 30k steps 🤣they do look yummy indeed! How cool is that tower right in the water!
I love that other comment that below that sums up what you already said in the post hahhaa
Hahaha 😂 yeah it was a decent summary though.
Yeah the pasteis were quite good. They would go well with you recent purchase at the Den...😆
🤐
Awesome city, been there last year. The Pasteis in Belem are addicting.
Yeah they were quite good indeed. That's awesome that you got to experience them as well.
That’s so cool to hear the pastries were delicious even though you were sceptical 🧐 hehehe it’s nice when it is better than expected. As most is exactly like that. A name that has not the quality of times gone.
What an amazing building the square. So much details 😎 great location too.
Hehehe yep, sounds definitely to far to walk when you only have a few days.
The yellow little cars are hilarious, fun to see and probably drive too 🤩
Thanks for sharing. Such a great captures 👋🏻☀️
Yeah it's always nice when things are better than expected, thats for sure. Yeah that walk was way too long. We gave it a gallant effort though haha
Well done on the effort 😉😎👋🏻
Enjoy your day further… first day of rain here… yay 🌧
Thanks. You too. We have been getting a bit of rain in France lately. Moving into fall so eventually it will be only rain 😆
Thanks. Yes… more rain will come. Although last year we had hardly any here in the south of Spain.
We visited Lisbon, just realised, ten years ago and vowed to return as we liked it a lot. We stayed in an Aparthotel in the middle of town but Belem was walkable from where we were. I think that was my favourite part of the city. Recognised a lot of the things you wrote about here.
Must go back. Especially as my stepson and partner have just been to Porto.
Sounds like a nice trip. It's a spot that is definitely worth a revisit.
The tower and the small details of the monument are my favourites! You caught pretty nice weather too so I'm sure you had a blast exploring Lisbon that day :)
Yeah the weather was really good that day. We really lucked out I'd say 😁
Wow, so many things are so interesting @leaky20.
Yes I agree 👍 💯 😁
Lisbon is definitely one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe, beautiful your photos congratulations
Yes indeed. It is a very nice place 😊
That ancient monument look so fancy sorrounded by beautiful views that can be seen from the distance.
It's funny when we are so entertained by the views around that we never noticed how far we are already.
Yeah the views are quite nice in that area along the water. 😁
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing :)
You're welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
You really took all the angles there really well and we all really like going around there too.
After touring around, it's always nice to have a bit of the good food there.
Yes. That's all very true 😁👍
Lisbon is a magnificent city!!! and its sweets are delicious!!!
I think so as well 👍
Never been to Portugal but thanks to you, I had a glimpse of some of its beauty :)
The tower is interesting being in the river and still looks great when it was a 16th century structure.
!LUV
I'm glad I could help with that 😁
Yeah the tower is pretty cool
You did so thank you 😉 Always nice to travel the world through Hive :)
Yeah I agree. That's one of it many perks.
Portugal has always been on my bucket list. Thank you for this blog - makes me want to go there even more
Portugal is very nice. We liked it a lot. Hopefully you'll get to go at some point.
Fantastic pictures - looks like an awesome place to visit !
!LUV
It's a pretty good place to visit for sure
The statues are incredible.
Glad you liked them 😁
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The structures are historical and very beautiful. The pictures are beautifully taken
Thanks I'm glad that you liked them
The Iberian Peninsula showing its natural beauty. Europe / Portugal keep many things, being the old continent they keep their impeccable architecture
Yes that's true. It's nice when the old monuments and buildings survive the test of time
The Belém district of Lisbon, Portugal is home to many historical monuments, including the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower. The area is also known for its pastel de nata, a type of egg tart pastry.
....yes
....true
🤔 I think that's what I said...
Nice summary
Beautiful photos 😍
Thanks 😁