MmePerdu

I read trip reports once in a while and I'm enjoying yours. I especially appreciate mention of prices which is so potentially useful, not to mention just plain interesting. If more trip reports included that sort of practical detail I'd be reading a lot more of them. Thank you!

Melnq8

Thank you for reading MmePerdu.

Melnq8

Hello Good Friday

We got an early start again, walking up to Quinta da Regaliera and arriving 40 minutes before the gates opened. A queue had already formed, and was seriously long by the time 10:00 am rolled around. Evidently the word was out that Pena Palace was closed due to the strike. As we stood in line we considered going online to purchase tickets, but decided against it.



Quinta da Regaliera

Line for Quinta da Regaliera (outside the gates)

Once the gates opened, we went to the ticket kiosk to purchase a ticket – €10 each. The queue for pre-purchased ticket holders was significantly longer than for walk-up business and because we were so close to the front of the line for walk-ups, we got in much sooner than those in the pre-purchased queue. Sweet.


Quinta da Regaliera (line for tickets, inside the gates)


Once inside, we walked directly to the 88-foot deep Initiation Well, one of the main attractions of Quinta da Regaliera. I’ve read it was never used as a well, but was actually built for secret ceremonial purposes. It also served as an entrance to an underground labyrinth and is connected to other entrances via a series of underground walkways.

Because we arrived so early, there was no wait; we went directly down into the well, following the spiral staircase to the bottom via nine landings. It’s believed that “the spacing of these landings and the number of steps in between are linked to Tarot mysticism and Masonic principles”.



Initiation Well

Initiation Well

Initiation Well

Initiation Well

When we passed the Initiation Well entrance about 30 minutes later, the queue was verrrrry long.


Line for Initiation Well


After exploring the well, we spent another two hours exploring the four hectares of grounds, inspired by mystic ideologies. We also explored the first floor of the palace. We found it interesting and beautifully green, but we enjoyed Pena Palace considerably more.


Quinta da Regaliera

Quinta da Regaliera

Quinta da Regaliera

Quinta da Regaliera

Quinta da Regaliera

Quinta da Regaliera

Grounds of Quinta da Regaliera

Grounds of Quinta da Regaliera

The grounds were hopping by the time we left, but all of Sintra felt quieter, no tuks tuks racing up to Pena Palace, the historic center a bit calmer (temporarily as it turned out).


Line for tickets when we left, Quinta da Regaliera

After Quinta da Regaliera we considered walking up to Monserrate, walking as far at the Tivoli Palacio De Seteais Hotel, before we realized it might be closed due to the strike (turned out it was) and we didn’t feel up a 3 km uphill walk to find out.


Tivoli Palacio De Seteais Hotel

So after wandering the grounds of the Tivoli Palacio, where we saw our first signs of the strike, we walked back down to the historic center. We had a nice alfresco lunch at Fatto a Sintra (really good mojitos, a shared Burrata pizza and a shared dish of tiramisu, which was good, but after that gobsmacking tiramisu in Coimbra, Bill was a bit disappointed €43).


Fatto a Sintra

Fatto a Sintra


On the way back up to the apartment we stopped at Romaria de Baco to purchase a bottle of the wine we liked (Quinta do Garrido Diario da Quinta Tinto) planning to take it back to our apartment. Unfortunately, they’d sold out, but the owner (who seemed to be filling in during the Good Friday strike and was rather busy), offered me a sample of a different wine, which I decided to buy instead (€14). I asked her if I could have it opened there, as we didn’t have a wine opener in our apartment; instead she gave me hers and said “Happy Easter", probably thinking she’d never see it again.

We returned to the apartment, opened the wine, and then I walked back to the restaurant to return the opener (and we’ve been looking for a nice opener like that ever since).

We chilled in the garden, sipping wine, enjoying the beautiful day, watching the cats and just taking in our peaceful surroundings.



Watching the neighbors from our patio

Then it was back to the historic center to pick up tomorrow’s breakfast at Fabrica da Nata and an encore dinner at Bengal Tandoor (chicken Jalfrezi, Paneer Masala, and more of that wonderful garlic naan €26).


Fabrica da Nata


Although the day had felt quieter than the two previous days, there was a lot of noise coming from the center later that night – clearly heard from our apartment - it sounded like a party, and it was still going strong at 9:30 pm.

