A city to remember

I recently visited Lisbon, Portugal with my class. I must say that Lisbon is a truly beautiful city, full of old buildings that gives the city this rustic charm, which is hard to find anywhere else. One of these buildings, or in this case castle is Castelo de São Jorge. Castelo de São Jorge is located on top of the highest of the seven hills in Lisbon. This means that you can see the castle, from almost any part of the city, as long as there is no houses blocking your sight.

 The picture you see here was taken, from the balcony in the room where I was staying. You can clearly see the castle on top of the hill in this picture.

However, the view from the castle itself was just as stunning. From the castle, there is a great view over the whole city. Unfortunately it was raining the day we visited the castle, so it looks a bit gray on the pictures, but it was still a great view.

Castelo de São Jorge is really one of the things you have to visit in this city. However, you have to be able to walk up some quite steep hills, and if you are not in shape, to do this you can always take the tram to the nearest stop, or simply drive up there.

If you are not into seeing old buildings, and going to museums, and just want to experience the culture of the city, there are two things I would recommend you do. The first one I want to mention is Fado. Fado is a type of music that lies deep in the soul of Lisbon. Fado is often about heartbreak or jealousy. When you listen to Fado, you can really feel how passionate the singers are about the music. Even if you do not understand the language, it still sounds beautiful. 

It would be the perfect night out in Lisbon. Go to a restaurant, order some delicious food, drink some wine, and listen to the beautiful sound of Fado music with your friends. My whole class and I went to see Fado one evening. We sat at some high tables, and had some wine and tapas, while we listened to a couple of Fado singers. It is definitely a night I will remember, not only because of the music, but also because of the people, I was there with.

The other thing I would recommend you to do is go on a street art tour. Street art is all over Lisbon, of course there is the usual tags on the walls, but in Lisbon you can find some truly great street art.

This picture was taken right down the street, from where my class and I stayed in Lisbon.

You can of course go around and explore the city yourself, and see some of the great street art. But if you take a guided tour around, you will not only see some of the greatest pieces in the whole city, you will get the story behind them, and learn who made them, and in some cases why. The good thing about the guided tour is also that you might see some art, you might not have noticed, if you were on your own.

I only mentioned three things in this blog about Lisbon, but there is so much more to see and do in this city. I know that I will always remember my time there.