Lisbon, worth knowing.

Fun facts about Lisbon

1. 1The 25 de Abril Bridge opened in 1966 and stretches about 2.3 km over the Tagus. Its paint is the same International Orange as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.Source: Visit Lisboa; KQED
2. 2Across the river in Almada, the Cristo Rei statue looks back at Lisbon. It was inaugurated in 1959, inspired by Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer.Source: Santuário de Cristo Rei; Câmara Municipal de Almada
3. 3Belém Tower has a stone rhinoceros carved into it, facing the Tagus. Look for it on the outside when you visit.Source: Torre de Belém; Wikipedia
4. 4Rossio's wavy black-and-white pavement, laid in 1848-49, was designed to look like an open sea. The same wave pattern later turned up on Rio's Copacabana promenade.Source: Observador; Wikipedia
5. 5Lisbon's first trams were pulled by horses in 1873. Electric trams took over in 1901, and the little yellow ones still climb the hills today.Source: Carris; Wikipedia
6. 6Fado, Lisbon's soulful song, joined UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2011. Listen for the Portuguese guitar: pear-shaped, with twelve strings.Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage; Wikipedia

Things to do in Lisbon

• ◦Get lost in Alfama, Lisbon's oldest neighbourhood: cobbled lanes, steep climbs and little squares. Take it slowly, stop for the views and listen for fado.Source: Visit Lisboa; Wikipedia
• ◦Jerónimos Monastery in Belém is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with Belém Tower. Explorer Vasco da Gama's tomb is inside, among richly carved stone.Source: Visit Lisboa; Wikipedia
• ◦LX Factory in Alcântara turned an 1846 textile factory complex into a creative quarter. Wander its shops, places to eat and street art, all with an industrial feel.Source: Visit Lisboa; Lisbon Portugal Tourism guide
• ◦Ride the little yellow No. 28 tram as it climbs and twists through Graça, past the Sé cathedral, and down into Baixa and Chiado.Source: Visit Lisboa; Carris
• ◦Hop on the ferry from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas, about 10 minutes across the Tagus, and watch Lisbon's skyline and monuments from the water.Source: Visit Lisboa; Transtejo Soflusa
• ◦Stop at Miradouro de Santa Luzia for views over Alfama's rooftops to the Tagus, plus blue tile panels showing old Praça do Comércio.Source: Visit Lisboa; A View On Cities

Questions to bring to Lisbon

From Sojourn's journeys. Ask one over a long dinner or on a slow walk, and let the place do some of the work.

Going together

• When do you feel most like yourself?
• What does rest actually look like for you?
• What is one thing you wish we did more of?

Going solo

• What is the first thing this place is showing you that you didn't expect?
• What does this version of you know that the home version tends to forget?

More destinations

Algarve · Amalfi Coast · Aruba · Azores · Barcelona · Basel · Budapest · Cinque Terre · Copenhagen · Curaçao · Dolomites · Évora · Florence · Hiroshima · Hokkaido · Kanazawa · Kobe · Kyoto · Lake Como · London · Madeira · Mount Fuji · Nara · Nassau · New York · Okinawa · Osaka · Paris · Porto · Prague · Punta Cana · Rome · San Juan · Santorini · Sicily · Sintra · Strasbourg · Tokyo · Tromsø · Tuscany · Umbria · Venice · Vienna