Thoughts:

We’d braced ourselves for the crowds in Sintra, and had done a pretty good job of avoiding them. Many tourists day trip from Lisbon, and try to cram a lot of monuments into a single visit. We’d decided beforehand that our main priorities were Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaliera. We could have fit in a few more, but because the crowds became overwhelming from mid-morning through late afternoon - and because of the strike - we didn't.

Spending three nights in Sintra worked well for us. We got early starts, had leisurely lunches, did some exploring and still had time for wine in the garden of our apartment in the afternoons. It was a good pace for us. Not having access to a grocery store for coffee and milk was a bit frustrating – we could have had breakfast and coffee in town, but due to the late opening times of restaurants, that would have delayed us getting to the monuments early in the day.

To be continued...

Melnq8

Crowd overload

Not wanting to deal with trundling our luggage upstream of the crowds pouring into Sintra, we walked to the top of the hill and ordered an Uber. It was early, Sintra was just coming to life, yet unbeknownst to us at the time, the area around the train station was chaos.


All quiet...so far

One Uber driver accepted, and gave a 25 minute ETA. Then minutes before he was to arrive, he vanished and another driver accepted with a new ETA. Then, minutes before the second person was to arrive, he vanished too, and a third driver accepted. The app then showed that the third driver was at the pick-up site, but he wasn’t. It was bizarre. Meanwhile, we saw a taxi in the distance, so we approached him, and he took us to the train station (€5.50).

I’m new to Uber, so I don’t know if this is a common occurrence or Sintra specific, but it was frustrating and left a bad taste. Especially after two of the drivers claimed I’d cancelled (which I didn’t) and I was charged. I’ve since been credited, but I seldom use Uber, so may or may not have occasion to use the credit.

As the taxi approached the train station we saw swarms of people, buses, taxis, tuk- tuks and horse mounted police. I suspect the Ubers we’d requested had dropped us for a closer fare, as at this time of day the action is around the train station. We were relieved to be leaving.

A train had just arrived, and a mob of disembarking passengers was exiting the same turnstile that we needed to enter to get on the train, creating a huge bottleneck. Why they don’t have a one way system in such a congested area is baffling.

The mob prevented us from reaching our train before it departed, so we had to wait for the next one, which wasn’t direct, necessitating a train change in Agualva-Cacém (€2.30 each).

We eventually arrived in Rossio, confused, as there had been no announcements, and no signage indicting where we were. The train just stopped and everyone got off. We thought maybe we’d gotten on the wrong train at Agualva-Cacém, so we asked a security guard where we were; sure enough it was Rossio.

We fumbled a bit looking for an exit and walked out of what looked like the back of the station that led into a loading dock. We tried again and eventually found our way out of the station and to our accommodation for the next five nights, The Visionaire Apartments, located on Praça da Figueira.

We’d chosen the Visionaire because of its proximity to Rossio railway station, its excellent reviews advising it was quiet, the size of its units, and because it has an elevator and air conditioning. Fodorites had suggested the Baixa as a good flat area from which to explore Lisbon, so the Visionaire seemed to fit the bill.

It was too early to check in, so we dropped our luggage in reception, and went to find a place to escape from the hot intense sun, ending up in a random bakery-cum-café, which Bill referred to as a COVIDtorium - too many people in too small a space. I was surprised, not for the first time, that Portuguese bakeries sell all manner of alcohol, not just coffee and soft drinks.


Let there be cake!


Knowing tomorrow was Easter, yet not knowing what might be open, we popped into a nearby grocery store for a few provisions, then returned to the apartment to check in.

Nice place this. Our 538 sf fifth floor unit consisted of a spacious living/dining/kitchen area and a large bedroom. The kitchen was sparsely equipped, poorly set up for self-catering, but we made good use of the coffee maker, wine glasses and fridge. Coffee pods are sold in reception and there’s a washer and dryer for guests to use at no charge. Our unit was comfortable and quiet with a powerful, much-needed air conditioner (€630).

After getting settled we set out to explore, mistakenly walking down Rua Augusta towards the Arch and the Praça do Comércio, which I now know is the busiest pedestrian street in Lisbon. The crowds were overwhelming, so much so that I had to turn back before we reached the arch, fearing I’d have a crowd-induced panic attack. En route we passed some guy wearing nothing but cupid embellished tightie-whities, dancing around with balloons. I didn’t stick around long enough to snap a photo, let alone figure out what he was doing.


