Portugal - Lisbon III

From Parliament House we walked west again to Bairro Alto district to visit another beautiful lookout.

Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara (St Peter's Lookout)

St George's Castle on top of the hill in the far end

St George's medieval castle on top of one of Lisbon's 7 hills

The garden below and another view of Lisbon

The most romantic of Lisbon's lookouts, it has wonderful panoramic views of central Lisbon to the river Tagus.
At the bottom, reached by various staircases is a geometric landscaped garden with busts of Gods from Greco-Roman mythology,  with the same views at a lower level.

St George's castle and in the centre you can see the Tagus river
Close up of the above photo

Apart from the views there was kiosks selling traditional pastries, cakes and coffee, as well as a small crafts market and other coffee shops where lots of people relaxed while enjoying the view.

Coffee kiosk and people relaxing and enjoyed the view

At this red kiosk we bought a delicious custard tart

This old tiled plaque has a map that indicates all the important buildings that can be sighted from this lookout.

Elevador da Gloria (Gloria Funicular)

Right next to the garden is the Gloria Elevator, a funicular operating since 1885, taking passengers up and down the hill between Restauradores Square and Bairro Alto.
Built by a Portuguese architect of French origin - Raul Mesnier du Ponsard, who also designed other funiculars and lifts in Lisbon.

From inside the tram

This funicular travels up and down the hill, a distance of just 265 metres, connecting the two stops at Sao Pedro de Alcantara with Restauradores Square below.
It transports circa 3 million people a year, so avoid rush hour, as this is a means of transport for the locals. 
In 2002 this funicular was proclaimed a National Monument.
The return ride costs €3.60 per person. Don't do like we did, that we walked down the hill next to the lines and after seeing what we wanted to see at the bottom of the hill we caught the funicular up and only then realized that the price was for both ways!
There is a Tourist Office near the stop at the bottom.

If you like murals, there are a few around the stop at the top, near the lookout, but the trams used are also covered in graffiti.

Tram climbing the hill to Sao Pedro de Alcantara

Restauradores (Restoration Square)

This square located at Avenida da Liberdade (Liberation Avenue) with an obelisk in the middle is dedicated to the independence of Portugal in 1640, after 60 years of Spanish domination. 
The obelisk carries the names and dates of the battles fought during the Restoration war.
The area is surrounded by magnificent buildings from the 19th and early 20th century and Art Deco buildings.

Palacio Foz (Foz Palace) built in the 19th century hosts cultural events and has beautifully decorated interiors.

Our first day in Lisbon came to and end and it was time to return to Cascais.
So we walked until Cais do Sodre Station to catch our train home. 

My daughter's mobile app showed we had walked almost 14km!!! No wonder my feet were tired, but at least I must have lost a few grams...

On our second visit to Lisbon there are more lookouts and interesting monuments.