Our first full day in Lisbon had arrived, and our first stop in Portugal’s capital city was the São Jorge Castle. Nestled at the top of the Alfama district, the Moorish-style castle was one of a handful of cuts from last year’s itinerary. There were a number of options for getting to the castle, including a steep uphill walk or a standard public bus, but I thought the destination provided a good opportunity to experience Lisbon’s famous trolley.
We decided to catch the trolley at its origin point, in hopes of obtaining a seat to take in the scenic views during our journey. We weren’t the only tourists, however, planning to ride the trolley on Tuesday, and when we arrived at the stop, we found ourselves in a lengthy queue. After three trolleys had been loaded to capacity, we had our choice of seats for the fourth and planted ourselves near the front of the tramcar.
Lisbon’s route map for the 28E trolley showed a 17-minute ride with 10 stops before we reached the spot closest to the castle. However, for some reason, our ride was perhaps a tourist-specific version of the standard route, as we skipped a number of northbound stops and were in the Alfama district in no time. We rode through a couple of narrow lanes but missed out on the experiences of last year’s trolley ride. Within a few minutes, we were at our stop for the castle, meaning we spent 30 minutes waiting for a 5-minute ride.
Google Maps has been a valuable resource throughout our travels, but their route from the trolley stop to the castle was useless. We were directed to walk along a restricted part of the castle complex reserved for archaeological work. We then went a different direction, only to find ourselves on a road temporarily closed for construction. We decided to retrace our steps and eventually finding brown signs showing the preferred pedestrian path to the castle.
En route to the castle, we snapped pictures by colorful doors.
While I reviewed potential paths to the castle, Amanda found a new feeding spot for Eilidh.
The walk around the castle led us past a few gift shops, such as this one, where Amanda and Gee Gee picked up a couple of Lisbon souvenirs.
Like the morning trolley ride, São Jorge Castle had a long line to purchase tickets. Fortunately, our wait was short as a staff member saw Eilidh and instructed us to go to the front of the line as we qualify for “priority” as a family with a young child. The quick ascent through the line seemed to ruffle some tourist feathers, but the ticketing staff confirmed the priority, and we were in the castle just a few minutes later.
After an impromptu stop for a cup filled with strawberries and cherries, we worked our way to the entry viewpoint to take some photos with the city of Lisbon in the background. We found the further we traveled from the entrance, the better the vantage point. There wasn’t a lot to the crowded castle complex, but we climbed a few stairs and walked a few walls before retreating back to the entrance and on with our day.
The kids loved posing with the rocks and lions, shown next.
This photo isn’t particularly noteworthy… until you see how it captured Eilidh’s adventurous nature.
We walked downhill through the Alfama neighborhood, making a few stops as we maneuvered the steep streets. The wait for the trolley plus the extra walking to the castle left us more than an hour behind schedule, and hungry. Rather than take a ferry to our planned lunch stop, we decided to visit the familiar (and much more convenient) Time Out Market for a smorgasbord meal.
The market was nearly as busy as when we visited last year, but we were at least able to find a spot to sit so I could work my way through the various food vendors. The shortest line appeared to be at Zero Zero pizza, so I ordered a margherita pizza for the kids. Cod cakes, rice, pad thai, Japanese ravioli, and spring rolls rounded out our shared main courses.
For dessert, Gee Gee, Emmie, and I had ice cream from Santini’s, a legendary spot within the Lisbon area. We also ordered a piece of “O Mehlor Do Mundo Bolo De Chocolate,” which is literally translated as “the best cake in the world” and was a favorite from last year’s trip. This rich and unique chocolate cake immediately had Eilidh’s attention, as she immersed herself in the dessert for several minutes. She eventually relented control and left most of the remaining piece to Gee Gee.
Emmie picked out the classic chocolate and salted caramel combo at Santini’s.