Tram 28

Rua Augusta

Rua Augusta
RuaAugusta


Rua Augusta

We turned back and tried to find a restaurant on a quieter street for an early dinner. Enter Swaagat, where we had a decent but not outstanding alfresco Indian dinner (chicken curry, paneer, garlic naan and rice €30).

Afterwards we wandered, trying to get our bearings while avoiding the busier pedestrian streets, chock-a-block with sunburned tourists, buskers, vendors trying to coax you into their shops and restaurants, and people trying to sell items to outdoor diners.





Praça da Figueira was packed with tuk tuks, scenic buses, and an assortment of kiosks selling various items; it felt like German Christmas markets on steroids.

We were tired and it was all a bit too much, so we returned to our apartment to hide, hoping that this was strictly a Saturday before Easter thing and that tomorrow would be better.

To be continued...

mlgb

That cake looks wonderful!

I mostly use Lyft but often wind up with a different driver than the first assigned. So far I've not been hit a no show fee.

I was grateful there was Uber in Lisbon. I only used it to get to the airport when a strike closed the gate to the station adjacent to my final night's hotel. Surprise!!!

thursdaysd

Wow, Lisbon has certainly changed!

Melnq8

Let’s try this again

Up early on this Easter Sunday, we set out to explore, retracing our steps down a much quieter Rua Augusta to Praça do Comércio, where we poked around a bit before walking towards two monster cruise ships docked nearby. Those crowds suddenly made sense; these two ships had probably disgorged several cities worth of people yesterday.


Praça do Comércio

Praça do Comércio

Monster cruise ships

Monster cruise ships

Street art

We walked as far as the Santa Apolónia Station, which I’ve since learned is the oldest railway terminus in Portugal. Here we loaded our Viva Viagem transit cards and on a whim, asked about how to get to Belem.



Santa Apolónia Station

Soon we were on bus 728 to Belem; similar to the trains we’d been on thus far, this bus didn’t display or announce stops, so unless you have bionic eyeballs, you can’t read your stop until you’ve passed it. So, we erred on the side of caution, got off way too soon and had to wait another 15 minutes for the next bus. A tram stopped, but it looked like COVID central, so we took a pass.

Now on the second 728 bus and still not knowing when to get off, we did the next best thing and got off when everyone else did…voilà!

Belem was crazy busy. We arrived to some sort of parade, which we now know was the Solemn Changing the Guard, which takes place the third Sunday of each month.


Solemn Changing the Guard, Belem

Solemn Changing the Guard, Belem

Solemn Changing the Guard, Belem

We hadn’t planned on visiting Belem’s main attraction, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, and today it was closed anyway (other than for Easter mass) but that didn’t seem to deter the tourists.


Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

We walked up and away from the fray towards the Estádio do Restelo, poked around a bit and stopped for a cold drink at a random bakery. As we worked our way back down the hill we popped into La Follia for a shared four cheese pizza, drinks and a ladies restroom equipped with miniature toilet and sink for the littlies (pretty good €19 – cash only).


Wandering Belem

Wandering Belem


Mini sink for the littlies, La Follia, Belem

Afterwards we walked back down to the waterfront to explore the Monument of the Discoveries, a 52 meter high structure overlooking the Tagus River, built to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. The monument features 33 prominent people who played a significant part in Portugal’s Age of Discoveries, including King Alfonso V, Pedro Alvares Cabral, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan and of course Henry himself.

Evidently visitors can access the rooftop via a lift; the queue was rather long, so we took a pass.


Waterfront, Belem

Waterfront, Belem

Queue for rooftop of Monument of the Discoveries

Monument of the Discoveries

Monument of the Discoveries




Waterfront, Belem

Belem

Belem

We wandered the waterfront for a while – very busy with tourists on this sticky Easter Sunday - and eventually sought out a bus stop to return to Lisbon.

This turned out to be a bit of a challenge…a long fence separated us from the street. We walked for some time looking for a break in the fence, and eventually stumbled upon a train station, and finding no signage, descended the stairs to the tracks. Whether or not we could get back to Lisbon via train was a complete mystery. Not being a guy, I have no qualms asking for help when confused, and this is how we learned that the train did not go to Rossio. We were told to keep walking.

After what felt like miles of walking we finally found a bus stop. A packed tram rumbled by (trams seemed to be more popular with tourists than buses), so we waited for bus 714 which took us directly back to Praça da Figueira.

