December 4, 2025
Free walking tours have never disappointed us. And this one was no exception. Our guides always spin their tour to reflect what they love about their city. So, our tours are always very personal, whether we are getting notes about historical events, architectural gems, favorite foods, sights to see, or activities we should consider.
Our Lisbon guide was no exception. As soon as we met him, we were off to see Lisbon through his eyes. The catch? Our guide, Noah Hallett, grew up in Sonoma county, went to elementary and high school with my nephew Skylar, and had moved to Lisbon only five months earlier with his wife and their two young children. Noah was going to show us “his” Lisbon, giving us a sense of why he chose to move his family.
To set the stage, Noah took us up to one of his favorite viewpoints, of which there are many in Lisbon as it is a city designed to be photogenic and appreciated. Lisbon is purported to be the city of seven hills, but it is not alone. There are many cities around the world making the same claim, and on this trip we have visited a few: Brussels, Besançon, Barcelona, and Istanbul.
The hills provide for dramatic views and dramatically steep streets, exciting streetcar rides, and a serious cardio workout as you navigate the elevations. Noah and Skylar slowed their pace a bit for his age-challenged tourists, but didn’t spare the stairs, not that it is a possible to tour Lisbon without encountering stairs.
Noah, intrigued with the re-purposing of grand old mansions into commercial “malls” of small, high end shops, showed us one of his favorites. All of the interior doors of the mansion were open and each room had a different shop in it. Walking from shop to shop was like looking through someone’s house only with price tags attached. The rooftop had a lovely café with teas, espresso, pastries, and, of course another stunning view of Lisbon.
The last time I saw Noah was when he was a young teenager. Like my nephew Skylar, he had grown up on the rural Sonoma coast and went away to college. Noah ended up in Little Rock, Arkansas with his wife Jen near her parents and where they had two children. To see Noah as a grown man and father, living in Portugal and clearly loving it, was a special treat. What an adventure he and his wife are giving their children!
The fortress was ingeniously laid out for defense.
Dominating the skyscape is the Castelo de São Jorge. We had purchased a 72-hour Lisboa Card which allowed us access to all of the public transportation, some free museums, and some discounted museums. The public bus got us up to the bottom of the Moorish castle. Using the advertised QR code, both Nick and I were able to listen to an audio guide, in English, as we made our way through the fortress. And fortress it is.
Over our past eighty days, we have seen palaces, châteaux, mansions, and castles. But the Castelo de São Jorge is a fortress, strategically built by the Moors in the 11th century. Built, like most castles and such on a hill, this fortress had been engineered to make it nearly impossible for the invaders to penetrate any of the walls with the 11th century technology that was available. I thoroughly enjoyed the audio explanation of: why there were 40-foot walls only 12-feet apart (not enough space to use a battering ram), what happened if invaders did breach a wall (the invaders would have to split their forces to go two ways around the walls, as there wasn’t enough space for the whole of the invading army) why the walls were thicker at the bottom (so you couldn’t dig under), etc. I am now ready to build my first fortress.
From the fortress, we decided to walk to the Water Museum to see the Roman aqueduct. In Lisbon, unless you are walking along the waterfront, almost every destination is both uphill and downhill. And the Water Museum was no exception. Unfortunately, after walking for more than an hour, it turned out to be the wrong water museum (who knew there were two!) and there was no aqueduct.
Lisbon: classic archways and street art.
We wandered back along the waterfront and then climbed one of the longest staircases in the city. I stopped counting the steps after 80. Around the corner from our Airbnb, we had a simple dinner taking advantage of the chef’s special.
A wild ride in a tuktuk to get from the train station in Sintra up the mountain to the Quinta da Regaleira. Mr. Toad had nothing on this!
The next morning, we took the train to head back to Sintra, home of the colorful Pena Palace, but also of the Quinta da Regaleira, a magical, mystical garden designed by Italian architect Luigi Manini at the request of Brazilian businessman António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro. The garden is built into a steep hill is only about 10 acres in size but is a trip into a secret garden of fantasy.
The garden photos speak for themselves…the whimsy, the beauty, the love of nature.
The hillside includes hundreds of paths both cobbled and dirt, through the lush vegetation which has been imported from all over the world. Stone turrets, towers, caves, small lakes, underground ponds, quiet benches, lavish fountains, open and secret grottos, paths punctuated with stone steps, and nearly every twist and turn leaves you in either a quiet corner or with a breathtaking view.
Skylar was in love with the caves. The caves, or tunnels, were labyrinthic and would often lead deeper into the mountain without any lights (thank goodness for our cell phones!), or would have lights along the bottom of the path, or “windows” from the outside brought in natural light. Skylar, who always has a cache of flashlights on him, had one that had an ultraviolet light. The fluorescent golds and reds of the rocks plus the bright blue fluorescent tracks of some unknown insects were intriguing and exotic. It was hard to leave those caves.
The inverted tower: an inverted enigma. The two photos on the bottom show the view from the bottom looking up and at the bottom of the well.
The inverted towers also astounded us. Known as the Initiation Well, the well was purportedly used for Mason initiation ceremonies. A spiral stone staircase with 23 niches along the route wound down the 80 plus foot well. The well was never used for water, but led to some of the other caves and tunnels. As with everything in this enchanting place, you had to wonder why, and then wonder, why not?
We ended our day of wonder with one more wonder…the ultimate and best, so far, pastel de nata. The bakery or more appropriately, the Fabrica da Nata, was, indeed a factory designed to make the favorite Portuguese treat. Skylar, Nick, and I bought a box of them and could hardly wait to get outside to try them. The flaky crust, slightly warm, lightly sweetened custard with a hint of vanilla was perfection.
We took the younger grandkids to Noah’s favorite park where the kids were able to swing and climb to their hearts content while the adults watched and chatted. There is quite the group of ex-pats (folks who have left their home country) from all over who have found Lisbon as their new home. At the park were many of Noah’s friends with their children enjoying the relatively warm December day.
Gage’s surprise 21st birthday celebration in Lisbon.
As the Humboldt family’s trip was coming to an end, we snuck in a surprise birthday party for Gage, who would be turning 21 within the week, just after his return to the states. Gage had never had a surprise party, so his 21st, which, for most of us, is always memorable in one way or another, will give a story for him to tell.
Everyone’s last day in Lisbon splintered into catching the last sights or collecting the last souvenirs or gifts for the folks back home.
For Nick and I, it is melancholy as we say goodbye to our family, although we know we will be seeing all of them in just a few weeks by Christmas. But for now, we are back on our own and heading to Porto for our last days in Portugal.
© Wendy Platt Hill 2025
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One response to “Euro Days 78 to 83 of 100: Fortresses and Secret Gardens (Lisbon)”
Looks amazing!