Azulejos are famous worldwide as the beautiful (usually) hand drawn Portugese tiles that are generally blue (azul) in color:
Azulejos constitute a major aspect of Portugese architecture and to this day are fixtures of buildings across Portugal and its former territories. Many azulejos chronicle major historical and cultural aspects of Portugese history.
In Lisbon azulejos cover many buildings from the mundane like apartment blocks to hospitals and other civic buildings. So it seems natural that we’d visit the National Azulejo Museum while here in Lisbon.
In addition to the mural above, on our way to the museum we also saw this very cool mural of Vasco da Gama, the famous Portugese explorer, looking over the port.
Once at the museum we toured through two floors of azulejos and tile murals. Here are pictures of some that we saw:
The colors in the mural above were very vivid. This one below showed the Praça do Comércio as part of a 60 foot long mural of Lisbon.
Some really beautiful, large murals are made from azulejos. This one was room sized – about 15 feet wide and 10 feet tall.
Another example in another room.
The detail in some was incredible!
And some really were like paintings by grand masters.
From the museum we went to the Castelo de Saō Jorge, which in itself wasn’t very interesting, but the views of Lisbon were fantastic.
Throughout Lisbon there are places called “mirodouros”, which are essentially scenic overlooks. Don’t skip them when you come here, they are truly beautiful.
From there we headed over to the Sé Lisboa, which is a church that was left standing after the 1755 earthquake. All that is left is the outer walls and the stone ribs of the roof. Unfortunately it was closed today and we probably won’t be able to make it back on another day.
We then finished our touring day by walking over to the Praça Dom Pedro. On the way we made a stop at another tinned fish store where Jeffrey bought a bag full.
And then to the square. It’s known for the famous Portugese mosaic wavy pattern that you see around the world in Portugese colonies. We saw a very similar version in Macao.
The square is also known for this beautiful fountain. In thr back peeking over the buildings is the Elevador Santa Justa.
Overall a wonderful day of wandering through this very charming place.
