While the 28 runs primarily as a tourist attraction, Lisbon’s other main tram line, the 15, gets strong local traffic, too. The 15’s only real tourist appeal is that it serves Belem, which has a few attractions – other than that, the line serves local neighborhoods to the west of Lisbon. Since the Metro doesn’t run out here, the 15 is the only option for many people, but…this ain’t no metro. Indeed, it can hardly even be considered “light rail” with all its mixed traffic sections. But see for yourself – let’s take a look.

Shoot, we just missed the Coca-Co…I mean tram.

That tour tram got in the way of my picture of the stop at Praca Figueira.

Another tram coming in.

As you can see, the 15 doesn’t use the historic trams of the 28. Instead, this line uses modern, articulated vehicles. They make for a much smoother ride than the old ones, but they do lack a certain character. Regardless, these trams have automatic announcements as well as ticket validators at each entrance, so all doors can open. It’s kind of an honor system, but it does speed up boarding.

These screen pictures never come out well on my camera.

All the doors are controlled by buttons pushed by passengers who want to get in or out.

Looking down the tram.

Another shot, this time turning.

Might as well get the obligatory “tram inception” photo out of the way now.

The line starts at Praca Figueira (Figueira Square), right near Rossio Station. The vehicle wasn’t too crowded as we turned immediately onto R. dos Fanqueiros, running through the historic Baixa neighborhood. This part of the route was mixed traffic, and it was odd being on such a modern tram running through such an old neighborhood. We then turned onto the north side of Praca de Comercio, Lisbon’s massive riverfront square, and picked up some more passengers.

Lots of crisscrossing tram tracks here.

Crossing over the east-west 28 tracks.

The massive Praca de Comercio.

A tram in the Baixa – not the one I took, obviously.

Heading down Rua de Arsenal, we reached a rotary and twisted around it. From there, we had our own bus/tram lane segregated from the road. After a stop at Cais do Sodre Station (where a bunch of people got on), we followed the Cascais suburban line to its next stop, Santos, which was close by.

Going around the rotary.

That’s Cais do Sodre station…but it’s kinda hard to tell.

Some cranes.

A tram at Cais do Sodre.

The surroundings got industrial from there until we turned onto Av. 24 de Julio. Though we still had our own lane along this section, it wasn’t totally segregated anymore. We then turned onto R. 1o de Maio, going under the incredibly high 25 de Abril Bridge. We were in mixed traffic now, the road lined with apartments and some businesses.

A Christ the Redeemer-esque statue across the Tagus River.

A view of the bridge!

Gosh, that bridge is high up.

A tram yard.

Another view of the bridge through some trees.

The street widened and became Rua da Junqueira. We had our own segregated lane now, running in the middle of the road. After two large buildings, it got more residential, with small apartments lining the street. The apartments eventually became tighter and the road got narrower – we were in mixed traffic now.

A big sculpture in a garden.

After going by a garden, the street became R, Belem. And a few blocks after that, we entered a turnaround loop. I was a little confused until I found out that apparently every other 15 terminates in Belem, where we were. Well…good to know. The full line goes out further, but I did most of the remaining part of the 15 (and much more) on a bus, which I’ll cover in the next post!

That building is so big!!!

Going around the small loop.

The tram laying over at its terminus.

We walked a ways down the rest of the route, meaning a few more tram pictures.

A tram going by.

Some people walking to get on.

A tram dropping passengers off.

A tram behind parked cars.

I’ll be honest, the 28 is almost entirely meant for tourists. During the summer, all the trams are packed with out-of-towners taking pictures and seeing the sights. That’s completely justified, though, since this tram line is incredibly scenic. The line is windy and hilly, meaning it has to use old-fashioned vehicles from the 1930’s. What more could you ask for?

A tram at its terminus.

That one looks crowded already!

The 28 begins to the west of the city in a pretty local neighborhood at a rotary. Leaving the terminus, we went around the rotary and headed down R. Saraiva de Carvalho. After going by a church, the street became lined with local businesses and apartments on top. We then turned onto R. Domingos Sequeira, going down a hill.

