Lisbon Neighbourhoods - Art, architecture & gardens in & around the capital
- Superb and varied collections of decorative and fine arts as well as some of the best examples of Portuguese ceramic tiles.
- Palaces and gardens are well represented including the National Palace at Sintra and the Royal Palace at Queluz.
- Led by Adam Hopkins, journalist and author, specialist in Spanish and Portuguese history and culture.
- Rejuvenation in the last decade has transformed Lisbon into a vibrant and attractive city.
INTRODUCTION
Lisbon, Rossio Square, wood engraving 1890
Each of Lisbon’s neighbourhoods has its own atmosphere and its own treasures – and the same is emphatically true of the nearby hill – or mountain – of Sintra, with palaces and gardens, and a tendency for mist to hang romantically about its peak. Despite the nation’s money troubles (now easing somewhat) and the city’s pockets of poverty, Lisbon itself remains one of the most romantic capitals of Europe. The Alfama neighbourhood rises high to east of centre, its castle synonymous with the fortunes of early Lisbon and with fine views of the bellying Tagus below. The centre itself – the ‘Baixa’, at river level – was built on a grid plan by the dictator Pombal in the eighteenth century, one of the great successes of early town planning. Above to the west rises the ever more lively – and stylish – Bairro Alto or High District and far beyond, where the Tagus reaches out towards the Atlantic, comes Belém. King Manuel the Fortunate, his coffers heaving with the riches of India, envisaged a new Bethlehem for a new Christian mission to the East. The result: two of Portugal’s great buildings: the Belém tower, feet washed by the river, and the gorgeous Jerónimos Monastery, itself once standing on the foreshore. Add to these museums and galleries with fine and applied arts of the highest level, swelling hills and the constant presence of the river, glimpsed when least expected, not to mention the world’s finest grilled sardines.
ITINERARY
DAY 1
Lisbon. Fly at c. 1.30pm (TAP Portugal) from London Heathrow to Lisbon. Drive to the hotel and settle in. Introductory talk before dinner.
DAY 2
Belém, Alfama. Drive out to the Jerónimos Monastery at Belém, an outstanding example of the exuberant Manueline style with fine carving and vaulting. On the banks of the Tagus are the monument to the ‘Explorers’ and the Torre de Belém (a stylish fortress) – also Manueline with Moorish decoration. Continue to the Castelo de São Jorge – Arab castle conquered by the Christians in 1147, embellished over centuries by Portugal’s kings, destroyed and now restored. Descend with views of the labyrinthine Alfama to the Romanesque cathedral. Once fortified, later on much remodelled, it has a fascinating and important archeological site in its cloister. End the day at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (ceramic tiles), a superb collection of one of Portugal’s great art forms with pieces from the 15th century to the present day.
DAY 3
Lapa, Bairro Alto. Drive to Lapa to the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga with 15th- and 16th-century Portuguese works of art – displayed in a handsome palace. Back in the centre of Lisbon, walk around the Bairro Alto, a now fashionable hub of theatres, boutiques, cafés and restaurants. Visit the highly ornate church of São Roque and the ruined Convento do Carmo and its archaeological museum.
DAY 4
Queluz, Sintra. Drive to the royal palace and gardens at Queluz, built for the Infante Dom Pedro, a version of Versailles tempered by a Rococo elegance and a more intimate scale. Continue to the beautifully situated town of Sintra, the favoured summer residence of the kings of Portugal for six centuries, and much praised in poetry and prose. Visit the Palácio Nacional with its curious oast-house-like conical towers and remarkable 16th- and 17th-century azulejos. Lunch in the elegant 18th-century Palácio de Seteais, now a hotel. Visit the gardens of Quinta da Monserrate, laid out in 1856 for Sir Francis Cook, first Visconde de Monserrate, and his curious Mughal style mansion with restoration nearing completion.
DAY 5
Benfica. The morning is free for independent exploration. In the afternoon drive to Benfica and visit by arrangement the Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira. The tile work is excellent, particularly the Battle Room depicting the War of Independence against Spain 1640–1668. Drive back to the centre to visit the Medeiros e Almeida Foundation, an excellent and varied collection of decorative and fine arts, assembled by the Medeiros family in the 20th century and housed in the family home. Highlights include the French and Chinese collections, and an impressive British thunder box.
DAY 6
Lisbon. The morning is spent at the Gulbenkian Museum, an outstanding private art collection given to the city of Lisbon and beautifully displayed in a modern building. Continue to the airport for the flight to Heathrow, arriving c. 6.45pm.
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