Três Dias em Lisboa (Three Days in Lisbon)

Ok, so with flight scheduling, it was more like two and a half days, but I tried to pack a lot into each day. Lisbon ended up being a pleasant surprise for me, primarily because I didn't know its major landmarks prior to planning my trip there, but then found that the city's sites were just as impressive (if not better than) their counterparts in Europe's other major destinations.

Note that I am writing this post as I pack for a trip to Switzerland, so I'll try to keep the narrative short. Essentially, my goal was to watch the two football matches that were scheduled in Lisbon for that weekend and visit the major landmarks, with a focus on enjoying the miradouros (points of view) of the city (but getting to each one on foot without using any trams/elevators).

Day 1

I started the day with a short walk to Parque Eduardo VII, which had a very ordinary view of the city. The park is on a hill, but the slope is very gradual, so the view of the Avenida da Liberdade was very distant.

A view of the Parque Eduardo VII, facing south. The statue in the distance is at the center of a large roundabout called the Praça do Marquês de Pombal.

From Parque Eduardo VII, one can walk along the Avenida da Liberdade, which happens to host a flea market on Saturday mornings. Although, I think the locals would have called it an antique fair as the prices were certainly not bargains (not even in haggling territory).

I then strolled through Praça dos Restauradores and then Praça do Rossio. What I noticed is that there are a lot of statues, monuments and town squares in the Baixa area. From there, it was a short climb up to Igreja de São Roque. I have to mention that the Igreja de São Roque was an impressive church. While the exterior is plain and the church is small, the interior was filled with side chapels containing very ornate, finely sculpted gold works. The lavishness of this church could rival anything in Rome.

One of the several side altars at the Igreja de São Roque.

The Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcãntara was just down the street from the church...

A view from the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcãntara, facing southeast. The Jardim de São Pedro de Alcãntara is in the foreground and the Castelo de São Jorge is at the top of the hill on the horizon.

The walk back down led me to the coastline (or riverfront? I didn't know what to call the body of water just south of Lisbon), where I saw Lisbon's version of a Triumphal Arch. Again, this was a beautiful landmark that I thought looked much nicer than its counterparts in Paris or Barcelona.


The Rua Augusta Arch, shot from the Praça do Comércio.

Heading west brought me to the Castelo de São Jorge. The castle has been rebuilt and restored several times over the past 800 years, so it's hard to say when the current version was built, but it certainly has a rustic Medieval style in its design. The castle also had great views of the city in every direction. My only complaint is that the walls and stairs lacked safety railings in several places, and I ended up developing a new fear of heights walking the crowded castle walls that were only two persons wide.

A view from Castelo de São Jorge, facing north by northwest. The trees took up too much of this shot, but this was the only photo I took (without sun glare) that captured both the great view of the city and a castle battlement. The trees on the other side of the courtyard below had peacocks perched on the branches, although a few bolder peacocks flew down to a café two levels below to feed on whatever the tourists tossed their way.

I took the subway north to watch a football match between SL Benfica and SC Braga at the Estádio de Luz. While the subway in Lisbon is very modern and efficient, I misjudged the time it would take me to get to the stadium and I ended up missing (by two minutes!) the Benfica Victory Eagle that flies around the stadium before each match. A video of the eagle can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpJfDvtJuOU, although it only captures the end of the flight as the eagle is released from the roof of the stadium.

Anyways, with Benfica and Braga both being near the top of the table, the game was intense and rough, with a lot of fouls and yellow cards issued. While the quality of play was very high, there was also a lot of diving and acting that went along with the rough play. One Benfica player even received a yellow card for diving in the second half. Benfica won 2-0, although it was an easy game for them after a Braga player was ejected for getting a second yellow card.

The Estádio de Luz (Stadium of Light), home of SL Benfica. The photo was taken during the opening ceremony before the match against SC Braga.

Lisbon happens to have three Primeira Liga football teams, with Benfica and Sporting Lisbon as the two major powerhouse teams who usually play in Lisbon on opposite weekends. However, the third team, CF Os Belenenses, was also playing at home that night, so I quickly took the train out to Belém to watch their match against GD Estoril Praia. While I normally would not have gone out of my way to see a second match, particularly as Benfica and Sporting are the two big name teams in the city, I've always had an affinity for Os Belenenses because they have the coolest team name in football (even better than Istanbul's Galatasaray SK). CF Os Belenenses! With a name like that, the Os Belenenses scarf is now the favourite in my collection.