Pickpockets are indeed a problem on the 28 – be sure to watch your bags here.

I love these stop request buttons!

Looking toward the front of the tram – it had quieted down by the time I took the picture.

That’s a cool building!

And indeed, that’s another cool building.

We turned onto Calcada de Estrela, a narrow downhill street. The line then split in two, with our single track heading down R. Sao Bento. Going by some quaint apartments, we then turned onto the narrow R. de Poco dos Negros. We rejoined the outbound line at Calcada do Combro.

The back of the tram is a very fun place to stand.

Not much traffic on this street.

So much for no traffic.

It must be horrible to drive along these narrow streets shared by the 28.

The sun appears to be going down.

I took some pictures of the trams earlier in the day on this section of the line.

A tram coming down a hill…

…and another tram coming from the other way.

The street became Rua de Loreto, then we made our way around a small plaza. The inbound and outbound lines split again after that, and we headed single-track down R. Antonio Maria Cardoso. We made a steep sharp turn onto R. Victor Cordon and rejoined the outbound line on the next block. After some curves, we headed up Calcada Sao Francisco, entering the historic (and touristy) Baixa neighborhood.

This pesky tram followed us for much of the journey.

The plaza.

I love how you can see at the top of the hill how the right track has to overlap with the left in order to make the sharp turn!

A residential street.

It didn’t take too long to cross the Baixa – we were on a straightaway and it’s a narrow neighborhood to begin with. After that was the Alfama neighborhood, which is where the route really starts to get interesting. We navigated our way to Largo Santo Antonio de Se, then onto R. Augusto Rosa. We passed the Se de Lisboa, a cathedral, then twisted and turned through hilly, constantly changing streets.

Did I mention the Baixa was touristy? Look at those crowds!

Looking down the street.

The other tram following us up a hill.

I love that mini-castle!

An overlook.

A church up in the hills.

A big ship out in the water.

I see you’re still following us, other tram.

Eventually we turned onto Escolas Gerais, which became so narrow that we were reduced to a single track. It became double again at Calcada de Sao Vicente, but the street was still tight, with old apartments along the sides. At Graca there was a loop for short-turn runs, but we continued up Rua da Graca. with the buildings getting slightly newer.

Look how narrow this is!

Making another turn.

Still incredibly narrow.

This is just after Graca.

We then turned onto R. Angelina Vidal, heading downhill. The inbound and outbound tracks split once more later on, where we went down Rua do Forno do Tijolo. After a few more sharp turns, it became double-track once more on R. Maria Andrade.

That second tram never strays far.

Making a slight turn.

I see you poking your head around that corner, second tram.

Making a single-tracked turn.

Blurrily looking up a hill.

We then turned onto Av. Alm. Reis, which was weird in that this was the first legitimately wide street on the whole trip! Wide as in it even had a little median with trees on it. We went by the Intendente Metro station and continued on this wide straightaway. After passing through a small Chinatown, we looped around a small plaza and reached the 28’s terminus, Martim Moniz.

Why’s the street so wide? This is weird!

Looking up into the hills.

A building with Chinese writing on it.

I love that rooster sculpture!

A castle in the hills (Castelo de S. Jorge).

A tram at Martim Moniz.

So is the 28 worth taking? Absolutely. Even if you’re not into public transportation or anything, the 28 is still amazing. The historic trams are awesome, you get to see some interesting parts of the city, and it only costs a bus fare! Now if you’re in a hurry, the 28 might not be for you since it goes pretty slowly, but if you’re looking to just see the sights, the tram is a must.

The Metro isn’t the only way to get from Lisbon’s airport to downtown. Another option is the Aerobus, run by Yellow Bus Tours. While Line 2 runs every half hour to the northwestern part of the city, Line 1 goes every 20 minutes to the center. The advantage of taking the bus is that it’s direct, whereas you have to change lines if you’re going to the city center on the Metro. Plus the lines of tourists at the Aeroporto Metro station are brutal.

