Lisbon - 4th April 2011

We set sail from Vigo on the Sunday evening and sailed over night down the coast of Portugal heading for its capital Lisbon.

On the Monday morning I awoke and stepped onto my balcony to be greeted by the rising sunlight bathing the Discoveries Monument in a warm orange glow. As we sailed down the Tagus River past the Belem Tower I witnessed a skyline dotted with many an impressive building including the brilliant white National Pantheon perched on the hillside. It was a warm spring morning and I stood happily snapping away from the balcony astounded by the beauty of this vibrant and cultural city.

Once we disembarked the ship we picked up our tour bus that was going to drive us around the city on a panoramic tour which would take in all the impressive sights, and I must say Lisbon has many majestic buildings, squares and green spaces to be seen.

Our first stop was the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, built by Manuel I after gaining approval from the Pope, work started in 1501/2 and was later granted to the monks of the order of St Jeronimo. I had previously been told about the brilliance of the building but it exceeded my expectations tenfold. Against the back drop of the bright Portuguese sunshine the brickwork is a brilliant white and to me resembles chalk. I felt like I could have reached out, rubbed the surface and have a chalky residue left on my palm. Despite it's rather fragile look it was one of the few buildings to survive the devastating earthquake of 1755 that destroyed most of Lisbon.

Jeronimos Monastery

After a copious amount of photographs we boarded the bus and headed for the area of Belem, I was very much looking forward to seeing the Belem Tower and the Discoveries Monument, both of which I had had a taster of from the ship. Construction of the Belem Tower began in 1515 and was commissioned once again by Manuel I, its functionality was to form part of Lisbon's maritime defence however over its 500 year history it has served as a telegraphic post and even a prison. It is a very ornate monument which features images of ropes encompassing the perimeter it is adorned by Moorish watchtowers, between each tower is the emblem of a shield. Again it felt like I could crumble the stonework in my hands and reduce it to powder. Just along from the Belem Tower is the Discoveries Monument. Built to resemble the bow of a ship in 1960, it is a relatively new addition to the Lisbon skyline and yet looks like it could have been built at the same time as its neighbour. We didn't stop here so unfortunately I am unable to give to much of an insight into it's history but needless to say it looked just as impressive as it counterparts.

Belem Tower

From the district of Belem we headed for the heart of the city centre passing under the very impressive Aqueduct of the Free Waters. This is a mammoth structure that was built in 1738 to bring fresh water to the fountains of Lisbon along its 15 km channel. I cannot describe the sheer size of this structure, it really caught me by surprise simply because it was so unexpected, as we drove under it a deep shadow was cast over the coach and everyone sat in awe of this sublime feat of engineering.

Aqueduct of the Free Waters

Other highlights include the San Jorge castle which we saw perched on top of the hill overlooking the city and the 25 de abril Bridge, a carbon copy of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. There are many bustling squares, numerous statues, churches and government buildings that all deserve to be visited and looked at unfortunately we just didn't have the time.

I cannot describe the utter pleasure that visiting Lisbon gave me, I was shocked at how rich the culture was, I could quite happily have spent days there visiting every nook and cranny I could. Lisbon is a city I will most definitely visit again, it deserves to be treated with the same respect one would treat London or Paris. It's a stunner!