A Day in Lisbon: Discovering Portugal’s Colourful Capital

After arriving in Lisbon, Portugal aboard Liberty of the Seas, we were looking forward to stepping ashore and exploring Portugal’s capital city, somewhere I had never visited before.

Once off the ship, we purchased tickets for the hop on, hop off buses to go around the city. It was an approximately 90 minutes circular tour. I'm just glad we took precautions by wearing sun cream and hats as it got quite hot.

The first photo shows the Belém Tower sitting on the bank of the Tagus River. The information we were given on the bus was that it was built between 1514 and 1520, and served as both a fortress defending the mouth of the Tagus River and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon for Portuguese explorers during the Age of Discovery.

The second photo showcases the grand facade of the Jerónimos Monastery. Construction began in 1501 to commemorate Vasco da Gama's successful voyage to India and to provide spiritual support to sailors.

​Lisbon is famous for its bright, multi-coloured streets. Historically, buildings were painted in vibrant colours like the striking green, sky blue, and warm ochre seen in the photograph. This helped give personality to the narrow streets and make individual buildings stand out.

After the bus journey, we headed into the city by foot and immediately noticed the mixture of old cobbled streets, grand squares, tiled buildings and lively cafés. It was nice for me to see, as my home town also has a cobbled marketplace, which gave the city a familiar feel. Lisbon had a lovely relaxed atmosphere, making it interesting to explore. Even the vendors trying to sell you something didn’t overdo it.

We loved seeing the famous yellow trams and tuk tuks making their way through the narrow streets. They are such a part of Lisbon’s character, and watching them climb the steep hills was quite an experience.

As the time came to return to the ship, we made our way back towards the cruise ship, taking one last look at this beautiful city. Lisbon had given us a wonderful mix of history and stunning views.