The sign at the airport.

One downside to the bus is that it’s more expensive. While the metro is only 1,40€ for a single ride, the bus costs 3,50€. That 3,50€ does give you a 24 hour pass, though, meaning you have unlimited Aerobus rides for a day. That could be useful, as it does run between some local areas downtown.

The bus at the airport.

The boarding process for this bus was ridiculous. Since you had to buy your ticket in order to wait in line, it made no sense for the driver to only keep the front door open so he could check the tickets everyone already bought. The line was crawling, and we were standing at the back door (there were three). On the door, I noticed there was a button. Turns out the button opened it, so all of a sudden there was a mad rush of people getting in from the back. It also turns out we weren’t supposed to push it, as the driver yelled at the crowd before not really caring and getting in front.

Pretty crowded in here…

Leaving the terminal, we made our way out of the airport, going through a short tunnel and past lots of parking lots. After a rotary, we continued down Av. Alm. Gago Coutinho, going by individual houses (you don’t see a lot of those within Lisbon city limits). We then turned onto Av. Estados Unidos de America, which was lined with apartments.

Nice view!

A highway going over a rotary.

Some individual houses.

Now things are a lot more built up.

We went around another rotary at Entre Campos, turning onto Av. de Republica. After going under the elevated Entrecampos suburban rail station, we reached Campo Pequeno, passing a museum. From there, we reached Saldanha, which is actually where our hotel was. So we didn’t get to go that far down the line, but it was a quick ride (15 minutes), and we got to see a bit of the city unlike on the underground metro. I’m not sure if it’s worth it cash-wise, but it’s a fun ride.

That’s quite the rotary!

Here are some buildings. And a spot on the window.

That’s a really cool-looking museum!

Goodbye, Aerobus!

Okay, it’s been a quite a lot longer than a week – sorry about that. But I went to Portugal! And I rode a lot of public transportation over there! The Lisbon Metro, for example, as you can see by the post’s title.

Since most of it is underground, I figured I’d cover the whole thing in one post – I did ride it all, though. But if most of the system is underground, then what’s so interesting about it? The stations, that’s what. Being a modern system (the first line was built in 1959, but most extensions took place after the 90’s), a lot of them are absolutely beautiful, and almost all of them have artwork. Thus, this post will mostly focus on the Metro’s stations.

Wow, way to light up your shot, Miles.

Lisbon has really good fare integration, with the Viva viagem card being valid for Metro, buses, trams, funiculars, suburban rail, and ferries. The card costs €0,50 initially, but it gives you a €0,15 discount on Metro rides (€1,25 instead of €1,40). You also get small bonuses when you add money, but unfortunately, you can only add it in €5 increments.

The Blue Line: The Blue Line was the first line on the Metro, taking a northeasterly path from Santa Apolonia in downtown Lisbon to Amadora Este out of the city. Amadora Este is a pretty standard station, though there is a bit of artwork on one of the station’s walls. Also, if you look down the tunnel where the trains lay over, there are some offices above the tracks!

The platform.

The mezzanine area where you can cross to the other side.

A train coming in.

Two stations from here is Pontinha, where we originally got onto this line from a bus. Pontinha has a huge busway served by…three bus routes. There’s a yard here as well for both buses and trains. As for the platform, it gets a bunch of natural light, which is fantastic in my book.

The busway.

A big plaza outside the station.

The entrance.

The mezzanine.

The bright platform.

A round elevator? Have you ever seen anything this cool???

And this thing is cool too!

A train coming into the station. Did I mention the trains here drive on the left for some reason?

I didn’t visit any of the next batch of stations as the line makes its way toward downtown. It has an interchange with suburban rail at Jardim Zoologico, then with the Red Line at Sao Sebastiao. I did use this station, and it was nice, if generic.

The platform at Sao Sebastiao.

