Lisbon 2019

On to Lisbon for tiles, colours, and more octopus

7 days ― April to May 2019

Part 1: Lisbon day 1

After San Sebastián I decided to fly south to Lisbon to explore on my own for a few days. I visited in my early teens but don’t much remember that trip. I’ve wanted to visit again for ages - everyone’s photos look so vivid and interesting.

Lisbon did not disappoint.

Looking up an alleyway. The foreground is dark and in shadow, but the background is brightly lit by sun. The alley ends with a light coloured building covered in graffiti.
Looking up a narrow street in bright sunlight.
A funicular car descending a steep street in bright sunlight.
A photo taken looking through a glass shop window to the display inside. The display has multiple model cable cars, but it's hard to make them out because of many reflections from the windows. The photo has a rather abstract feel.
A panorama of the neighbourhood of Alfama from a viewpoint. There's a large cruise ship in the see directly in front.
Looking down on the red tile roofs of the Alfama neighbourhood
A photo of the walls and courtyard of a small house. The three walls are coloured in different shades of yellow - deep, mid, and light.
Looking straight down an empty underground train.
Looking directly down the central platform in a train station. On the left a train is waiting. The station is small and with a low roof.
A painting on a wall in the form of a comic strip. The main visible text starts '5 Outubro de 1910'.
A macro photo of a set of doorbells on the wall. There are 6 white buttons on a dark green base.
A macro photo of several cans of tuna stacked on a shelf. The cans have a vintage look and are labeled 'Tricana'.
Looking up at a streetlamp in a narrow street. It's daylight, so the streetlamp isn't on.
A panorama of Lisbon at night. The streets are filled with yellow and white lights and a suspension bridge can be seen in the distance.


Part 2: Expo ’98

From a day of touring Lisbon’s oldest district to a day visiting a decidedly different area - the Parque das Nações site in North East Lisbon - home of the Expo ’98.

A wide angle photo looking down an interior staircase to the front door of a building. The staircase is steep, and on either side the walls are covered to shoulder height with blue and white patterned tiles.
Looking up at skylight windows in a train station. The ceiling is cast concrete, and the lights are made from a grid of glass tiles.
Looking down a staircase in a train station. The base of the stairs has an irregular tiled pattern.
A large fountain in the centre of the frame on a sunny day. The fountain is made from a large circular cone shape, purple-red at the top, fading to red at the bottom.
Looking sideways at a road and bicycle path. In the background a white fence blocks the view, but is partially broken revealing some tall grass behind.
White steel beams in the shape of rectangles 50' tall are spaced regularly 20' appart. The camera looks up from the corner at the regular white grid this makes against the blue sky.
Looking up at a series of angled windows from a lookout.
Feira Internacional de Lisboa
Looking directly up the Torre Galp from just inside the structure. The structure is painted in a light green-blue colour and made of many steel beams. On the right a walkway arcs around the frame.
Torre Galp
Looking straight-on to the Portugal pavilion. The pavilion has a large suspended roof that curves gently downwards in the centre.
Portugal pavilion
Looking up a the corner of the roof of an angled building in late evening light.
A photo of the top of an exterior window. The wall has a small decorative tile pattern and a graphic of a small person is stuck on the top right of the window.
The camera looks through a window from outside to the interior of a room. In the centre of the room a large model of an octopus is suspended from the ceiling.
A group of tall marble statues are arranged in a tight grid and surrounded by tall fencing. They're lit from one side by a streetlamp.


Part 3: To Belém and Maat

For my third day in Lisbon I visited the South West - home of the Belém tower and Maat museum. The whole area was unexpectedly photogenic - I could have spent so much more time exploring. The day was a great mix of historic buildings, industrial sites, and modern architecture.

National coach museum

I didn’t have time to visit this museum, but the exterior was interesting.

A photo of an exterior walkway near the National coach museum. On the right is a glass exterior wall of the building with strong reflections obscuring the inside. On the left are two wide concrete columns supporting the walkway.

Torre de Belém

A close detail shot of an aged carved marble pillar in the Torre de Belém. The column has a spiral shape with fine flowers carved at regular intervals.
Wide angle photo looking up from the central courtyard at the Torre de Belém. The walls of the courtyard loom on each side, with the main tower in front. The sky is bright blue with no clouds.
A photo of a small warning beacon on a pier. The beacon is painted in white and green stripes. Ed Horsford is stood on a ladder near the top, looking at the camera.

Champalimaud Foundation

An unexpected photographic highlight - lots of interesting angles to shoot, and virtually deserted.

A panorama in bright sunlight of the Champalimaud Foundation courtyard. On the right the large main wall of the building is visible with three large oval openings cut away.
Looking up at two exterior sculptural concrete towers in the Champalimaud Foundation. The towers are light grey in an otherwise deep blue sky.
A photo taken in the courtyard of the Champalimaud Foundation. There's a raised platform on the left, with Ed Horsford sat looking at the camera. On the right are two tall concrete towers set against a very deep blue sky.
A detail shot of one oval window of the Champalimaud Foundation. On the right the window is shown at an acute angle, with deep blue sky behind and tree ferns encroaching. In the background a plane can be seen flying away with a white contrail visible against the deep blue sky.

