Jesus wants me for a sunbeam

Lisbon
My last of three blogs (for now) on Lisbon and this one focuses on a couple of excellent day trips from the city should your time allow.
First up, just a short hop on the ferry across the Tagus river is Almada and you'll arrive in the small port town of Cacilhas.

Cacilhas, Lisbon, Portugal

Once a hub of shipyard industry Cacilhas now offers a waterfront home to lots of good seafood restaurants and is a great place to take in views of Lisbon and the 25 de Abril bridge from across the Tagus.  It's also home to a splendidly striking lighthouse which you will find just through the bus station near the ferry terminal.

Farol de Cacilhas, Lisbon, Portugal

Head west from Cacilhas along Rua do Ginjol towards the huge suspension bridge and you'll be able to soak up the industrial past of this area. You'll pass empty warehouses and shipyards of Olho de Boi, but it feels regenerated with restaurants, gardens and a naval museum. To the point where it's been given a new name, the Jardim do Rio. And built in 2000, the cliff hugging elevator at the Miradouro Boca do Vento connects this area with the histrionic part of Almada up top. Hanging around at the bottom of the lift eventually an old fella answers our button presses and takes us up the cliffs in the elevator for a euro. The views are needless to say, breathtaking.

Miradouro Boca do Vento, Lisbon, Portugal

The 25 de Abril suspension bridge was built by the same company that made the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, so explaining the similarity. And Almada is dominated by another dramatic landmark with more than a passing resemblance to another more famous sibling. The imposing Santuário Nacional de Cristo Rei is apparently slightly smaller than the Rio landmark that inspired it, but it is still an incredible spectacle. And I thoroughly recommend taking the elevator up to the base of the Christ statute for yet more wonderful vistas.

Santuário Nacional de Cristo Rei

We'd walked to the Santuário Nacional de Cristo Rei, but the temperatures were rising so we caught the local bus back into Cacilhas for a splendid fish and omelette (good veggie options) lunch at the Restaurante Farol, on the site of the old port lighthouse. A perfect end to a great day out.

Restaurante Farol, Cacilhas, Portugal

Another fabulous, but completely different day out is the Park of the Nations (Parque das Nações) which was created for the 1998 World Expo in Lisbon. It's easy to get there on the metro and is just 30 minutes from the centre of Lisbon. It's a huge modern, vibrant area, with shopping centre, world famous aquarium, gardens, cable cars and a bridge that goes on forever. In fact, you name it, it's got it!

Vasco da Gama Tower, Portugal

We didn't visit Europe's second largest aquarium, or take in the in observation deck at the Vasco da Gama Tower, Lisbon's biggest skyscraper. But we did take a cable car along the ocean front over the water gardens, and we did get up close to the Vasco da Gama Bridge which measures almost 11 miles (18 km) long. It's the longest bridge in Europe and makes for a spectacular backdrop to this man-made extravaganza. As you would expect there are lots of places to eat and drink and enjoy the ocean views.

Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal

The Parque das Nações is great day out from Lisbon that I would highly recommend.
There's enough going on to spend a couple of days here, should you decide to take advantage of all that's on offer.

Vasco da Gama Bridge, Portugal

On one of our trips to Lisbon we also caught the train to Sintra, excited to see the grand Royal Palace set in the amazing scenery of the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains. But unfortunately the fog descended and we saw nothing. The resort town of Sintra is picturesque and very pleasant, and I'm told the abundance of mountain walks in the national park offer spectacular views. But we did a walk and couldn't see a thing as the mist set in for the day!

We'll have to return to Sintra another day. A good reason to come back to Lisbon sometime very soon.