LISBON - ONE DAY PRE- OR POST-CRUISE TOUR

When we first viewed the Tower of Belém from the Tagus River (Rio Tejo) we couldn't wait to explore it. The building looked like a four-story wedding cake!

Our cruise to Lisbon, Portugal on Oceania Insignia docked at Santa Apolónia Jusante Pier. The distance between the port and Belém Tower was about nine kilometers (a 15-minute drive west on the ship's shore excursion bus).

UNESCO site

Built between 1515 and 1519 to defend the mouth of the river from Atlantic invaders, the fortification became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. The lioz limestone building has Moorish turrets, Venetian loggia and watchtower cupolas.

Also called Portuguese Late-Gothic, this Manueline-style architecture blends Gothic and Moorish architecture with maritime details, such as coils of rope, shells and coral.

The Tower of Belém's terraces offer great views of the Tagus riverside scenery. It felt as if we were standing on the bow of a ship.

Exploring the world by sea

Torre de Belém also greeted Portuguese explorers, including Vasco da Gama, when they returned from exploring the world, their caravels laden with silk, spices and gold.

The Portuguese developed the caravel as a more maneuverable ship than the Spanish galleons. Its triangular sails were made from durable canvas.

Monument to the Discoveries

The Discoveries Monument is also located on the north bank of the Tagus River, at a distance of 1.2 kilometers east of Belém Tower. As we approached, our footsteps crossed a huge inlaid marble map depicting caravels and countries explored by the Portuguese, including India in 1498 and Terra Nova (Newfoundland) in 1500.

Wavy, black-and-white mosaic tiles led us to the 52-meter-high monument, built as a stylized caravel jutting into the Tagus River. Leading a group of 32 statues of crusaders, explorers and poets climbing each side is Infante d'Henrique, best known as Prince Henry the Navigator.

The prince initiated the Portuguese overseas expansion and subsidized map-makers and shipbuilders. The Padrão dos Descobrimentos monument was built in 1960 to honor the golden age of the discoveries and the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator.

Monastery of Jeronimos

Located across the road, through an underpass, is Jerónimos Monastery, begun in 1501 to celebrate Vasco da Gama's safe return from India and completed 100 years later. The intricate carvings on its two-story-high south portal look like lace carved in limestone.

How did King Manuel I pay for Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (also called Hieronymites Monastery)? Its construction was funded by an annual tax, equivalent to 70 kilos of gold, on imports from Portuguese colonies, including spices collected in India.

World Heritage Site

Inside the Church of Santa Maria in Jerónimos Monastery, slender pillars carved to represent palm trees drew our eyes up to the Manueline ceiling with its ribbed tracery vaults. Monks lived here for more than four centuries until religious orders were expelled from Portugal in 1834.

The monastery became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Its church is the final resting place for the royal family, poet Luis de Camões and Vasco da Gama. A life-sized statue of the explorer reclines on top of his stone tomb.

The church, cloisters and Monastery of Jerónimos were unharmed by the 1755 earthquake and subsequent fires and tsunami that destroyed much of Lisbon.

Edward VII Park

Driving north for 35 minutes, we reached the lookout at Edward VII Park, also called Miradouro Alto do Parque Eduardo VII. It's Lisbon's largest central park.

The view extended out over neatly trimmed box hedges and lawns to a statue of Marquis of Pombal on a lofty pedestal overlooking downtown and the Tagus River. As the king's minister, the Marquês de Pombal rebuilt the quake-crumbled city into an orderly grid of boulevards and large squares.

Alfama

Lisbon's hillside Moorish quarter was unscathed in 1755, so we traveled back in time as we climbed its maze of twisting, narrow, cobblestone alleys and long stairways. Laundry fluttered in front of wrought iron balconies adorned with potted red geraniums.

We got lost in Alfama. (Everybody does.) But we kept climbing until we reached the brilliant white National Pantheon (Church of Santa Engracia).

Decorative azulejos tiles

Traditional geometric-patterned painted-and-glazed ceramic tiles (azulejos) decorate the walls of many Alfama buildings. Some of them are homes. Others house shops and tiny restaurants where fadistas sing melancholy Portuguese folk songs.

Called fado, the songs are laments about heartbreak and lovers lost at sea. The pink-and-white Fado Museum (Museo do Fado) is also located in the Alfama neighborhood.

Many visitors ride to Alfama on the turn-of-the-century yellow-and-white number 28 tram (elétrico 28). The antiquated tram screeches and clanks its way up-and-down the narrow streets.

Lisbon card freebies and discounts

You can buy a Lisboa Card for 24-, 48- or 72-hours to get free or discounted admission to many Lisbon attractions, including the Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery, National Pantheon and Fado Museum. The card also gives you free trips on Lisbon's metro buses and trams.

Before leaving Alfama we entered one of the small bakeries that bake and sell pastéis de nata, also called pastel de Belém and pastel de nata. The custard tarts are tastiest when served warm-from-the-oven with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and icing sugar.

Bakers make the tarts from a secret recipe that originated with the monks and nuns who first made them. They were a delicious way to use up leftover egg yolks after using the whites to starch nuns' habits and other fabrics.

25 April Bridge

From Alfama, it was only a short walk to the pier to board the Oceania Insignia. As we cruised from Lisbon, we passed under the 25 April Bridge (25 do Abril Bridge).

Although its color and shape make it look like the Golden Gate Bridge, Lisbon's 2,278-meter (1.4-mile) bridge has a longer central span. Unlike San Francisco's suspension bridge, the 25 April Bridge carries cars on its upper deck and trains on the lower deck.

Originally it was called the Salazar Bridge. After the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974, its name was changed to celebrate Portugal's return to democracy after 42 years of dictatorship.

It was a fitting way to end our day-tour of Lisbon. On April 25, 1974, we were in Lisbon on our honeymoon. Residents paraded through the streets and handed us red carnations to celebrate their joy.

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TRAVEL INFORMATION

Portugal National Tourist Office

TAP Portugal Airline

Oceania Cruises

More things to see & do in Portugal:

Sao Miguel, Azores - Tea Plantations, Pineapples, Gardens and Volcano-Cooked Stew

Azores Island of Faial - Volcanoes, Scrimshaw and Sailors' Art

Pico Azores - Wine, Whales and UNESCO Sites

Terceira, Azores - UNESCO World Heritage City, Holy Spirit Houses, Wine and Cheese