Tuk tuk tour around Lisbon

》The city lies on the north bank of the Tagus River estuary, about 8 miles (13 km) from the river’s entrance into the Atlantic Ocean. From the ocean upstream to the city, the river is almost straight and about 2 miles (3 km) wide. It is spanned, on the west side of the city, by the 25th of April Bridge. Just east of the bridge, the Tagus suddenly broadens into a bay 7 miles (11 km) wide called the Mar de Palha (“Sea of Straw”) because of the way that it shimmers in the sun. The widest part of the Tagus estuary is spanned by the Vasco da Gama Bridge, which was built to help alleviate traffic on the 25th of April Bridge. Scenically spectacular, this hill-cradled bay of burnished water lies on a strategic sea route and serves as a busy port, handling much of the trade between Portugal and Spain.

》The general outlines of the city remain as they have for hundreds of years. Lisbon is still a city of balconies and vistas. Some of the most striking of the latter can be seen from the miradouros, the terraces maintained by the municipality on seven of its hillsides. (Many Lisboetas, as the people of Lisbon are known, profess their city to have seven traditional hills, like Rome.) For centuries Lisboetas have discussed the symptoms of an affliction they believe to be endemic in their city: saudade (“melancholy”), a state of anxiety tempered by fatalism that is said to be reflected in fado (“fate”), the melodic but deeply emotional folk songs that can still be heard in specific restaurants, mainly in the historic quarters of Alfama and Bairro Alto.

Lisbon’s port maintains an intimacy with its city that was common in the days before steam. Amid the freighters, warships, cruise liners, and ferryboats, a picturesque note is struck by the fragatas of Phoenician origin.

》Secret Garden LX

Rooftop bar for amazing sunset viewsEn savoir plus