Berardo Collection Museum

An interior photo of the top of a spiral staircase. The foot of the stairs reads 'Salida Exit Sortie'
A model of a satellite is just visible in a dark gallery interior.

Jerónimos monastery

Looking up at the interior of the ceiling in the Jerónimos monastery.
An exterior view of the internal courtyard in the Jerónimos monastery. Several decorative carved pillars in light sandy stone can be seen in strong sunlight.
A bright colourful view of an alleyway. The alley ends in a large mosaic.

Tejo power station

Looking straight on to a large control panel in Maat. The panel has a several columns of controls and dials and has a light grey-green surface colour.
Looking up at the ceiling of the Maat engine room. There's various walkways crossing the room and tall thin glass windows going up to the roof.
Looking straight on in the interior of the Maat engine room. there's a large boiler to the left and tall windows in the background. Black pipes descend from above.
An interior photo of some boilers in Maat. The room is filled with pipes of all sizes and is generally painted in bright primary colours.
A display case of various types of light bulb.

Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology

A photo taken from the exterior walkway of the new Maat gallery. On the right is the glass exterior wall of the gallery with the letters 'maat' visible in large white text. On the left the Tagus river and shore of Porto Brandão can be seen through a long cut away in the walkway.
A close cropped detail of the Maat ceiling. the ceiling is in a flowing curved form and covered in small tiles. A cloudless sky can be seen behind.
A close cropped detail of the Maat ceiling. the ceiling is in a flowing curved form and covered in small tiles. A cloudless sky can be seen behind.
18 small white arrows are painted on a stretch of tarmac. They all point the same way.

Village Underground and LxFactory

Looking straight on to a bus window. The interior of the window reveals the contents of a small working kitchen. The text 'village' is visible in white text in the middle of the window.
A round silver cone points directly at the camera. Iit is surrounded by a colourful mosaic print. It reflects some of the colours from the print.
Looking up at the exterior of a 5 story building. In the middle on the fourth floor one window and wall is knocked out. A group of fake birds are suspended in the sky as if in flight past the building.
Looking out from high up at the 25 de Abril Bridge and Village Underground.


Part 4: Sintra

When I landed in Lisbon it seemed everyone wanted me to take a day trip to Sintra. It’s a municipality to the west of Lisbon filled with historic palaces and castles. You can’t visit all in day - so I picked what seemed the two most interesting to me - Pena Palace and the Castle of the Moors.

At Sintra it seemed everyone wanted you to take the bus or taxi to get to Pena. After queueing for 20 minutes with no movement I asked about walking there. I got many not s positive answers ― “a two hour hard hike”. Nonsense! It’s a beautiful 1hr easy hike. Absolutely recommended to walk to Pena.

Looking up at an ornate street lamp amongst some tall trees on a sunny day.

Pena Palace

Looking through a circular arch between two pillars to some trees beyond.
A view of two buildings in the Pena palace. the near building is covered in deep blue tiles with light stone trim. The far building is cylindrical and yellow.
A view of the open-air courtyard in the centre of Pena Palace. The courtyard has blue and white checkerboard tiles, and a large fountain in the shape of a shell in the center.
A photo of Ed Horsford looking out over a round balcony to the landscape of Sintra beyond
Looking from inside to a window looking out on a high vista. The interior is dark with dark wood window frame. Through the window the sky outside is bright. The window is made from two sets of 2x4 small glass frames. The bottom row is bright orange from an balcony outside.
Looking down at a parque brick floor. At the base of the image are the photographer's feet. Above them is speckled bright dots of light.
Looking up at a tall ornate red building in Pena palace.
Looking on to an exterior wall in Pena Palace. The wall is fortified.
A close macro photo of some carvings in Pena Palace. The carvings look like worms / coral.

Castle of the Moors

For my second attraction I visited the Castle of the Moors - an 8th century castle perched on the top of the hill. It’s something of a fairytale image with battlements stretching as far as the eye can see.

Exterior castle battlements covered in moss on a sunny day.
Looking down on to one corner of the Moorish castle.
A view of one corner of the Castle of the Moors with fortified walls receding in to the distance.


Part 5: Last day in Lisbon

On my last day I checked off a few remaining sites from my list - the São Jorge Castle and Carmo Convent.

Looking up a narrow alleyway filled with two flights of steps. The buildings on each side are painted in light pink pastel colours
A portrait photo of the entrance to a 4 storey building at the end of a wide alleyway. The building is painted in pastel-yellow, and has a pastel pink building to the left.
Looking down a series of regular castle battlements. A large olive tree as tall as the battlements is visible on the right.
A peacock looks stood side on looks at the camera. It's stood in the shade of a peach pastel coloured building.
Looking up at the ruins of the Carmo Convent. All that remains are the arches of the building, with blue sky where the ceiling would be.
An interior view of three windows in the Carmo Convent - the interior is dark but warmly lit by the three windows.
A square panorama looking down from high up to the streets of Lisbon. Down the centre of the frame a pedestrian street recedes. At the bottom of the frame is a large road.
Before Lisbon I visited San Sebastián.