Lisboa - Alfama District

The hotel we are staying at is a 15 minute downhill walk to the centre of historic Lisbon. Although I would have preferred staying in an apartment, they were more expensive than this 4* hotel that came with a full breakfast buffet. Metropolitan Lisbon has a population of nearly 3 million people, which is about 27% of the country’s population. The city centre is surprisingly easy to navigate and very compact. Around every corner is another treed plaza and monument. In 1755 the Great Lisbon earthquake occurred, equivalent to an 8.5-9 on today’s Richter scale. The city was almost totally destroyed by the quake and the subsequent fires and tsunami. We did a self-guided walking tour using Rick Steve’s travel book, exploring the Alfama District that suffered very little damage. Lisbon is extremely hilly but the guide book directed us to an elevator that took us partially up one very steep hill. There are park-like viewpoints at the top that overlook the city. Then we gradually weaved our way down very narrow streets and stairways back to the river front.

After 14 consecutive days of rain we were very happy to have a beautiful, 17 degree, mostly sunny day. We ate lunch at a patio restaurant, sipped on wine, and watched all the people. It’s unfortunate that there are so many smokers in Portugal, mostly young people, that interfered with our enjoyment of the outdoor patio.Read more