Holidays rentals in Lisbon (Lisboa)

 

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 Torres Vedras...

Standing beside the old cannon in front of Lisbon's hill-top Castle of St George, you can see most of the capital and much that is beyond. To the left is the River Tagus. Ahead and below lies the centre of the city, to the right, where the close-packed buildings begin to thin out, is a splash of vivid green formality - the Edward VII Park, with its splendid terrace view point.

Lisbon (Lisboa) is built, so people say, on seven hills, although on a hot day the pedestrian may well think this an understatement. But, seen from beside the old Moorish Castle of St George, it appears to lie across a broad, shallow valley running from Edward VII Park down to the river. Starting at the park, one of many such in Lisbon, is the city's pride, the Avenida da Liberdade. One of Europe's finest boulevards, it has, separated by trees and gardens, three parallel carriageways that gently descend arrow-straight for almost one mile along the centre of the valley to the Rossio. Constantly alive with traffic and people, the Rossio is a huge square with fountains and flower-sellers in the middle, shops and crowded cafes round the outside, and the Castle of St George looking down from the hill-top.

From beside the Castle's cannon, it is easy to see that most of Lisbon's entertainment and interest — and there is much of both - can be reached quickly from the Rossio either on foot or by bus, tram, or underground. Climbing steeply from the far left-hand corner of the square is the Rua do Carmo, which turns sharply into Rua Garrett, Lisbon's most fashionable shopping area.

In the angle between the two streets are the ruins of the great Carmo Monastery, largely destroyed in the earthquake of 1755, and close to Carmo is Rossio station, from which electric trains make the run to Sintra. To the left, looking down from the Castle, is the Baixa, Lisbon's compact business and shopping centre rebuilt to a gridiron pattern after the earthquake. And at the river end of Baixa is the large and magnificently proportioned Praca do Comercio, known as BlackHorse Square (although the horse on the central monument is green), it is enclosed on three sides by fine colon­naded buildings. On the fourth is the River Tagus, constantly alive with bustling ferries, stately sailing-barges, carero-ships,    and   an   occasional   ocean liner.

In the distance, on top of hills rising from the opposite shore of the river and dominating the countryside for miles Abound, is the statue of Christ, erected by Portuguese women as a thanks-offering for their country's neutrality in the Second World War.

A newer and even more prominent feature of the Lisbon landscape is close by - the tall, slender towers carrying the fine new Salazar Bridge, Lisbon's first road bridge across the Tagus, which, ill places near the city, 15 over 4 m. wide, A little way beyond the new bridge, on the Lisbon side of the river and just visible from the Castle walls, are two more landmarks. The impressive Monu­ment of the Discoveries, towering over a little yacht harbour, is contemporary in style. It was erected in 1960 to com­memorate Prince Henry the Navigator and the voyages that Portugal's ex­plorers made five centuries before. In complete contrast, the richly carved Manuelinc Tower of Belem, built in the 16th cent., can be seen a little further on. Separated by the gardens of the Praca do Imperio from the Discoveries Monument is another splendid example of Manueline architecture the vast, honey-coloured Monastery of Jeronimos; with its delightful cloisters. Nearby is the world-famous Coach Museum.

From St George's Castle viewpoint one can clearly see; to the right of the new bridge and 2 m, beyond the Rossio, the gigantic Monsanto Park, with its hills and belvederes, sports grounds and woods, cafes and restaurants: a park almost as big as the city itself. Immediately below the Castle walls are the roofs of old Lisbon - the picturesque Alfama district, which was largely spared in the 1755 earthquake. Its steep, narrow streets, with close-packed old houses dappled by the sun­light, lead back to Rossio or Black Horse Square, passing Lisbon's cathe­dral on the way.

The beaches of Estoril and Cascais are only some 25 min. from Lisbon by fast electric train. Having an enviable, year-round climate, Estoril is a fashion­able resort, with many hotels, a new casino, and a splendid golf course scat­tered among its trees, gardens, and parks. Adjacent Cascais, once a fishing village, is now a smart and busy resort, but one that has managed to retain much of its original charm.

Beyond Cascais the coast turns sharply northwards, and the nature both of the coast itself and of the resorts changes abruptly. To start with, there arc rocks and impressive headlands separated by superb sandy beaches, the coast backed by wild, almost desolate country. But quickly the rocks and cliffs become sparser, the beaches more continuous, the country richer and more wooded. Both the wind and the sea arc livelier than in the Tagus Estuary.

The resorts are mostly very small. Guincho is little more than three hotels, several delightful sandy beaches, a few rocky outcrops, and the sheer cliffs of Cabo da Roca. Praia das Macas, on the other side of Cabo da Roca, is little larger. Then come Ericeira, a pretty fishing village and medium-sized re­sort; Peniche, another fishing village, and ferry-port to the secluded holiday island of Berlenga; Foz do Arclho, with a splendid sandy beach at the mouth of a large lagoon; and Sao Martinho do Porto, in a lake-like, dune-encircled bay specially favoured for its safe bathing.

 

 

 

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