[Switzerland - Portugal] My journey by train to the south-westernmost point of Europe in Portugal. The story of a three-week journey through Europe by train and bus.
Paris, France
Without flying, we wanted to go to Sagres, the most south-western point of mainland Europe. Our first stop on our trip was Paris. We skipped the classic tourist attractions, like the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, and mainly enjoyed feeling the city and its vibe.
My secret tip for Paris is to climb up to the terrace of the Lafayette. From there you have a wonderful view over the whole city for free.
Barcelona, Spain
We travelled by train from Paris to Barcelona. We spent the journey of just over six hours playing "The Game Duel" and having a huge picnic. So the journey went by in the blink of an eye.
In Barcelona, we visited the Sagrada Familia. Without Corona, we would have had to queue for several hours to see Gaudi's work of art, but now there wasn't even a queue. The Sagrada Familia offers a lot to marvel at, besides many towers and sculptures, I was also impressed by the history and the play of light of the work of art.
Besides some tourist attractions, we also enjoyed the good food of Barcelona. The 'pinchos', a type of sandwich, were particularly enjoyable.
With an unbeatable price of 1.5 euros per piece, the pinchos convinced us of Barcelona's charm.
Sevilla, Spain
From Barcelona we continued to Seville on a 10-hour train ride - our longest train ride on this journey.
But a few episodes of the Netflix series Lupin helped us to enjoy this longer journey in a relaxed way.
Of all the cities we visited, I liked Seville best.
I was convinced by the beautiful coloured houses, which reminded me of the Caribbean, and that everything could be reached easily on foot.
In Seville we visited the royal palace "Alcázar". The Royal Palace was definitely worth seeing with its beautiful wall paintings, Arabic architecture and even more beautiful garden. Game of Thrones was also filmed in the Royal Palace.
From Seville we travelled by bus to Lagos and from there on to Sagres. Unfortunately, we had to give up the legroom we had enjoyed on the train. However, the journey only took four hours and we soon reached our final destination.
Sagres, Portugal
Most travellers going to Sagres love surfing. We travelled there to visit a friend who is building a Surfhouse called "LemonTree Ecosurfhouse". But Sagres not only offers waves to ride for both beginners and advanced surfers, but also is surrounded by a steep coast line inviting to hike to secret beaches. The constant wind makes sure that even in summer, the temperature stays at 30°C maximum.
We travelled by bus from Sagres to Lisbon within four hours.
They say Lisbon was built on seven hills and it felt like it. As we soon got tired of walking uphill, we bought a tram ticket. The cute little tram is also a Lisbon landmark, so we were able to do two things at once.
I would advise everyone who comes to Lisbon to eat the Pastel de Nata in Belem.
Pastel de Nata, the traditional dessert of Portugal, can be eaten almost everywhere and it always tastes very good. But in Belem they have by far the best. So we concluded our trip and our meal with a delicacy.
Nadja, Zürich (CH)
Hey! :) Thanks for reading my blogpost, I hope you got inspired to travel through Europe by train and bus.