A Day in Lisbon

One of the most-frequently visited ports, on both UK-Mediterranean and UK-Canaries cruises, Lisbon is a place most people are happy to return to, sometimes more than once!

For so long the departure point for great explorers, it’s fitting that this beautiful city has more than it’s fair share of cruise ship visits.  If you’re really lucky, you may be docked at the cruise terminal adjacent to the city’s old town, but if not, don’t worry, you’re still only a short transfer from all the action of the city centre via a slick road system that seems to flow with relative ease; something that other European capital cities would envy!

Big enough to supply enough interesting attractions, but also small enough for the averagely-fit person to navigate by foot, Lisbon is a treat for the senses, with colourful street entertainment around some of its’ many corners and squares.  It has a cosmopolitan feel, yet doesn’t lose the aura of a once great colonial hub for a trading empire that was a blueprint for the British empire to follow.

The old town and cathedral area is a must, as long as you can navigate the narrow pavements whilst watching out for the frequent tram services that meander through seemingly inaccessible old cobbled streets with such ease, you wonder how Edinburgh had such a problem implementing its own tram network using much less challenging topography!

A walk up the grand tree-lined ‘Avenue da Liberdade’ towards the column of the Marques de Pombal will give you a great sense of the architectural grandeur that is representative of the Lisbon of today; only once you reach the top of this avenue are you introduced to some of Lisbon’s more modern architectural designs.

So if you’ve previously taken an organised tour when visiting Lisbon, I recommend you take the time to do your own leisurely walking tour next time; you may notice a lot more to this great city than you expected……