The City of Light
Three Days in Lisbon
There is something inexplicably thrilling about using a bicycle to explore a new city. You become totally immersed in the magic of the new; street life seems more exotic, commonplace city-sights become more vibrant and the smells and sounds threaten to overwhelm you. And nowhere in Europe is this more so, than Lisbon, Europe’s second oldest city.
By any reckoning Lisbon is a beautiful city. The mix of ocean and forest, the old and the very new, a liberal lifestyle and superb food, and you have the happy ingredients for a memorable stay. It being Lisbon, the sun will be shining too, (which it does for over 300 days a year). The government have invested tens of millions of euros in new cycling infrastructure, yet in the conventional sense, Lisbon is not a bike-friendly city. Its narrow and hilly streets, plagued with traffic are not the sort of place that you’d dream of riding a bike. That said, the routes below make full use of both the new bike lanes, as well as quiet roads and paths through the parks and forests. So, hire your bike, clip in, and experience the very best of Lisbon by riding the routes below!
View over Lisbon, the River Tejo and the 25th April bridge
Day 1.
On the banks of the Tejo - From downtown Praça do Comércio to Belem
This is the easiest and most relaxing ride in Lisbon. The route uses the new dedicated cycle path which runs beside the glittering river Tejo. Start the ride in the imposing Praça do Comércio, and finish outside the stunningly modern Fundação Champalimaud. Today is not all about cycling, for set aside some time to visit at least one of the two outstanding museums, MAAM (Museum of Art and Architecture) and Quake, a museum dedicated to the devastating 1755 earthquake. Towards the end of the route, are the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the Torre de Belém. There are any number of cafes to stop at for coffee and a Pasta de Nata whilst gazing at the river, the ships and smelling the sardines grilling on the coals. Lunch is an essential part of this ride, and the Clube Naval de Lisboa, near the marina is the place where the locals go for a good feed. Once fed, wine’d and museum’d turn the bike back to the start to end day 1.
Day 2
Pines and Atlantic waves - Parque Naturel de Sintra-Cascais, Guicho and Cascais
You’ve done the warm up ride, you’ve seen at least one of Lisbon’s important sites, so Day 2 is about riding, with the added options of swimming in the Atlantic and eating some of Portugal’s finest food.
Avoid the busy N9 out of the ciy centre by taking a local 20 minute train ride from Cais do Sodré to Estoril for €2.50. From the station to the top end of town, expect to share the smooth roads with some traffic, but by the time you enter the Parque Naturel de Sintra-Cascais, the roads are pretty empty of everything other than fellow cyclists. The peace of the pines and eucalyptus surround you as your wheels purr on the pot-hole free tarmac. (Avoid our enthusiasm of wanting to visit Sintra, a short way off the route. The UNESCO World Heritage collection of palaces is accessed by narrow roads up which are choked with traffic and people.) After some kilometres in the glorious woods with intermittent views over the oceans and wafting scents of salt and pine, you’ll enjoy a sweeping descent to Guincho beach. Guincho is a mecca for surfers and the waves are wild and exhilarating. After your brief swim (!)- the water cold and intense - you ride on a superb new cycle path beside the sea to a treat of a gourmet lunch at Maré. Once fully fed, it is a flat and easy ride on the cycle path to Cascais where the water is warmer and calmer, and the cafes a cool place to lounge with a beer, before taking one of the many trains back into the heart of Lisbon.
Day 3 Lisbon’s Green route - from Downtown Lisbon to the heights of Monsanto
Monsanto is Europe’s second largest urban forest, (the prize for the biggest goes to Eilenride in Hamburg). The journey from the banks of the Tejo to the heart of the forest is certainly a hilly one, but also one of the Lisbon’s most beautiful, with worth-stopping-for views on the way. The route uses a dedicated cycleway along the grand Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon’s principal street. It’s almost a park itself, so wide is the planting with trees, lawns and flowers. Then it’s onto the magnificent Edward VII park, (created to commemorate the British King’s visit in 1903), a hug expanse of elongated lawn and formal hedges, before it morphs into the Jardim Amaliá Rodriguez, with its fountains, ponds and pine-lined paths. From here, there’s a short deviation to the Gulbenkian Museum, whose modernist water gardens are an oasis of delight and whose cafe is a wonderfully laid back place for lunch. On the final push to Monsanto, you’ll see the Aqueduto das Águas Livres, which was built in the 18th century to bring water to the city from the surrounding hills. Once in the cool of the forest, you could explore the many easy trails which wind through the trees or enjoy a beer in one of the many gardens or viewpoints, before turning back for the totally downhill ride to Rossio.
Day 4 - or an alternative to Day 3
Hills and Gems - an Adventure ride into the heart of Lisbon
This ride is anything but traffic-free. You’ll share the roads with trams and traffic. You’ll ride up many steep hills and bump over hundreds of thousands of square granite setts. That said, the ride takes you to the very heart of the city and links the maze of old streets with viewpoints, exotic gardens with the famous azuleos tiles, coffee with the alficinha (the citizens of Lisbon - the word literally translates as ‘little lettuces’). There’ll be a city bathed in sunlight (almost guaranteed) sunlit city and walls covered in the city’s vibrant street art. It’s a tough ride, best done on a Sunday morning when the streets are quieter. For the article on what it’s like to ride this route, click here. Once ridden, all that remains is to return the bike (Lisbon Bike Rentals is closed on Mondays), enjoy a cold beer and prepare to return home.
Have you ridden any of these rides?
All route details are given in good faith. However, the situation on the ground can change quickly. Feel free to add any thoughts or suggestions which you think might help other cyclists who wish to ride the route - cafe stops, additions to the route etc.