Lisboa

View towards the river from Alfama

We went to visit Portugal in July! The kids were at sleepaway camp for two weeks (!) so it seemed like the best time for us to have a kid-free adventure, doing lots of boring stuff like going to art museums, walking miles and miles exploring the city every day, and going on a 5-hour food tour. (To be honest, I wish the kids enjoyed all of this stuff and I won’t give up trying – but it’s nice to have a trip where we can do whatever we like, without any whining!)

Red tiled rooftops, seen from a nearby miradouro

We stayed in Alfama, up on the hill, right next to Castelo Sao Jorge, just across from the medieval city walls. It was a gorgeous spot to be every morning at 7am, but after that the tour buses started arriving at the castle gate across the street, and the narrow streets got awfully crowded for the rest of the day. It turns out that the middle of Lisbon is kind of a crazy place to be in the summer, although we did find lots of quieter corners of the city where we might stay when we visit again.

Castle gates, Castelo de São Jorge

Inside the castle gates, there’s a wonderful little city-within-a-city, with even tinier winding streets and a whole neighborhood of homes and tiny shops.

Inside the castle walls

We were most excited to walk around and explore the city on foot- it’s so full of interesting alleys and steep stairways and mysterious passageways and stunning viewpoints. Like Rome, it’s a city of seven hills, and you can’t go very far in Lisbon without climbing up and down a few of them.

Lots of interesting passages

The summer light was golden and warm and gorgeous, though in the afternoons it got steaming hot and we had to hide in the shade. Walking around the city felt like a dreamy labyrinth, full of surprises and changing terrain.

I have SO many more photos to share, but here’s a first peek- I will come back later and fill in more!