I noticed that a lot of the locals on the westward train (who live in Belém or even further west from Lisbon) were wearing Benfica scarves from the afternoon match, and yet I arrived to a near empty stadium for Belenenses. The one other tourist in my section of the stadium also commented to me how the locals were all on the Benfica bandwagon. Such is the state of modern football. The game was still moderately loud though, as at least 200 energetic Estoril fans made the short trip to Lisbon and chanted the whole night.

As Belenenses and Estoril are middle-ranked teams, the quality of the football was decent although not as good as Benfica-Braga, but the game was a bit cleaner and there was much less diving. I say only a bit cleaner because each team scored a goal on a penalty shot because of fouls in the penalty area. The game ended as a 2-2 draw.

The Estádio do Restelo, home of CF Os Belenenses. The photo was taken during their match against GD Estoril Praia.

Day 2

The second day started in the eastern side of the city (Xabregas), where I could see two sites highly ranked by various travel websites: the National Tile Museum and the Igreja da Madre de Deus.

Three of the many tile displays at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (also known as the National Tile Museum).

The main altar of the Igreja da Madre de Deus.

The conference room at the top level of the Igreja da Madre de Deus. The opposite end of this room had a viewing window overlooking the main altar and pews one level below.

After the two eastern sites, I took the subway west to the Alfama area, and climbed up to the Igreja da Graça and the neighbouring Miradouro de Graça.

A view from the Miradouro de Graça, facing southwest. The Castelo de São Jorge is at the top of the hill on the left and the 25 de Abril Bridge can be seen in the distance.

I took the train west to spend the rest of the day in Belém (as it was too dark and too late when I arrived there the night before to see any of the sites). What surprised me is that Belém was much more crowded with tourists than the Bairro Alto, Graça and Baixa areas of Lisbon. The long boardwalk with the Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the Torre de Belem likely contributed to this.

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), with the 25 de Abril Bridge and the Cristo Rei (National Sanctuary of Christ the King) in the distant background.

The Torre de Belém. There are very few beaches close to the city center of Lisbon, as most of the coastline is set up like a boardwalk, but there was a very small beach facing this tower that enabled tourists to get their feet in the Atlantic.

Since the Berardo Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art was also in the area and had free admission, I figured I'd also take a quick look. The museum was moderately sized, so I was able to quickly look over all of the works in about an hour. Now I happen to prefer classic art, so I probably don't appreciate modern and contemporary art as much as an art buff, but I try to keep an open mind to different genres. What bothers me is when I come across art that is either really lazy (I saw a painting of a black square there; no textures or shading, just a black square) or really weird. This museum had a mix of some interesting pieces as well as some items that would fall under lazy/weird.

One of the laziest pieces of art that I saw in the Berardo Museum. I decided to use this photo as a means to add my own layer of artistic expression to the artwork. This new layer can be interpreted as an extension of what the original artist is saying to the viewer, or what the viewer wants to say to the original artist. I guess this is an example of how contemporary art can work on so many levels. :/

I also visited the Jerónimos Monastery, but the inner cloister closed 10 minutes before I arrived (a few minutes late again!), so I only saw the main chapel area.

Day 3

The third day was a chance to relax after two fast paced days. I walked to two different miradouros and then stopped by the Parque das Nações on the way to the airport. While the park doesn't have much tourist appeal, some travel sites recommend it, I guess because it offers a look at more modern architecture in Lisbon and it's a change from seeing historical sites the whole time.

A view from the Miradouro de Santa Catarina, facing southwest. This was one of the most southerly viewpoints in the city, so most of the view was overlooking the river/ocean.

The Jardim and Miradouro do Torel, facing west. This must have been the least known viewpoint in the city, as it only had a small fraction of visitors compared to the other miradouros.

So that was Lisbon in two and half days. I'll say that, like Monaco, this city is well-suited for stair-climbers if you forego the trams/elevators. The warm weather and beautiful landmarks added to the experience. I should also mention that the local (non-touristy) bakeries there also made some excellent pastries that I highly recommend trying.


Monaco Follow-Up and Churches in Paris

Before I head out on three different trips over the next month, I'll give a quick follow-up on the Monaco match that I missed in mid-February as well as provide some more Paris-related content.

The AS Monaco vs. Montpellier Hérault match from mid-February was postponed due to bad weather, but I still wanted to see Monaco play. Fortunately, Monaco visited Paris on March 4 to play Paris Saint Germain for a French Cup match, and I was able to see the game on a Wednesday night after leaving the office a bit later than usual (Parc des Princes is a 10 minute walk from the OECD's Delta Annex).

