No Tiles for a While

Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, 2025 

Saturday

We arrived by Uber at the National Tile Museum, only to find out it was closed. I had looked it up a while ago and it was supposed to be open today. Apparently it is now closed until June 2026 for renovation. I am rather disappointed because I was very interested in learning about the beautiful tiles of Portugal.

We decided to ask the driver to drop us off at the Castle of St. George instead. The castle sits on top of one of Lisbon’s prominent hills, of course.

Human occupation on this hilltop has been documented back to the 8th century BCE. The oldest fortifications here go back to the Romans in the second century BCE. In the 8th or 10th century CE, the castle walls and towers were built by the Moors, who then occupied this region.

In 1147, the first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, defeated the Moors and took control of the castle. Though it served as a royal palace for several centuries, it is now a ruin. Tourists visit the site to enjoy the views from the hill top, and perhaps view some of the artifacts that have been discovered there by archaeologists. 

From the castle, we descended the hill on foot, following narrow winding lanes through the Castle Town, as described by Rick Steves in his self-guided walk called “Alfama Stroll and the Castle.” The Castle Town neighborhood began to grow outside the castle during the Visigoth period (6th to 8th centuries CE). The streets here are paved with black and white cobblestones, which is characteristic of all of central Lisbon. The cobblestones are not easy to walk on, especially when wet.

A typical narrow lane in the Castle Town

Patterned cobblestones near the Hotel Avenida Palace

As we descended further, we arrived at the Alfama neighborhood. A lookout near a church offered another view of Lisbon. Here we found a tile mural depicting the reconquest of Lisbon from the Moors by Afonso Henriques.

We continued through the winding lanes, looking at the ancient houses, crumbling but drenched with character, with narrow balconies hung with laundry, thick walls, and many without bathrooms.  (There are public bathrooms for the neighborhoods.) Farther down we came to tiny fado bars, where you can enjoy the local music.  (More on fado on another day.)

You have to really look at the tiles. Not all of them are 300 years old.

At some point we got lost and could not follow Rick’s route, but you can’t get too lost here. We kept going downhill, and arrived at the Fado Museum, where the walk ended.

We went back to the hotel and did another Rick Steves self-guided walk called Bairro Alto & Chiado Stroll. This walk started at the Elevador da Glória. This is the funicular that was involved in a tragic accident a few weeks ago. Needless to say, it was not in operation. We had to walk up a very steep hill.

At a small park at the top, we found yet another viewpoint with a view back across the city towards the castle.

Next up was the São Roque Church, boasting a richly-appointed chapel that came from the Vatican. Our next stop was supposed to be the oldest beer hall in Lisbon, but we could not find it. Somewhere near here we passed a bar where ladies left some souvenirs. 

Sunday

We went back to finish the Bairro Alto & Chiado Stroll.The world’s oldest bookstore is located in this neighborhood.

We also happened upon a different level of the Santa Justa elevator, which I mentioned the other day. This photo shows how a walkway extends from the back of the top of the elevator to the upper neighborhood known as Bairro Alto. 

Finally, we went to the site of a former convent to do an Earthcache, which is a type of geocache that has a geology theme. In this case, the theme of the Earthcache was the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. The earthquake has been estimated to have been 8.9 on the Richter Scale. It was felt throughout Europe and North Africa. Some 85% of Lisbon’s buildings were destroyed by the quake or the subsequent firestorm that engulfed the city. A series of tsunamis triggered by the quake inundated much of the port area and caused more death and damage. It was a catastrophic event for the city and was the first earthquake studied scientifically over a large area. Enlightenment philosophers debated whether God was punishing Lisbon for the evil behavior of Lisbon’s citizenry.

The remains of the Carmo Convent have been left standing as a reminder.

Rebuilding started almost immediately. As a result, the central downtown area benefitted from some early urban planning. There are parks and other open spaces, and the buildings are all four stories tall. The architectural style is relatively minimalist and uniform. The main streets are straight, wide, and tree-lined. 

We then said goodbye to Central Lisbon and to the delightful Hotel Avenida Palace and took an Uber to a newer part of Lisbon about 20 minutes away. Here we checked into the Corinthia Hotel to begin the next stage of our trip.  I will talk about that in my next post.

Today’s fabric is “Saudade” by selmacardoso for Spoonflower. Saudade is a Portuguese word that does not have an English equivalent. It is a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia that is characteristic of the Portuguese temperament. All of the images on this pattern evoke important symbols of Portuguese culture which might give rise to a feeling of saudade.