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Sunset over the Tagus with the 25 de Abril Bridge in the distance

Portugal · Lisbon · 2021

Lisbon in layers

Atlantic light, blue tile, long meals and the hills between everything — seventy-five photographs from a few days in Lisbon.

Sunset over the Tagus

The journal

We started in Belém, moving between the monastery and the tower under an impossibly clear sky. Custard tarts became a daily ritual, sampled at the famous counters and wherever else the smell of warm pastry pulled us inside.

Back in the centre, yellow trams traced the hills past churches, tiled walls and crowded tables. Seafood anchored nearly every meal, and sunset over the Tagus closed the days.

Belém

Where the days began

Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries, all under a clear Atlantic sky.

The stone façade of Jerónimos Monastery beneath a clear blue sky
Jerónimos Monastery
High vaulted ceilings and tall windows inside the monastery church
The monastery church
Gilded altars inside a Lisbon church with a few visitors
Gold leaf and quiet
The long arched stone wall of Jerónimos Monastery
The long cloister wall
Belém Tower beside the Tagus River in bright morning sun
Belém Tower in the morning sun
Belém Tower seen from below against a cloudless sky
The tower from the quay
A stone map set into the pavement with visitors' shadows across it
The world, drawn in stone
Carved stone detail above the entrance to Jerónimos Monastery
Carving above the door
The vaulted aisle inside Jerónimos Monastery
Inside the monastery
Two companions standing on the sand with Belém Tower behind
Together at Belém Tower
The Monument to the Discoveries against a deep blue sky
Monument to the Discoveries

The city

Blue tile and stone

The squares, the paving, and the walls that made even an ordinary street worth stopping for.

Colourful azulejo tiles with a blue heart on a red ground
A heart in tile
A tiled wall beneath a sign reading By Nunes
By Nunes
A quiet cobbled street lined with green trees and white houses
Morning quiet
A narrow cobbled street with tram tracks winding between old buildings
The tram's lane
A flower shop built into a vintage van parked beneath trees
The flower van
An equestrian statue standing in a Lisbon square
The square, and its statue
The National Theatre of São Carlos lit up at night
Lisbon after dark
A wide Lisbon square ringed by historic buildings
Praça da Figueira
Another view across the same Lisbon square
Crossing the square
White buildings with terracotta roofs climbing a Lisbon hillside
Roofs going uphill
A tile mural of white calla lilies on a Lisbon wall
Portuguese tilework
Black and white mosaic paving stones in a Lisbon walkway
Calçada underfoot
Painted ceramic swallows in blue and teal mounted on a wall
Swallows in blue
A panel of traditional Portuguese tiles with floral patterns
Floral azulejos
A narrow Lisbon street with pink pavement seen from above
A colorful street in Lisbon
The gothic entrance to Carmo Convent ruins with a musician outside
Carmo Convent
A Lisbon square with a monument and a Web Summit sign
The city, busy that week
The white façade of a grand Lisbon church under blue sky
A white church

The climbs

Trams, lifts and viewpoints

Yellow trams, the iron lift, and the rooftops you only see once you have gone up.

The white iron spiral staircase of the Santa Justa Lift
The spiral
A man resting on a park bench beneath a leafy tree
A bench in the shade
The iron lattice of the Santa Justa Lift rising between buildings
Santa Justa Lift
The Santa Justa Lift seen from its base looking up
Looking up
Lisbon rooftops seen from the Santa Justa Lift walkway
From the walkway
The stone façade of Lisbon Cathedral against a blue sky
Sé Cathedral
Tall vaulted stone arches inside the nave of Lisbon Cathedral
Inside the Sé
A yellow tram passing in front of Lisbon Cathedral
Lisbon Cathedral and the yellow tram
A yellow tram climbing a narrow cobbled street
Up the hill
A graffiti-covered tram standing on a steep track
The painted tram
Two companions standing in front of a graffiti-covered tram
A Lisbon funicular

The table

The long table

Seafood, soup, grilled fish — and a custard tart somewhere in between.

The remains of a seafood meal with shells and silverware
After the meal
The interior of a modern Lisbon café with high ceilings
A new café
Three plates of food served on blue menus at a restaurant
Three plates
A restaurant interior with walls covered in many clocks
The clock room
Grilled fish served with cabbage and potatoes
Grilled, again
A bowl of yellow soup on a restaurant table
Gaspinho
Metal buffet trays filled with hot dishes
The buffet
A wooden table covered with bowls of salad and soup
Lunch spread
A coffee and a pastel de nata on a small tray
One more time
Clams cooked in green broth and served in a metal bowl
Clams, garlic, parsley, and bread
Sautéed peeled prawns served on a small metal plate
Prawns, simply
Grilled tiger prawns with lemon on a white plate
Grilled with lemon
A bakery display case filled with rows of pastéis de nata
The tart counter
A cup of coffee with two pastries on a café table
Coffee and a pastry
Two pastéis de nata on a plate seen from above
Two, never one
A man seated at a table with pastries and a glass of juice
Breakfast, settled
A long paper menu hanging in a Lisbon bakery
The menu
A single pastel de nata resting on a white napkin
Still warm
A custard tart and a coffee close together on a table
The daily ritual
Guests waiting inside a small restaurant with an orange wall
Waiting for a table
The street front of Restaurante Uma Marisqueira
Uma Marisqueira
A metal pot of seafood rice with mussels and prawns
Arroz de marisco
A restaurant sign reading: we have no Wi-Fi, so chat to another
No Wi-Fi — talk instead
A pastry held up outside the Manteigaria bakery
Manteigaria
A whole grilled fish served on a white plate
The day's catch
A plate of cooked fish with boiled potatoes and onions
Fish and potatoes
A bowl of orange soup beside a bowl of bread
Soup and bread
A plate of dark red meat and bean stew
Something slow-cooked
The white front of the Tapisco restaurant with a green garland
Tapisco
A hand holding a cup of gelato from the Niva shop
Niva gelato
A plate of grilled octopus with a green sauce
Grilled octopus

The river

Sunset over the Tagus

The hour that ended most of the days.

A man sitting on a stone wall above Lisbon's red-tiled roofs
Lisbon from above
Sunset over the Tagus with the 25 de Abril Bridge in the distance
Sunset over the Tagus
Praça do Comércio at dusk with people walking between the buildings
Praça do Comércio at dusk
Silhouetted figures standing by the water at blue hour
Blue hour on the river