PSG won the game 2-0. Monaco looked tired and outmatched, which was surprising since they dressed a similar lineup to the one that beat Arsenal in Champions League play (1-3) in London. The extra matches they are playing may have contributed to the fatigued play. The stadium had a great atmosphere, but it wasn't as energetic as the Champions League match vs. Ajax from last Fall.

Parc des Princes during the PSG vs. AS Monaco match. The cheaper ticket (€7.50) got me a seat at a lower viewing angle in the corner of the stadium.

As I've already covered some of the major art museums in Paris, I thought I'd give a quick rundown of the various churches that I've visited over the past six months. While the churches in Paris are not as ornate or as historic as the ones in Rome, there are still some culturally significant churches around Paris and I've managed to see five of the better known ones.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Paris' most famous cathedral. This is a heavily visited tourist attraction but the lines move quickly so you don't have to wait long to get inside. Masses are offered regularly (there were probably four timeslots on the Sunday that I visited) although they are either entirely or mostly in French, and you'd be attending the mass while hundreds of tourists walk around you while taking photos. The interior is somewhat dim, with several candlelit alcoves containing altars, confessionals, prayer stations and artwork. I should also mention that Notre-Dame is on the Ile-de-Cité and is right next to the Seine, so you also get an excellent view of the river from around the cathedral grounds.

The main entrance (Western side) of Notre-Dame when I visited last August.

The main altar, well illuminated by the sunlight on an August afternoon.


Sainte-Chapelle

I have to admit that I had never heard of Sainte-Chapelle until I saw it as a highly ranked landmark on some travel lists. Sainte-Chapelle is a medieval Gothic chapel known for its stained glass windows. The chapel is no longer operational (i.e. no masses are offered), so it is solely a tourist attraction now and is moderately frequented given that it is also on the Ile-de-Cité, one block away from Notre-Dame. It is also the only church that I visited where admission is charged, although admission is free on the first Sunday of the month during off-season (November to March). The chapel is small so it only took me 20 minutes to see all of it, and I probably spent 25 minutes waiting in line, but it was well worth it. The stain glass windows are intricate and recount some of the more famous stories from the Bible. I visited on a cloudy day, which gave the windows a dark blue hue.


A distant shot facing the front of Sainte-Chapelle chapel.

A closer shot of one of the stained glass windows.

Sacré-Coeur Basilica

Among the churches in Paris, Notre-Dame and Sacré-Coeur are the two headline tourist attractions in the city. While Sacré-Coeur has an impressive exterior and interior (photos not allowed inside), I think what really boosts its popularity is the view of the city that you get from climbing the hill to the main entrance. The one downside is that you have to deal with a fair share of con artists and pushy beer salesmen if you climb up the main stairs. The side stairs avoid this hassle, but this can involve taking some side streets that aren't as safe as other tourist areas. The basilica is in a rougher part of the city in the 9th arrondissement. While I think the area is still reasonably safe, the shady entrepreneurs on the main steps are what likely contribute to the basilica receiving a lower rating on travel sites like TripAdvisor.

The main entrance of Sacré-Coeur during a visit in early September.

A view of Paris from the main entrance.

Saint-Germain-des-Près

The Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Près is one of the oldest churches in Paris, dating back to the 6th century (although it has been rebuilt a few times since then). While the exterior looks somewhat plain, the interior contains impressive classical artwork. There was also a side-wing containing a secondary chapel, which during my visit was being used to exhibit some contemporary art from the area. This church offers masses daily.

The exterior of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Près.

The interior of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Près.

Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

After living in Paris for six months and regularly visiting the city's landmarks and museums, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal ended up being the top rated Paris site on TripAdvisor that I had not yet visited. So of course I had to make a visit and cross it off my list. Not that there is anything wrong with the chapel, but I think the TripAdvisor users overrated this one a little bit. The exterior of the chapel is almost nondescript, and you wouldn't even know there was a church there except that the alley leading to the chapel entrance has two religious statues along one wall. The interior is very well lit by the sun, and the artwork has a more modern feel. The chapel may be popular because apparently there was a Marian apparition here, so many Catholics like to make a pilgrimage to this site.

The interior of The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal during a Sunday service.

Next up... I am heading to Portugal next weekend. I will post details later this month.