Wordless Wednesday: Lisbon Metro Art

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Sintra and Cabo da Roca

There are at least a few day trips well worth doing when in Lisbon, Portugal. One of them is definitely Sintra - a small town situated 30 kilometers west of the capital. It is dotted by royal retreats, estates, castles and buildings. The fact it was classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1995 can only give you an idea how special this place actually is.

The top attractions of Sintra are: the Castelo dos Mouros, the Pena National Palace, Quinta da Regaleira and the Sintra National Palace. The Pena National Palace (summer residence of the monarchs of Portugal during the 18th-19th century) is definitely the thing that impressed me the most. It looks magnificent from the outside and when you walk through its front gates it feels like you have just walked into a fairytale. Details are simply breathtaking.

I should probably also mention a vast collection of artifacts from the time this place was still in use by the royalty. Definitely worth a closer look.

Large areas around those palaces are actually quite nice parks one could spend days exploring. Some parts with large boulders, tall trees and ancient fountains are especially beautiful.

Also views from both the walls of Pena National Palace as well as Castelo dos Mouros are something not to be missed. Even though it was cloudy and foggy on the day of our visit it was well worth it - the mist made it all feel even more magical. I can hardly imagine the views on a clear sunny day.

Since Cabo da Roca - the westernmost point of continental Europe is just a few kilometers further to the west, we decided to squeeze both of these attractions into the same day. This is definitely doable if you do not intend to visit everything Sintra has to offer and just wish to get a feeling of the place. Just make sure you start really early.
If you like to explore historical sites in detail, you should probably reserve at least a couple of days for Sintra - there are simply so many interesting things packed into this little town you will have

Cabo da Roca is nothing so special - you can find a lighthouse, a monument and a restaurant there on the top of some cliffs dropping down to the ocean. Nevertheless, it is the end of earth and for this fact alone it attracts crowds of visitors year-round.

We took a train from Lisbon (Rossio train station) to Sintra and caught a bus which took us to Cabo da Roca. From there we returned to Lisbon via Cascais (by bus), where we changed to a train. Cascais is a seaside city we unfortunately did not have time to explore.
We opted for an all-inclusive day travel ticket, which we used for the round trip and it also included buses linking various attractions in Sintra. You should keep in mind those attractions are scattered on quite a large area in and around Sintra and placed on neighboring hilltops (you can check out the area on this map).

If you are not a fan of public transport there are also many car rental companies in Lisbon offering good deals. As I was told prices are supposed to be really affordable, especially in the off-season.

Another interesting day trip we did not manage to squeeze into our schedule is a trip to Evora. Evora is another UNESCO World Heritage Site located approximately 135 kilometers to the east of Lisbon. I definitely recommend you to take a look into it if you have enough time.

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Drinks you must try in Lisbon

This post could have easily been titled "Where to try Port wine in Lisbon". It does not mean there is no other drink worth trying out, but this way or another a visitor to the capital of Portugal will come across some Port sooner or later.

Although Port wine is produced in only one region of Portugal - the Douro Valley, it is very popular all over the country. Port wine is just one of many excellent Portuguese wines. There are many wine tasting opportunities in the city of Lisbon and I really advice you to try at least one. You don not need to be a wine connoisseur to like this. Usually things are explained according to the level of your knowledge of wine. I am convinced after the first one you will be ready for more.

As you probably already know port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto) is Portuguese fortified dessert wine. Although it is usually a red wine of sweet taste it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties. It has been produced since 18th century when long trips to England often resulted in spoiled wine. That is why fortification of the wine was introduced to improve the shipping and shelf-life of the wine.

We did a few wine tastings while in Lisbon and I can only say they were all great. I especially recommend a visit to two places mentioned below:

• Wine Bar do castelo on your way to or from the castle. It is located in Alfama just outside castle walls on Rua Bartolomeu de Gusmão 11/13. We really liked the atmosphere of this place and also staff were super nice.
• The other place I can also recommend is BA Wine Bar do Bairro Alto and you can find it at Rua da Rosa 107.

You can expect an average tasting to cost you around 20 euro or more. Some tapas are usually included, but you can expect to pay extra if you choose to try some exquisite cheeses or something similar.

Since wine prices may vary greatly, you should always agree about the tasting process, your preferences and price ranges in advance.
Of a few different approaches we tried I preferred the following approach to tasting: every one of us (we were a group of seven) got to taste one small sample of four different whites, four reds and three ports. After each round every one of us chose a glass of wine he preferred. We payed only for those three full glasses per person.

We were especially impressed by those ports we got to try - none of us has ever tried a port wine before. I guess it is pointless to emphasize the older (and more expensive) they were - the more we liked them. There is a distinct difference between different types of port wines. White, Ruby, Tawny and Vintage are the kinds we managed to try. I liked Tawny Port the most, but all of them were good.

We were even treated with something special at the end of one of those tastings (at the second place mentioned above). The owner gave us something really special to try - something we would never have ordered, considering the budget we were on. It was a taste of a 1880 Vintage Port. It definitely tasted great, but considering the price of it I think I could not appreciate it nearly enough.

In my lay opinion the differences among up to a 20 year old Tawny Ports are very noticeable. From there on you can expect a substantial price leap and in my opinion you have to be a bit of an expert to appreciate it enough to justify a purchase.
I recommend you buy at least a bottle for your home collection since good quality port wine is hard to get and more expensive to buy back home. Just make sure you secure the bottle properly for the way home.

There are also other drinks you should not miss when in Lisbon. One of them is Ginja. There is a small bar in Baixa district on Largo de São Domingos 8 (near Rossio station at Praça de São Domingos) offering this famous Portuguese sour cherry liquor. At Cafe ‘A Ginjinha’ there is a 150 year old tradition of serving this specialty liquor. Although you might not like it you should at least give it a try.
You can settle for a shot or get yourself a whole bottle for around 7 euro.

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