The Castle of St. George overlooks much of Lisbon. That made it the ideal place from which to rule the city, so it was the seat of power under many different regimes, from the Romans thru Portugal’s early monarchial era.
Getting to the castle was fun! We rode trams most of the way, although we did miss our stop and had to hike back up some steep cobblestone roads and alleys. Almost every road and sidewalk in Lisbon (and Porto, for that matter) is cobbled; it’s rare to see concrete or asphalt. I was glad we weren’t there in the rainy season, as the cobblestones tend to be worn fairly smooth, making them potentially slippery.
We got spoiled by this first tram ride. The trams are extremely popular with tourists, so most are standing-room-only-packed.
Along the way we stumbled upon a wonderful viewpoint.
Which, among other things, shows St. George’s Castle off in the distance.
Lisbon is full of small (and large) squares, most of which feature a heraldic statue or two. This one we got to know pretty well because it ended up being central to a number of the bus and tram lines we ended up riding.
It was surrounded by a number of beautiful buildings.
Missing our stop was annoying but climbing the hills to the castle was definitely worth it, as it offers a lot of spectacular views.
While the castle sports a museum within, it’s relatively small. The site’s main focus is the castle itself.
But it does do a nice job of laying out the history of the place and serves as a good introduction to the decorative tiles that make up a lot of Portugal’s art history.
Tile making got kickstarted when Phoenician/Carthaginian traders arrived and showed the local inhabitants how to upgrade their skills. It was pushed further during the period of Islamic control, which focused on geometrical patterns, particularly in blue.
After the Islamic rulers were overthrown, tile making evolved into the colorful, tapestry-like forms commonly seen today. But blue on white tiles remained common. In fact, the Portuguese name for tile art, azulejo, roughly translates as “blue polished stone”.
In addition to all the tourists, we were surprised to find the castle was populated by peacocks. One of whom challenged us while we were carefully descending some steep stairs.
After leaving the castle, we wandered down to the Lisbon Cathedral, which I found far more impressive inside than from the outside.
Conveniently, it also offered some quiet and cooler places to sit and relax, where you could enjoy some colorful light displays.
But I have to say the most unexpected thing I encountered in the cathedral was the prominent role played by statues of loyal canine companions to the various important clergy who were entombed there.
