An early start to the day with breakfast and then off on our day trip to see the sights of Lisbon and beyond.
Our first stop would be at Freedom Park – Parque da Liberdade. Back in 1903 it was renamed to King Edward VII a tribute to King Edward VII of the UK, who visited Portugal the year before. It is 25 hectares in the centre of Lisbon, including a monument dedicated to the 25th of April Carnation Revolution, and a greenhouse. And it’s the perfect location for the book fair (Feira do Livro) that takes place there every year.
Ours was a quick stop enough time to take a few photos of the view.
The view of Parque Eduardo VII
The views were amazing. Lots of red hop on hop off busses.
Next stop would be the Belem Tower and a spot of morning tea. I couldn’t believe how many tourists were at the Tower.
The Belem Tower sits in the shallows near the mouth of the River Tagus. It was built between 1515 – 1521 as a fortress. So valuable and iconic it is now a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site. You are able to go inside and climb the steep spiral staircase to an amazing view over the esplanade and river. Unfortunately ours was a quick visit, take a few photos as our guide raced on ahead. This would be the norm for the next few days. Click and run! It was a shock to the system.
Belem Tower
Once we had taken heaps of photos of which will be on Instagram we made our way to the cafe nearby. Quick visit to the bathroom or Loo or toilet depending on where you come from. Then inside to have a coffee/tea and everyone had a Pasteis de nata a Portuguese Custard Tart. I was given a gluten free muffin. It was lovely!
Gluten Free muffin and coffee
Pasteis De Nata and coffee
Next stop would be the Tribute to the Age of Discovery -Padrao dos Descobrimentos.
This enormous monolith leans over the River Tagus to resemble the prow of a caravel, the type of ship commanded by the Portuguese navigators in the 15th century to chart unexplored oceans and discover new lands.
Tribute to the Age of Discovery – Lisbon
It was built in 1960 to mark the 500th anniversary of Henry the Navigator. it pays tribute to all those involved in the Age of Discovery. On both sides of the statue are prominent figures like Vasco da Gama, Fernão de Magalhães, and Pedro Álves Cabral. Henry himself stands at the fore, caravel in hand. After admiring those immortalized in stone, you can jump in an elevator and be whisked to the top of the monument for a seagull-eye’s view of the riverfront and the surrounding vicinity.
The Tribute to the Age of Discovery
On the esplanade is a huge pavement compass and a giant mosiac map of the world with all the locations and dates when each new land was discovered. Trying to take a photo of this was hard with all the tourists including us walking all over it.
The compass
The map of the world with all the dates and lands that were discovered.
Our next stop, we would be visiting the Ajuda National Palace.
Ajuda National Palace
The Ajuda National Palace or Palacio Nacional Ajuda is located in Belem. Upon entering the Palace, you can feel as if you are part of the past.. If your very quiet you can hear the swish of the beautiful ornate dresses and the gentle footsteps of the slippers as you walk down the corridors. Each room is a sight to behold. The Throne Room takes up most of the entire south wing of the Palace. 23 Marble Statues greet you upon entering the Palace.
It is located on top of the Ajuda hill, and with a superb view of the Tagus River.
One of the many corridors in the palace
A Royal Dining Room
Our next stop would be Cascais for lunch at Visconde da Luz. We had a short time to walk around the park called Visconde da Luz same as restaurant after lunch and visit the market that was there on the day.
Lunch was lovely, lots of wine good food and great company. I had melon with ham and cheese then steak and vegetables and chips then dessert. All gluten free. The rest of the group had fish instead of the steak.
Melon, Ham and Cheese
Steak and vegetables
Almond Tart – gluten free
Sarah having fun after lunch
The Carousel or Merry go round at the park
The market at Cascais in the garden of Visconde da Luz
Back on the coach to head to Sintra where we would visit the Palace of Sintra. Once there we climbed the initial few stairs to the Palace and looked out over the town. A few of us made the decision not to go into the Palace and went back to the shops and wandered leisurely around.
Palace of Sintra
The view of the town
Bit of fashion
It was lovely walking around the town at our own pace. So nice to slow down for a bit and actually enjoy the place.
A lot of steps to work off lunch
What a day it had been we had been on the road since 8am and would be getting back into Lisbon around 6. Dinner tonight would at our own cost. As we left the Sheraton Hotel in the morning I saw on the next corner a restaurant called The Paleo Kitchen. We had checked it out on-line and it was going to be open. Sarah and Peter came with us. We had a lovely dinner all paleo which is also gluten free. We enjoyed some organic wine also.
I think once my head hit the pillow I was asleep.
The next day we would leave Lisbon to head to Evora. Another long day and another early start.
Many more photos will be on Instagram.