The next station, Parque, is apparently the most beautiful one on the system. I didn’t use it, unfortunately, nor did I use the Blue Line platforms at Marques de Pombal. The next station I did use is Restauradores near the heart of Lisbon. This station has a connection to Rossio Station for suburban trains, but confusingly is not the same as Rossio Station on the Green Line, which serves Rossio Square…never mind.

Another blurry train.

The end of the Restauradores platform, with different cities on the panels.

Looking at the platform from above.

These moving sidewalks slant up at the end! That’s so cool!

A series of escalators leading up to the Rossio suburban station.

After that is Baixa-Chiado, the Blue Line’s interchange with the Green Line. The platform itself is pretty generic, but the hallway you use to get between the lines is amazing. There’s also a cross-platform transfer between the northbound Blue Line and southbound Green Line, which is convenient. As this station is in the main tourist part of town, it gets a lot of ridership.

The platform.

The amazing-looking walkway!

For a while, Baixa-Chiado was the Blue Line’s terminus, but recently (as in 2007), the line was extended further. It took 11 years to build a two-stop extension, but…well, at least it’s done. Terreiro do Paco serves Lisbon’s massive riverfront Praca de Comercio, while the terminus, Santa Apolonia, serves a suburban rail station.

The Santa Apolonia platform.

Yellow Line: The Yellow Line was the second line to be built, running from Rato in Lisbon all the way up to Odivelas out of the city. Rato (which coincidentally means “rat”) had a pretty standard platform, but also another awesome hallway, complete with statues!

Rato’s platform.

Rato’s long hallway.

Marques de Pombal is where the Yellow Line interchanges with the Blue. This was the first Metro station we used, taking the Yellow Line two stops up to Saldanha (which I’ll get to in a moment). Between Marques de Pombal and the next stop, Picoas, there’s an interesting quirk where the street the line runs along goes onto a bridge. It’s an incredibly short bridge just over a side street, but it means that on the train, you get about half a second of sunlight that can catch you by surprise.

That bridge underneath the road bridge is where the Metro runs.

The hallway to the mezzanine at Marques de Pombal.

And the mezzanine itself.

This being the first Metro station I went to, I also took pictures of the ticket machines.

Some of the fare gates.

These countdown clocks go down the second. Thus, it’s 8 minutes and 20 seconds until the next train.

Looking down the platform.

This section was much higher up.

A blurry train coming in.

The inside of one of the older trains. The new ones have walk-through cars.

The automatic announcements are hard to hear, so it’s a good thing they have these screens.

Saldanha, the interchange between the Yellow and Red lines, was our local station for most of our stay in Lisbon. This station is beautiful, with walls made out of what appears to be marble. It also has quite a lot of artwork carved out of the walls, which is very cool.

A train leaving the station.

I love this platform!

Art on the walls.

And more art heading up the stairs.

The fare machines.

Heading toward the exit.

The entrance is pretty unassuming, though.

Two stops away is Entrecampos, which connects to the mainline Entre Campos station. I have no idea why the latter is spelled as two words, but whatever. Aside from suburban trains, Entre Campos also serves long-distance trains to other parts of Portugal. The Metro station is awesome, with massive columns lining the platform.

Descending down to the Metro.

You gotta love these moving sidewalks.

The mezzanine.

Look at those columns!!!

These three car trains were the bane of my existence in Lisbon.

The next stop, Cidade Universitaria, serves the Universidade de Lisboa (Lisbon University). After that, the line goes (gasp!) above ground. Don’t get your hopes up, it’s only for a few seconds as it approaches the elevated Campo Grande station for an interchange with the Green Line. The line dives right back underground after that stop.

Here’s another inside-the-train shot, this time with a walk-through train.

What a beeeeeaaaaauuuuuutiful view. I’m being sarcastic.

Some houses.

And some more houses.

Argh, this picture would be so good if it wasn’t blurry!!!

The clean, if uninteresting platform.

Hey, some art!

A lone pigeon stands in the mezzanine.

