Lisboa

Lisboa (Lisbon)

There are day trips available to Lisboa - the capital city of Portugal. If you are on a packaged holiday in Albufeira, then it is possible that tour operators will operate a day trip to the capital city, such as MyTravel. The trip should cost aroud €33 (£20). There are also other travel excursion companies providing the trip.

The journey time to Lisboa from Albufeira is around 3 hours and there will also be a coach stop. On the way to Lisboa you will drive through the province of 'Baixo Alentejo' which is home to the Cork Oak trees! Portugal provides the majority of the world cork (50-60%), so after this journey you will never forget where cork comes from! And i'm sure that your tour guide for the day will tell you all about them!

Cork trees, passing through 'Baixo Alentejo' on the way to Lisboa

Arriving to Lisboa from the South will mean that the only way into Lisboa is by bridge! Which allow access of the Tagus river. There are 3 bridges, 2 of which are for road travel (the 'Ponte 25 de Abril' and the 'Vasco da Gama Bridge') and the other used by train. As there is only 2 bridges going into Lisboa, be preparred to wait a while! You should expect some very busy traffic, however once over the bridge traffic should be normal again. If travelling independently to Lisboa there is a charge for crossing the bridge, the 'Vasco da Gama' Bridge is less buisy than the 'Ponte 25 de Abril' brige, but the toll charge is more.

Torre de Belém

Once you arrive in Lisboa, coach tours start with a trip to one of the icons of Lisboa, the Torre de Belém (Belém Tower) in the Belém district in Lisboa.

Torre de Belém

The fortified Torre de Belem was built in the early 1500s in the Portuguses late Gothic Style. It was built to honour the expedition of Vasco de Gama. The tower is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is in memorial of the Portuguses 'Great Discoveries'.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Not too far from the 'Torre de Belém' is the 'Padrão dos Descobrimentos', the 'Monument to the Discoveries'.

'Padrão dos Descobrimentos'

'Close up of Padrão dos Descobrimentos'

The Padrão dos Descobrimentos is 52 meteres high, and celebrates the time of the Portuguses Great Discoveries in the 1400 -1500s (The time of discovering new land and materials). It is positioned facing the river Tagus. Henry the Navigator is the statue at the front of the monument, along with Vasco da Gama, Pedro Álvares Catbral, Ferdinand Magellan, Diogo Cão, Bartolomeu Dias, Afonso de Albuquerque, Luís de Camões, King Manuel I, Pedro Nunes and Nuno Gonçalves. There is also a small museum inside the monument with a charge to get in. Most tour coaches take you directly to the monument as...

Hieronymites Monastery (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

... right opposite the monument is the UNESCO World Heritage site of 'Mosteiro dos Jerónimos' (Hieronymites Monastery).

'Mosteiro dos Jerónimos'