Photo review DIY Lisbon

Hello everybody,

We spent a day in the port of Lisbon last September while cruising on the Celebrity Constellation. We were in port from 9am until 7pm. The following is a very picture heavy review of our experiences in Lisbon. Hopefully it will inspire fellow cruisers to visit or bring back memories to those of you who visited Lisbon already.

Another beautiful sunrise

We are entering the port of Lisbon. We had to pass under the "25th of April Bridge", which is the 3rd largest suspension bridge in the world

The "Christ The King" statue is overlooking the city and the river Tagus.

We were amongst the first passengers to debark and decided to use a cab to take the 4 of us to Belém.

Our first stop there was the tower of Belém on the banks of the Tagus. It was built to protect the city from pirates and functioned as a prison later on.

We then walked to the Monument of Discoveries nearby. We enjoyed beautiful panoramic views from it's viewing platform.

The monolithic monument commemorates the 500th anniversary of the first portugese voyages to the "new land"

This compass rose in the square in front of the monument was a gift from South Africa.

View of Jeromimo's Monastery, which is one of Lisbon's greatest landmarks. It was founded during the era of discoveries.

The church is free to visit and houses tombs of several monarchs and Vasco da Gama.

We then continued down the street to stand in line for the famous Pasteis de Belém (pastries). Unfortunately a short torrential downpour made us run to the nearby Starbucks (shame on us!) for cover and coffee.

We took the tram back to Praça di Commercio (square of commerce) and passed under the bridge again.

Praça di Commercio is a large rectangular square open towards the Tagus.

View of the statue of King José I and the arch "Arco Augusta" in the square.

We had done a lot of walking already today and were a little worried that the steep uneven terrain on a walk through the Alfama neighborhood might be a little much for my 83 year old Dad.

We found this Tuk-tuk company, whose drivers took us through the narrow and scenic streets and alleys in their fun vehicles.

It was great fun!

We stopped at several viewpoints to satisfy my photographer's heart. The following photos are a summary of what we experienced today.

Alfama is supposed to be the most colorful spot in the city.

Castle of St. George

Beautiful tiles decorated the outside of almost every house

Famous Tram #28 with non paying customers

Lisbon Cathedral

The Santa Justa lift was unfortunately hidden by scaffolding

Modern street art we found while walking back to the ship

In the evening we passed under the bridge again around sunset.

My husband and I left the dinner table to run up on deck to document how close the ship actually came to the structure of the bridge. Only a few feet inbetween!

While having dinner I was able to capture the Discoveries Monument

And the Belém Tower while cruising by. Sorry for the blue pictures, but I had to shoot through tinted dining room windows.

A wonderful sunset concluded another fantastic day in port

Lisbon is one of our favorite cities and these lovely photos brought back so many memories. Thanks for sharing them with us. Now I want to go back, especially to have another one of those fabulous Belem pastries.

Marvellous, as ever.

We were there several years ago and will be returning at the beginning of May. Your photos brought back lots of memories and I look forward to seeing these places and some new places again.

Thank you for the great photos.

everybody for your kind words. Feedback is always appreciated

Regards

Petra

Thanks for your post, fab pictures ... I didnt know you could go up in the monument of the discoveres?

The tuk tuk looks fun! was it expensive?

Thanks for your post, fab pictures ... I didnt know you could go up in the monument of the discoveres?

 

The tuk tuk looks fun! was it expensive?

Hi Suzieanna,

I do not recall the exact price. I think it was around 60 Euros per tuk tuk for a 2 hr narrated tour. Not cheap, but lots of fun!

Hope this helps

Regards

Petra

Congrats

Great photos from my city

Thanks for responding so quickly Petra. I am going to look out for them for sure.

Isnt Cruise Critic great! Learning something new every day!

We will be sailing to Lisbon next month. Now that we've seen your pictures, we are so excited about seeing this beautiful city. Thank you!

Thanks for posting these wonderful pictures. We were in Lisbon last August and loved, loved, loved it, and the sail in and sail out are fantastic.

It's great that you include correct titles for everything, and some information. Some people just post pictures that say "Lisbon" but your posts tell the story of what you did and saw in an excellent way.

Nice photos - thank you for sharing.

I found your beautiful pictures and descriptions when looking into options for a DIY day in Lisbon this summer with my husband, 17yo and 19yo. We won't be in port quite as long as you but your plans sounds fabulous as much as we could make it through! A question if you (or any other readers) recall and can advise, it looks like you took transportation from the dock to Belem and then back again, was it far? Walkable if we wished to see more, or is time better spend taking a cab? Not as much a question of expense as wanting to be out and about as much as possible to get a real feel for the city. Thanks! You have me very excited for this stop (and feeling more confident about my desire to see the Tower of Belem, which a guidebook I read didn't even recommend for a one day visit, only for a two day visit).

I found your beautiful pictures and descriptions when looking into options for a DIY day in Lisbon this summer with my husband, 17yo and 19yo. We won't be in port quite as long as you but your plans sounds fabulous as much as we could make it through! A question if you (or any other readers) recall and can advise, it looks like you took transportation from the dock to Belem and then back again, was it far? Walkable if we wished to see more, or is time better spend taking a cab? Not as much a question of expense as wanting to be out and about as much as possible to get a real feel for the city. Thanks! You have me very excited for this stop (and feeling more confident about my desire to see the Tower of Belem, which a guidebook I read didn't even recommend for a one day visit, only for a two day visit).

Hi there ratfam,

Thanks for your nice comments!

I honestly would not recommend walking to the Tower of Belem. It's a long walk...a lot of ground to cover and very time consuming. To get a feel of the city you would probably be better of walking around the the scenic Alfama neighborhood.

Hope this helps

Have fun in this wonderful city and on your cruise

Regards

Petra

I found your beautiful pictures and descriptions when looking into options for a DIY day in Lisbon this summer with my husband, 17yo and 19yo. We won't be in port quite as long as you but your plans sounds fabulous as much as we could make it through! A question if you (or any other readers) recall and can advise, it looks like you took transportation from the dock to Belem and then back again, was it far? Walkable if we wished to see more, or is time better spend taking a cab? Not as much a question of expense as wanting to be out and about as much as possible to get a real feel for the city. Thanks! You have me very excited for this stop (and feeling more confident about my desire to see the Tower of Belem, which a guidebook I read didn't even recommend for a one day visit, only for a two day visit).

Belem is too far to walk from the dock, but there is the No 15 tram or regular buses. From memory the journey is about 15 minutes. I think the fee for the Discoveries Monument is €5. All the best, Tony

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We then continued down the street to stand in line for the famous Pasteis de Belém (pastries). Unfortunately a short torrential downpour made us run to the nearby Starbucks (shame on us!) for cover and coffee.

Pasteis de Belem was one of the highlights of our cruise 3 years ago.....

Thanks!!!

Lovely photos! Brings back wonderful memories. We turned a long layover on our way back from a Med cruise in 2013 to an overnight in Lisbon and saw many of the sights you have depicted. We did not have time for the Castle or Alfama though and I would love to go back some day.

We used the HoHo but found ourselves waiting quite some time for the return trip to our hotel area. And then there was some kind of street demonstration that required several detours.