The National Tile Museum in Lisbon had come highly recommended so we took a whole morning to explore it and then wandered along the coast a few miles back towards the marina for an afternoon sail on the Tagus River. Highly recommend the sailing experience (we booked ours through Airbnb) as it provides a different perspective and amazing views of the shoreline- both Lisbon and Almada. Despite Lisbon having a warmer climate year 'round, the coastal waters never get very warm so there isn't really a beach culture there like I was expecting! Locals think you're crazy if you want to go swimming but sailing is very popular. Our captains were also super knowledgeable and we learned lots about Lisbon & Portugal history, culture, economics, etc throughout our sail.
There was a massive earthquake in the 1700’s which destroyed 85% of the city including most of Portugal’s distinctive 16th-century architecture. Because of this, almost everywhere you go, when people are telling you anything about the city, they reference back to the earthquake. It really did do catastrophic damage which altered so much of the landscape & trajectory of the city but the unfortunate part is that the earthquake has also been used as an excuse to try and erase/ignore a lot of Portugal’s negative history- especially as it relates to the start of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. More on that in another post!
There’s a large monument along the coast (pictured in the sailing images below) called the Monument of Discoveries which was erected as recently as the 1960’s and is highly controversial because it celebrates the apex of Portugal's history-- the Age of Discovery; the height of Portugal's efforts to colonize and enslave other people groups around the world. This is also the era which founded the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The very last image in this set shows one of the popular quiosques de refrescos (or refreshment kiosks) which are found in most parks around the city and serve as the local barrio's meeting spot, whether for morning espresso, an afternoon refresher or an evening aperitivo. You can read more about their recent revitalization HERE.
LISBON | PART 1