It’d been a confusing morning and we were both hot and cross. So after cooling off in the apartment, we headed out again – walking up the leafy tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade, known as one of the most expensive shopping streets in Europe.


Avenida da Liberdade

Avenida da Liberdade

Avenida da Liberdade

Avenida da Liberdade

Avenida da Liberdade

Avenida da Liberdade


It was busy, but not horribly so, and although we’re neither high end shoppers or interested in posh hotels and fine dining, it was a nice respite from the heat and crowds of Belem and Baixa.

Craving a cold drink, we popped into a hostel with a roof top bar on a side street, but it was closed; we were referred to the Tivoli Hotel as they also have a rooftop bar. So we sought out the Tivoli, where we discovered that access to their rooftop bar required a €250 per person cover charge! Say what?

We continued our wander down prestigious Avenida da Liberdade with its luxury shops, security guards stationed at tiny parking lots chock-a-block with high end cars and spit-shined BMW motorcycles, Bill commenting that one looked like a sculpture and was 1600 cc, more horsepower than my car.

We stopped for refreshing mojitos at an outdoor café, where we encountered a first since we’d been in Portugal, a service charge added to our bill (€15.55).

Hankering for Indian food, we followed the GPS to Gandhi Palace, which led us to Elevador da Gloria, the funicular that links Baixa to Bairro Alto (which we didn’t know at the time). We chose to walk up the steep mural-lined alley, so narrow that we could have reached out and touched the funicular as it passed, had we been so inclined.


Elevador da Gloria

Alley leading to Bairro Alto


Elevador da Gloria where it reaches Bairro Alto

At the top, we worked our way through the bottleneck; people waiting to board the funicular as well as a swarm of people at the market being held at what we later discovered is The Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara; it was seriously busy up here, so we decided to explore the Miradouro another day.

After a bit of confusion we found the near empty Gandhi Palace, where we had a peaceful and tasty dinner (€24).

Afterwards we backtracked, walking down that steep-assed alley again, enjoying the street art (sponsored by the City Council) along the way.


Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

Bairro Alto Street Art Gallery

So far we were finding Lisbon difficult to navigate; not knowing quite where or when we crossed into a different neighborhood. Had our waiter at Gandhi not told us we were in Bairro Alto, we’d have had no idea. When we said we were surprised that the restaurant was deserted, he told us that we were in a clubbing area and in the summer the streets and the restaurant were packed. In retrospect, we would have benefited from a walking tour of some kind.

We were also finding Lisbon less friendly than other areas we’d visited this trip, although I suspect it was tourist-burnout, which I can totally understand.

To be continued...

HelenaFatima

Indeed it has, and not for the best, IMO. But it sitll has that bright white light (that ome with the terrible slipery cobblestones).

tripplanner001

What a bummer that you had so many crowds to deal with during your visit to Lisbon. I always dread when a city gets inundated by cruise ships and try to plan around it, although not always successful. I had no idea that there is so much to keep one occupied in Sintra, so I appreciate you broadening my perspective of the town.

mlgb

I found this Rick Steves Lisbon Citywalk podcast helpful to follow for orientation to Lisbon. The map was especially handy.

https://podcasts.ricksteves.com/walk...isbon-city.mp3

Melnq8

I had no idea that there is so much to keep one occupied in Sintra, so I appreciate you broadening my perspective of the town.

We barely scratched the surface. Missed more castles/monuments than we saw.

KarenWoo

Love the street art! So interesting. Somehow we missed it when we were in Lisbon.

thursdaysd

Boy, are those so-called ships ugly!

Google maps knows about public transport. It will show you where the bus stops are, tell you how much the ride costs, and you can watch your progress to see where to get off. (Click on the little train/bus icon between the car and the pedestrian.)

Adelaidean

Fascinating read, Mel.

maitaitom

"So far we were finding Lisbon difficult to navigate;"

In researching, I find Lisbon confusing, too. Love your report! Hopefully it eon't be 116 like it was today in September. Look forward to the rest.

Ian

We experienced the same crowd level when we went in May 2018. Rossio, Sintra and central Lisbon were all very busy. And your waiter was right about the clubs in the Bairro Alto. We wandered into the area looking for a meal on a Saturday night and the whole area was humming and all of the shuttered buildings were open with bars and eateries.

