hkskyline's 2008 LISBON Photo Collection

hkskyline · #1 Posted **Apr 2, 2009, 1:35 PM**

After a forum meet in London, Lisbon was the first city on my 2008 Europe trip itinerary. I spent 6 days exploring in and out of this city.

1. TAP ... not an airline I'd usually see in my travels ... at least not so many of them.

2. Alfama is an interesting place. Lots of narrow streets along the hillsides, where people still live there, and has not been transformed into a tourist zone of hotels and bars. It looks like the original purpose of this area is still intact.

5. Unfortunately, graffiti is also a problem here.

10. We need more of these than roads and parking lots ... sure keeps the residents healthy.

12. While the arrangement looks very nice, many of the buildings are in need of a retrofit, and re-tiling.

15. The guidebook noted views from Alfama would be awesome. The map shows it should be a panoramic view.

17. I wasn't at the top yet.

18. Now let's keep walking.

24. This part of town has narrow streets. The atmosphere is quite intimate.

34. With so many passages in and out of the narrow streets, I needed to watch my step so I won't roll down a staircase.

40. The guidebook also remarked Alfama may get dangerous at night. I didn't come back after the sunset to see for myself, but I thought a living neighborhood couldn't get that bad when it gets dark.

Kingofthehill · #2 Posted **Apr 2, 2009, 1:52 PM**

Lisboa looking good !

hkskyline · #3 Posted **Apr 3, 2009, 4:29 PM**

44. Climbing uphill even more, more colourful buildings await.

49. Another look at the steep drop downhill.

51. If only they can get rid of some of these cars! They ruin the cobblestone street setting. However, it's important to keep these neighbourhoods liveable, and the cars are a good sign.

60. These tiles are quite cheap and popular among the tourist stands. They're a pretty addition to small spaces, such as bathroom and corridor walls.

63. Ahh .. a small bus actually made the trip to this spot from the bottom!

64. This was the ultimate destination of the uphill walk.

65. September weather was absolutely gorgeous. It'd be nice to sit out for lunch and enjoy the atmosphere.

67. I'll save the views from the top for the next part. Now I go back downhill. More of narrow streets follow :

76. I didn't really see many run-down buildings at all. These seem to be an exception.

stepper77 · #4 Posted **Apr 4, 2009, 8:07 PM**

I don't think I have seen many photos of Lisbon before. Looks really nice. Great photos, thanks!

Top Of The Park · #5 Posted **Apr 4, 2009, 8:48 PM**

certainly very pretty there

boden · #6 Posted **Apr 4, 2009, 9:30 PM**

Another very enjoyable post here hk!
Lisbon is a city that I'd love to visit sometime.

ColDayMan · #7 Posted **Apr 6, 2009, 2:15 AM**

I dig!

KB0679 · #8 Posted **Apr 6, 2009, 4:01 AM**

Looks like "everyday Lisbon" here. Interesting...

Loved the photos!

hkskyline · #9 Posted **Apr 7, 2009, 12:31 PM**

86. Se Cathedral is one of the key highlights of Alfama.

90. Trams snake around the church and continue downhill towards the grid part of town.

96. Now we're almost at the bottom of the hill!

99. A good vantage point to see the hillsides of Alfama is from the Santa Justa Elevator. It's a neat structure, with 2 elevators transporting residents and curious tourists along the hillside from the flat, grid part of town.

102. There's the Se Cathedral prominent in the cityscape.

111. Looks like these brown tiled roofs are quite common in European cities.

113. Brave the elements and go up the staircase to a bar at the top of the elevator! It got quite windy by sunset.

114. Baixa is quite a contrast to the surrounding districts. Laid out after the Great Earthquake, its grid pattern is fundamentally different from the narrow alleys and winding streets of Alfama and Barrio Alto.

118. The downhill walk would be quite nice.

10101000 · #10 Posted **Apr 7, 2009, 2:29 PM**

Great photos!

hkskyline · #11 Posted **Apr 9, 2009, 3:08 PM**

121. Lisbon has many vantage points, and one of my favourite is the Miradouro Nossa Senhora do Monte. I couldn't find it on the first try, but came back early in the morning on another day to get the shots.

130. This is not San Francisco.

133. Planes descend over the heart of the city as they land. Wish my landing was not at night.

140. Let's head back downhill to Graça and to another vantage point nearby.

149. The Graça viewpoint is right next to the church and is slightly lower from the previous one, but the images are similar.

ady26 · #12 Posted **Apr 9, 2009, 3:29 PM**

Lisboa rocks!

hkskyline · #13 Posted **Apr 11, 2009, 5:15 PM**

159. Let's change gears and take a ferry ride!

160. Unfortunately, the ferries to Cacilhas didn't have very clean windows, or large open spaces to point the camera, so it was hard to get a shot of the old city.

163. The crossing didn't take too long, and soon we reached the other side.

169. The bridge was just off to one side.

172. My day wasn't over yet, so I hurried back to the ferry terminal for the return trip to Lisbon.

182. The insides were a bit rustic though.

188. Trams are also quite interesting to spot. There are the new ones like in other European cities. These didn't look too special.

192. The interesting ones were the small, old trams.

200. Then there's the funicular ...

hkskyline · #14 Posted **Apr 13, 2009, 2:49 PM**

210. Bairro Alto has another great vantage point - Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara.

214. There is a nice garden here with a view.

216. There's Alfama again ...

224. Now it's time to explore the streets. Some were a bit run-down and dirty. It's not exactly gritty, but not exactly the best part of town I thought. I remember coming back at night for food and the restaurant scene was quite good.

234. Again, this is a living neighbourhood - people actually live here.

253. Is this another funicular?

10101000 · #15 Posted **Apr 13, 2009, 9:38 PM**

Beautiful!!

hkskyline · #16 Posted **Apr 14, 2009, 2:57 PM**

254. Parque das Nações is a modern oasis created from the World Expo. It seemed a huge contrast to the old buildings and narrow alleys of typical Lisbon.

259. It was a hectic morning in Obidos, so I had to get a good lunch here. Water actually flows along the glass roof.

265. Take a break under the umbrella?

268. It was time to walk along the waterfront. There was a cool breeze and with some shade, the long walk was not so bad. There was a lot to see along the way.

275. I wanted to go up this tower, but now I forget why I didn't. I believe it wasn't even open that day.

281. After the Vasco da Gama tower, there were a number of residential buildings along the way. Each seemed to have its own identity.

hkskyline · #17 Posted **Apr 17, 2009, 3:40 PM**

300. The Carris Museum is one of the less-known gems in the city. The collection is quite extensive, and much bigger than I expected!

301. After looking at the exhibits, you get to ride a small tram to the garage.

303. A lot of old trams kept in great condition!

311. Have you seen a triple deck bus (outside Harry Potter)?

hkskyline · #18 Posted **Apr 21, 2009, 1:53 PM**

331. Time to catch the cable car for a view of the Expo 98 site.

332. The windows were fairly dirty, so I had to be creative and do a lot of weird poses to get some of these shots.

345. Long live the revolution!

346. Feeling a bit ripped off from the expensive cable car ride, I walked back to the train station and took a look at the buildings on the southern end of the site.