Day 6: Coimbra to Lisbon

Today it was time to leave Coimbra behind and travel to the (hopefully quieter!) Lisbon. I had booked the train tickets in advance and had specifically tried to choose seats which were next to one another on the online train diagram, so I was disappointed when I took them out of my bag this morning and found that I had seat 18, while Tim was in seat 12. I had no idea what I could have done wrong!

We checked out of our apartment in Coimbra and walked towards the train station of Coimbra A, where we had to wait for a train to take us to Coimbra B. In the amount of time we spent waiting we could probably have actually walked from one station to the other; the train journey only takes two or three minutes once you're on the train, so I don't think the stations can actually be very far apart. At Coimbra B we then had to wait for the intercity train to Lisbon.

It was a bit chaotic when the train arrived, with lots of people trying to get up and down a pretty narrow platform, but we found the carriage we were looking for and stowed our luggage. Then we started looking for our seats. Imagine my surprise when I found that seat 12 and seat 18 were next to each other after all!!

Portuguese trains seem to have a rather bizarre numbering system! But we were glad to be unexpectedly sitting together

We were on the train for around two hours before we arrived at Lisbon Santa Apolónia. Unlikely all the other train stations we've visited during this holiday, Santa Apolónia has the advantage of actually being located fairly centrally in Lisbon, so we didn't have to search for another train connection on from there. We were supposed to be checking into the apartment at 15.00, so we just about had enough time to get lunch somewhere.

We found a place somewhere a few streets away from the station, but it turned out not to be a very inspiring meal. Our table was partly in the sun and under a terrace with a vine, which looked very pretty but meant there were an awful lot of flies. The food itself was okay, but not as good as what we've had elsewhere in Portugal so far. Hopefully we were just unlucky with our choice and the rest of Lisbon will be better!

I didn't think it would take us long to get to the apartment, but it turned out to be a bit complicated. First of all we had to negotiate the Lisbon metro system and try to buy tickets which would take us a few stops uphill into the old town. When we arrived at the correct station, there was a seemingly neverending series of escalators to take us from the platform to street level. And then we had to negotiate a rabbit warren of hilly little streets.

We made it in the end, about 30 minutes late, and then had to face the next challenge; climbing to the fifth floor with all our luggage. I had realised belatedly when it was too late to cancel the apartment that it was located on the fifth floor of a building with no lift. Quite a few of the reviews which had appeared online since I booked it were complaining about the stairs, in particular saying that they were very steep and narrow. They were indeed very steep and getting the suitcases to the top was a bit of a struggle. Eventually we made it and although I had long since lost count of the number of floors we'd climbed, we got to a point were there were no more stairs. Unfortunately, there was also no sign of any description indicating where the apartment might be.

Tim had to call the number on the reservation and - fortunately - it did turn out that we were in the right place. A lady came and unlocked a series of doors, leading us up yet another staircase(!) and into the apartment. Once we'd got our breath back and were able to look out of the windows, it felt like the climb had been worth it though.

As well as views out over the estuary, we could see over the roofs of Lisbon towards a castle.

After a bit of a rest, we set out to explore Lisbon. Our apartment is located in the Bairro Alto, the upper part of Lisbon which is situated on a hill above the riverfront. A few streets away from the apartment we found ourselves in the square Praça Luís de Camões, which has in its centre a large statue of one of Portugal's poets.

As we walked down the neighbouring streets we found a succession of pretty churches...

...and also one of Lisbon's theatres.

Our route was taking us downhill into the lower town and towards the sea.

Lisbon is situated at the point where the river Tagus enters the sea and despite the fact that it seemed like a calm and sunny day, there were some pretty strong waves here.

We strolled along the waterfront for a while, as far as the Praça do Comércio. 

The statue in the middle of the square is of King José I on a horse, who for reasons which are unclear (to me) appears to be surrounded by snakes.

At the far end of the square is the Rua Augusta Arch, which was built to commemorate Lisbon's reconstruction after a devastating earthquake in 1755.

From there we walked through some of the busy shopping streets in the lower town and found another pretty square.

From here we had a view up towards the castle which we'd seen from our apartment window.

Night was starting to fall by this point so we decided we'd better start heading back towards the upper town. We were astonished to find that this beautiful building which we passed on our way is a train station.

A series of staircases and winding streets led us back to the upper town. In comparison to some of the streets we've experienced in Porto and Coimbra, Lisbon doesn't actually feel that hilly, but possibly we're just getting used to continually walking up slopes!

Our first impressions are that Lisbon is a really beautiful city and we're looking forward to exploring it more tomorrow