Travel and Lifestyle with Bree 
I have not been there yet, but it looks so wonderful through your pictures of places and food. Thank you for sharing this post and making me want to visit there.
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thank you for stopping by Geri x…yes all of Portugal and Spain are stunning.
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Looks like you had a fun-filled day! So love the idea of tea in Belem!!!!! So happy to see all of the gluten-free options in Portugal too. The palace is gorgeous.
I am enjoying all of the pictures and the tales of your trip.
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Thank you x
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Love the post, I am going at the end of March, you’ve given me lots of inspo! I’ve visited a few places, give mine a read if looking for your next adventure! xx
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Thank you 😊. Be prepared for cool weather rain snow etc. so lots of layers. I will certainly check your blog out xx
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We’ve been considering visiting Lisbon and this post has encouraged us to do so. Thanks!
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Oh I hope so 😊 Portugal 🇵🇹 is a beautiful place
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We are in love with the Azores. Three trips and six Islands so far.
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Lovely Lisbon! we truly enjoyed our stay in June, your pictures brought back memories!
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In June? Was it very hot…we had it really cold in April.
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We thought it was nice, about 73 degrees, windy though.
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Beautiful photos, Bree. I think it’s so great that you get to see so much of the world. Happy travels!
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Marvelous pictures. I’ve never thought of visiting Lisbon, but this post may change my mind. Very picturesque! Great post!
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Thank you x…it is a beautiful place.
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Thanks for the memories! My husband and I visited Lisbon at the start of an organised tour of Portugal and Spain. We loved it and wished we had been able to spend more time there. Thanks for sharing your travels with us at #MLSTL.x
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Thank you 😊 we too wished we had seen more and stayed longer
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Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing so much information. I love history! The food looks amazing, too!
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Thank you so much for stopping by x
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Absolutely loved Lisbon when we visited for a day on a cruise. Your post has really made me want to go back. Thanks for the beautiful memories, and the new ideas too! #MLSTL and Pinned
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Thank you for stopping by xx
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What a wonderful and beautiful place. #MLSTL
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Yes it certainly is xx
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Lots of variety in today’s post! I loved the Age of Discovery monument and then all the food, and the markets and the merry-go-round (they have a lot of those in Europe I noticed when we were over there). It sounds like it was a wonderful trip all round.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM ☺️
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Me too re the Age of Discovery…i would have loved to check it out further. Yes Merry-go-Rounds seem to be everywhere in Europe. Thank you so much for having such a great link up.
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Your post and photos brought back fond memories of my trip to Portugal. It’s a wonderful country to visit. I love the Portuguese custard tarts. #MLSTL
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Im glad that it brought you back memories xx
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Wow, sounds like an amazing but a slightly exhausting day. Definitely going to make it to Lisbon one day.
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The start of many an exhausting day lol I do hope you get to Lisbon one day. I want to go back but its not high on the list. I think a few days would do Lisbon justice.
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I think I have to explore Portugal some more… ever since I visited Madeira last year, I have found some great posts about Portugal that really inspire me 🙂
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I hope you can . It certainly is a beautiful country xx
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That custard tart looks like it would go down really well with a strong cup of coffee. A great sugar rush to start my day and power me through some sightseeing.
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That it did
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Well the muffin thing I had was very sweet 😊
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“Click and run”, I feel like that could be a new ‘thing’. A viral instagram account maybe, or a new trend like planking where everyone tries to run around from place to place taking super fast photos.
Belem Tower looks impressive, still in good condition externally. I wonder whether it gets much damage from the water over the years, flooding/damp/erosion?
The Age of Discovery display is fantastic, and it looks huge. It’s great you’ve got some people in the photo as this gives it some perspective so we can get a better feel for its size.
Aw lovely photo of Sarah playing peak’a’boo by the tree, she looks so happy!
Wonderful photos as always! 😊
Caz xx
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hahahaha it most certainly could be…thank goodness we have some easier days….still click and run….haha
Yes Sarah was having fun we all had a bit too much wine at lunch…
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Great post and food porn!
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Beautiful photos as always and a great history lesson!
And, of course, the food made me hungry! 😄😄
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Thank you xx me too when I put the food pics up lol
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So envious of the custard tarts
My absolute favourite
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I’m not sure how your brain takes in all that sightseeing! You’re doing a wonderful job and looks like you’re always having fun. I love the main photo of the Belem Tower!
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I know crazy isn’t it..rush here rush there…click click click…thank you xx
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I think thats why we decided to not enter the Palace in Sintra…information overload…
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Bree, I love following your adventures. Lisbon looks lovely as does Sintra. The latter is definitely somewhere on our list for our next visit.
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Thank you as I love yours. I can’t wait to see what you see when you x I’m sure you will be there longer and see much more.
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