Lisbon :The only capital on the sea!
The wonderful city of Lisbon was founded on seven hills and grew to be not only the main port but also the capital of Portugal. It has earned its nickname due to the high number of whitewashed buildings. Lisbon is situated on the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula where the River Tejo flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Narrow alleys crisscross the hills around the city and during the summer a steady breeze makes the high temperatures bearable. Explore these wonderful hills in your cheap car hire.
What to see and wehre to go?
Numerous viewing platforms, called Miradouro, offer the opportunity to get a sense of orientation before you start exploring the city. Should you not want to hike all the way up you can take a cable car or lift up to many of the Miradouro. A tour of the city highlights in your car hire first takes you to Igreja de Ao Roque, one of Portugal’s most beautiful churches. If you book holiday car hire you should not miss a drive down Avenida da Liberdade, a palm tree-framed grand avenue. A great place to spend a whole day is suburban Belém where you will find one of the world’s greatest buildings: the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. This enormous monastery is surrounded by the Fonte Lumiosa park where a fountain gets lit up at night. Going back on Avenida da India you get to Mosteiro dos Jerominos, another fantastic monastery.
Taking a break from this cultural programme you should find a table in Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, one of the most popular cafés in town, renown for its vanilla custard tarts Pasteis de Nata. Other stops in Belém is the Museu de Electricidade, and the Palacio Nacional da Ajuda.
Shopping in Lisbon
Though discovering the historical and cultural sights of Lisbon can keep you occupied for days you might want to squeeze in some shopping and some exploring in the surrounding areas in your car hire. The best high streets in the Old Town are Avenida de Roma, Praca de Londres, Avenida Guierra Junquiero, and Amoreiras. A car hire will provide you with independence from the local transport system, making your life a whole lot easier and putting places like Baixa, a sub town of Lisbon, within easy reach.
History of the city
The town was built during the 18th century and is situated beautifully between hills. Baixa has a fabulous viewing platform, called Miradouro de Santa Luzia, from which you get the best view over Alfama, one of Lisbon’s oldest districts. The street layout and architecture of this part of the city have been greatly preserved throughout the 20th century. Not far from here you can visit the medieval districts of Castelo and Mouraria, surrounding St. George’s Castle on a hilltop. During July Amalfa, Castelo, and Mouraria host colourful festivities in honour of the local patron saint. As a tourist to Lisbon you will have no choice but notice the melancholy sound of Fado, a traditional folk song closely linked to the city. In fact it is so important to the citizens of Lisbon that they have dedicated a museum to the sad singing, the Casa do Fado e da Guitarra Portuguesa in Alfama. Here you will learn everything about the history of the song you can hear in Lisbon’s streets at night.
