On the last morning that I had to myself in Lisbon Portugal my one goal was to find a good coffee, so it was time to go for another wander.

I got lucky with the weather as it was a sunny crisp morning.

Great weather for wandering and checking out a city like Lisbon.

Being up early has a couple of advantages, one is the light, great for photos, the second is the lack of people.

Praça do Marquês de Pombal

Oz’s Useless Trivia

• Is a roundabout situated between the Avenida da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue) and the Eduardo VII Park
• It is the intersection of the avenues Liberdade, Duque de Loulé and Fontes Pereira de Melo, as well as the streets Braamcamp and Joaquim António de Aguiar. A busy place!
• The statue is of  Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquess of Pombal, 1st Count of Oeiras who was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1750 until 1777. He was the PM who oversaw the re-build of Baixa Pombalina after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake which destroyed the city
• The column was erected between 1917 and 1934

Lisbon’s Funiculars

As Lisbon is a fairly hilly city a number of Funiculars have been built around the place, did not get a chance to ride on one this trip, something for next time.

A bit more of Oz’s Useless Trivia

• There are three traditional funiculars in Lisbon
  • Elevador da Bica between Calçada do Combro/Rua do Loreto and the Rua de S. Paulo. Takes about 10 people 3 mins up or down
  • Elevador da Gloria between the Restauradores square and the Bairro Alto and accommodates up 22 people
  • Elevador da Lavra between Câmara Pestana with Largo da Anunciada this one also accommodates up 22 people.
• The three funiculars were designed by Raoul Mesnier de Ponsard a Portuguese Engineer
• Elevador da Lavra is the oldest, went into service in 1884
• Elevador da Gloria went into service in 1885
• Elevador da Bica went into service in 1892

Elevador da Gloria

Café Fábrica

The place I was searching for was Café Fábrica (Fábrica Coffee Roasters). The reviews online were pretty good and as there were not many other options within wandering distance Café Fábrica was worth a look. Both of the staff were from England and, amazingly, they knew how to make a good coffee, it was the best I had whilst in Lisbon. Definitely a place I would recommend.

After my coffee I decided to continue my wandering around the town.

Tile Mosaic

A Caged Tree

Red Tram

More of Oz’s Useless Trivia

• The Red Tram is a “Hop on Hop off” tour that takes you on a tour of neighbourhoods of Lisbon
• The tour is called the Tramcar Hills Tour
• Stops at:
  • The Castle of São Jorge (St George Castle)
  • Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa (the main Cathederal in Lisbon)
  • Alfama (a medieval fishing village)
  • Chiada (one of the more upmarket neighbourhoods of Lisbon)
  • Mouraria (where my Food Tour took me, worth a look!!!)
• Costs about USD25 for a 24 hour ticket
• Onboard there are audio guides in 12 languages

Yellow Tram – Lisbon Tram 28

And even more of Oz’s Useless Trivia

• The Yellow Tram is a public tram
• Connects Martim Moniz with Campo Ourique
• The tram route, in both directions, is Martim Moniz – Graca – Portas de Sol – Se Cathedral – Rua Conceição (southern Baixa) – Chiado – Sao Bento – Estrela – Campo Ourique
• The Tram Car is a Remodelado Car that were built in the 1930’s
  • They are called Remodelado (remodeled) as they are the cars that were upgraded with improved brakes and electrics. The original cars were built in the 1900’s
• The older cars are still used because route 28 has turns and gradients that modern trams can’t handle
• A single ticket costs about USD3.50
• A 24 hour ticket costs about USD6.15 and includes the Elevador de Santa Justa and the Elevador da Glória funiculars, sounds like a good deal
• Beware of pickpockets
• Trams run from 07:00 until 23:00 daily at around 15 minute intervals

The Hitchhiker

Obviously if you are a bit of cheapscape you could always hitchhike, not sure I would call this “safe”

Arco da Rua Augusta

Even more of Oz’s Useless Trivia

• Arco da Rua Augusta was built to commemorate the rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake

• Consists of 6 colomns that are up to 11 meters high
• The arch is adorned with the coat of arms of Portugal
• Construction started in 1755 and was finished in 1873
• It was originally going to be a bell tower
• The four statues over the colomns are of:
  • Nuno Alvares Pereira
  • Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marquis of Pombal
  • Vasco da Gama
  • Viriatus
• Arco da Rua Augusta was used in 1996 miniseries of Gulliver’s travels, the Lilliputians wheeled Gulliver through the arch after they had captured him

Praça do Comércio

And still more of Oz’s Useless Trivia

• Praça do Comércio – Commercial Square in English
• Commonly known as Terreiro do Paço or palace yard in English as the site was, before the 1755 earthquake, the location of the Paços da Ribeira (Royal Ribeira Palace)
• The rebuilt square became home to government bureaus for customs and the Port of Lisbon
• The square is about 35000m2 in size
• It was where King Carlos 1 was assassinated on 01 Feb 1908, his heir Luís Filipe was mortally wounded. The two assassins, Alfredo Luís da Costa and Manuel Buiça, were republicans, they were both shot on the spot by the King’s Bodyguards, a bit late… FYI, the Republicans overthrew the Monarchy two years later

Ponte 25 de Abril – Lisbon Portugal

So much of Oz’s Useless Trivia (well Lisbon is an interesting place)

• Connects the city of Lisbon with the municipality of Almada on the left (south) bank of the Tagus River
• Was opened on 6 Aug 1966
• In 1966 a train platform was added
• American Bridge Company built the bridge, they also built the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, but not the Golden Gate
• It has a total length of 2,277 m, six car lanes on the upper deck and two electrified railway tracks on the lower deck
• Ponte de Abril is the 32nd largest suspension bridge in the world
• The bridge was originally called the Salazar Bridge
• In 1974 it was renamed Ponte 25 de Abril to commemorate the Carnation Revolution

St George Castle

I didn’t find to time visit what is probably the most famous landmark in Lisbon, will be on the list for the next trip.

Lisbon Portugal

3 days in Lisbon is not enough to check the place out, especially if you include a wine tour or two into the itinerary. IMHO, the city should be on everyone’s bucket list, lots to see and do, heaps of history, amazing food, great people and, from a European perspective, good value for money.

During the high season pickpockets are apparently in plague proportions so, watch your gear, especially expensive cameras hanging off your shoulders and valuables in backpacks..

I was there in winter, but it was not cold, more mild and crisp, a nice change to Singapore 🙂

This is definitely a place I am going to return to!

Adeus!