Portugal - Lisbon I

The historic city of Lisbon faces the river Tagus and is built on seven hills, giving impressive views across the city and river. The city if full of beautiful buildings and interesting cobbled streets, so join the tour with me.

My daughter (who was visiting from Amsterdam) and I, travelled from Cascais, (where my family lives) into Cais do Sodre Station by train.

 Commerce Square (Praca do Comercio)

Commerce square with the Arch on the north side and statue of King Jose I in the centre

Navigating through some road works, we headed to the pavement by the riverside until we reached Praca do Comercio (Commerce Square), also known as Terreiro do Paco (Palace Yard), as it was where the Royal family's palace was before being destroyed by Lisbon's earthquake of 1755.

Statue of King Jose I in the centre of Commerce Square

After the earthquake, the square was rebuilt with symmetrical buildings on either side.
The buildings used to house Customs and Port activities offices, but now house shops and restaurants. 
In the middle of the square stands a statue to King Jose I, that was built in 1775.

This square also saw the assassination of King Carlos I, the penultimate King of Portugal in February 1908. Two years later Republican party members overthrew the monarchy.

Beer House restaurant & Museum (Museu da Cerveja)

Top left - the advert that caught my attention. Right - stairs to the Beer Museum and bottom photos - the restaurant

While collecting maps from the Lisbon Story Centre (Tourism office) on the right side of the yellow buildings, I spotted a restaurant advertising "pasteis de bacalhau com Queijo da Serra". That all means "codfish cakes with goat cheese" (from the highest mountain of Portugal).  The cheese version is a recent invention, so I was keen to try them!

The gigantic codfish cakes

The Beer Museum  is upstairs, and you can visit that for the history of beer (small entry fee), or to enjoy a beer, either Portuguese or from all over the world. 
Downstairs, The Beer House restaurant is a pleasant and modern space, and we will have to return for a meal on our next visit to Portugal. 
In the meantime we just ordered a codfish cake to take away. They were bigger than the normal codfish cakes, not cheap, but I enjoyed the taste.

If you have the time visit the Lisbon Story Centre  for an interactive exhibition that relates the main events of the city of Lisbon from past to present. 
Entry costs 7Euros for adults and 3Euros for children from 6 to 15. They are open from 10am to 8pm, with the last entry being at 7pm.

Rua Augusta Arch

The Arch on the north side of the square is known as the Arco da Rua Augusta or Augusta Street Arch.

Rua Augusta Arch, seen from the other side of the Commerce Square - entry is next to the left column

For the first time ever we climbed the Arch and enjoyed amazing 360 degree views of the city.
The arch is open every day from 9am to 7pm and entry costs 2,50euros and is free for under 5's.

First you take a lift to the clock floor where you can read about the history of the arch, and then you have to climb a narrow round staircase with over 40 steps all the way to the top for the views!

The Arch was built in 1873 to commemorate Lisbons's reconstruction after the earthquake, has a clock in the middle on both sides. At the top of the arch stand the statues of Glory (7mt high/23feet) above the statues of Ingenuity and Valor, done by a French sculptor. Below on the sides and front are the statues of  well known Portuguese leading historical figures such as Viriato, Nuno Alvares Pereira, Vasco da Gama and Marquis of Pombal.

The clock floor

The views from the Arch

Statues of Glory, Ingenuity and Valor

Another statue further below and part of the buildings in Commerce Square

Commerce square from above

Views over one of Lisbon's 7 hills with the Castle of St George at the top encircled by green trees

The Saint Justa lift (dark structure) and the ruins of the Carmo Church on the left

To the north of the Arch, you can see Augusta Street, which links to another traditional square - Rossio, 6 or 7 blocks away.

We went to lunch next, but I'll have to leave the rest of the tour for another day!
Hope you enjoyed the what I've showed today.