Melnq8

When in Rome

We’re not really museum people, but when in Rome…

We took the train from Rossio to São Sebastião, changing trains at Alameda. From there we walked to the Gulbenkian Museum, which I’d been told was a must do while in Lisbon (€10 each).

It took a little doing to find the entrance, as we had to weave around quite a few barricades; renovations for the rooms housing the 18th century French Art and silver collections as well as the Modern Art Museum; neither of which would be fully opened until May 2022.


Gulbenkian Museum construction area

We arrived shortly after the museum opened, hoping to miss the crowds. This worked for the most part, but the place was pretty busy by the time we left a few hours later. As museums go, it was a good choice, and I found the Greek coins and medallions particularly interesting.


Gulbenkian Museum

Gulbenkian Museum

After the museum we meandered through the gardens a bit, and then went across the street so the chocoholic (that would be me) could peruse the offerings at the Leonidas Belgian chocolate shop. Suffice to say I was in there a long time and came out with an assortment of chocolate filled Easter eggs. Lovely.

We also tucked into a Lidl store, Bill finding the same Calem tawny that we’d purchased in Porto, but on sale; so naturally he picked up a bottle, knowing full well he’d be carrying it around all afternoon in his backpack.

We eventually worked our way down to Parque Eduardo VII - named after the King of England who visited in 1903. We wandered the beautiful grounds, took in the monuments and statues and stumbled upon a gorgeous building, which I’m guessing is a theater? I couldn’t get enough photos of this place.


Parque Eduardo VII

Parque Eduardo VII

Parque Eduardo VII

Parque Eduardo VII - theater?

Parque Eduardo VII - theater?

Parque Eduardo VII - theater?

Parque Eduardo VII

Parque Eduardo VII

Parque Eduardo VII

Foot of Parque Eduardo VII

After exploring the park, we worked our way back down Avenida da Liberdade again. The wind was blowing a gale and those beautiful trees on Liberdade were wreaking serious havoc on contact lenses and noses – everyone we passed was sneezing and coughing, which probably gave others pause in these COVID times. The wind had been a constant since arriving in Portugal.

As we walked past the Tivoli Hotel we popped in hoping to get clarification on that €250 cover charge (never did). A bus load of old folks on a Viking tour had just arrived and were being briefed in the Tivoli’s lobby, so Bill took the opportunity to pick the brains of one of the tour representatives.

We’d been curious about the tours since seeing all the cruise boats on the Douro, wondering if that was our future. The guy as very helpful, as had been every single Portuguese we’d encountered thus far.

We took an alfresco mojito break at a random bakery/café not far from our apartment, surprised once again that bakeries served drinks – and in this case a very good one.



It’d been a much quieter day, a nice reprieve from the past several days.

Later we trudged back up that enormous hill for an encore dinner at Gandhi Palace, but not before taking in the fabulous views from the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, lovely.


Street art

Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

We were the only customers, so we had a nice chat with the same waiter from last night, and he surprised us by giving us a repeat customer discount (€24 with a massive glass of wine each).

After dinner we took a different route home, winding through the narrow steep streets of Chiado, not knowing where we were going, passing sex shops, cafes, bars and an interesting assortment of apartments and businesses.


Wandering

Wandering

I’m not sure how we got there, but we eventually ended up in Baixa near the Santa Justa Lift, surprised that the streets were so much quieter than yesterday, the jam-packed areas of Saturday practically deserted, restaurant wait staff lounging outside the doors, looking bored to tears. Perhaps those massive cruise boats had moved on. Whew.


Santa Justa Lift

Santa Justa Lift

Queue for Santa Justa Lift

Baixa

Baixa

To be continued...

HelenaFatima

"The Theatre" at Parque Eduardo II was never a theatre (I confirmed with my dad, Lisbon is his city). He said a lot of things and I miss most of them, it was created for a purpose and then it was "moved?" there but it was never a theatre, as far as I remember (and he confirmed) it was a sports place, that's why it has now the name of a portuguese athlete (Carlos Lopes) and is now used for expositios/exhibitions.

Melnq8

Ah-ha! Thanks for that Helena. It's a beautiful building.

KarenWoo

I love your photos! We stayed near the Eduardo VII Parque and walked through there several times. It is a lovely oasis. You took more photos than we did of the park. The Gulbenkian is one of my favorite museums. Too bad the Modern Art Museum was closed when you were there. I am usually not a fan of modern art, but I really, really enjoyed their collection.