Loitering with intent in Lisbon 4

Monumental buildings gleaming in brilliant sunshine, a lively street market, stupendous views...so far the only thing Lisbon seemed to lack was other tourists. Partly this was because it was late October, but also because we were staying in a neighbourhood that was a bit, shall we say, worn around the edges. This was before we realised that pretty much ALL of Lisbon looks like it is about ready to fall over.

Case in point: the top of the same hill as our holiday apartment is crowned by ruins of a castle and it was here that we headed after lunch. It took some doing, as a couple of the stepped streets turned out to be dead ends and there were no signs pointing the direction, so all we knew to do was to keep going up.

A policeman waved us away from a secure gate in the castle walls and showed us how to find the tourist entrance. This took us through a ghost town, a collection of ruined houses open to the elements, their walls scoured by graffiti.

Needless to say, I was in heaven and could have spent a couple hours here taking photos.

Tearing ourselves away from the ghost town, we found the street taken by most other tourists and taxis (the one lined with postcard racks instead of ruins). For the first time we had to queue up and fork over some cash for an entrance fee. At €7 a head, it was a lot of money to see...well, nothing much really. First impressions were good after entering the castle gate, where we were greeted by peacocks strolling a plaza which was shaded by trees.

The ground dropped away from the battlements, giving us a stunning perspective on the city below.

We looked inside the small museum which had a dull collection of pottery and tile fragments dug up during archaeological excavations on the site. Next door was a posh restaurant, a pleasant enough spot I suppose for a drink or bite to eat, but not cheap. Artists sat under the trees beckoned from tables spread out with jewelry, watercolours and other crafts. We might have lingered over their wares if we'd not been stiffed for 14 euros already.

The fortress walls looked suspiciously pristine and the visitor brochure confirmed that the whole place had been restored in the 1930s.

Aside from the (admittedly terrific) views over the city,

the only other thing of note during our walk along the top of the walls was a peek inside a nest where some peacock hatchlings were huddled with their mum.

We could have waited 40 minutes or so for a look inside a camera obscura in one of the towers (with English commentary) but instead we sat for a spell to take in the views and listen to a guitarist sat under one of the many trees of the castle gardens, watching peacocks treading carefully around cats curled up in the sun.

Altogether it was a pleasant diversion, but overpriced.

Back outside, but still inside the a section of the castle walls, we found a lovely old neighbourhood of narrow streets overhung with the residents' laundry.

Aside from a couple of souvenir shops and a wine bar, it was blissfully quiet.

Here, away from the roar of traffic and clatter of trams, the noises of the city faded away in favour of chatter, birdsong and the occasional barking dog. If you're interested in seeing more photos of the area, there's a gallery on my Facebook page.