The line goes underground after that, going by some stations we didn’t visit. The next station of note is Senhor Roubado, where the line comes out into the open. From there, the line runs elevated over some highway interchanges. It would offer an awesome view of the surrounding hills, were it not for the fact that they decided to put a stupid hood over the tracks. It makes it hard to see stuff, and even harder to take pictures.

Ugh.

Some buildings in the hills. And a hood.

Some houses running up a hill. Notice the hood in the foreground.

What could be an excellent view is hampered by a STUPID HOOD.

The next and last stop, Odivelas, is actually outside of Lisbon city limits. That said, it’s still in a very urban area. The station is technically underground, but it’s shallow, so lots of natural light gets in from above.

A train leaving the station.

Not a bad-looking platform.

Looking into the mezzanine.

Green Line: Oh, Lisbon Green Line…why must you always use three car trains? I mean, the Green Line always uses short trains, The trade-off, I suppose, is that it does run more often than other lines, but it’s often more crowded, too. Plus, it can be really annoying when you wait at the back of a station and then have to run to the front when a train comes. The line’s northern terminus is Telheiras, which is underground, though the tunnel portal is visible from the platform.

The platform.

Looking from above – I love the artwork on the wall where the tunnel starts!

Some fare gates.

Light!!!

Two trains at the station.

Who’s up for another interior shot?

The line rises up soon after Telheiras. It’s basically the same views as the Yellow Line, since they have a cross-platform transfer at the elevated Campo Grande station. And just like on the Yellow Line, the Green goes right back underground after the stop. It’s all downhill from here, folks.

A Green Line train at Campo Grande.

A big stadium. Or indeed, a campo grande.

Some buildings and a small road.

A larger highway.

Lots of apartment buildings.

Hey, it’s the minions! Or “minimos.”

And some more buildings.

The next stop is Alvalade, then a pair of stations that technically connect to suburban rail services – if you’re willing to take a bit of a walk. There’s an interchange with the Red Line at Alameda, which is a pretty generic station except for one thing, which you’ll see in the pictures.

A train at the station.

The platform.

A mezzanine area.

Okay, this is pretty fancy, but it’s not the cool part.

This is!! These moving ramps might’ve been slippery and potentially dangerous, but…hey, they’re unique.

This is sort of reminiscent of Downtown Crossing except not terrible.

The next stop is Martim Moniz, which I also used. Although the entrance is a bit dodgy, the station has some interesting Arabic artwork on the walls. The platform isn’t as interesting, but it’s still a nice station.

The entrance looks especially gross at night.

Check out that artwork on the wall, though!

Here’s some more artwork.

The nice mezzanine.

And the platform.

A train coming in.

After that is Rossio, which serves the square rather than the suburban train station. However, this is still Lisbon’s big tourist neighborhood, so the station is well-used. It doesn’t have anything special about it, but it’s still nice.

The platform.

Some artwork within the architecture.

Out in the mezzanine.

And the entrance.

Baixa-Chiado is where the Green Line interchanges with the Blue, then it continues to the last stop, Cais de Sodre. This station serves a suburban rail station of the same name for trains out to the beach town of Cascais. It also has the most unique art on the Lisbon Metro, or indeed on any subway system I’ve ever been to.

The platform.

A train that just arrived.

The huge hallway leading to the mezzanine.

And there’s that unique artwork!

I love these rabbits so much! They line the walls.

Man, that’s a lot of fare gates!

The very tall mezzanine.

This exit is cavernous.

The slightly underwhelming entrance.

Oh, and here’s another rabbit. They’re so tall!

Red Line: The Red Line is the newest line, and thus it has the most modern stations. Running to the east of the city, it serves both Lisbon’s main rail terminal and the airport. It starts out at an interchange with the Blue Line, Sao Sebastiao, with a standard-looking platform.

Looking down the platform.

A view looking up.

The platform from above.

The next station is Saldanha, where the Red Line and Yellow Lines intersect. The Red Line platform is pretty modern, with some art in the tiles of the walls, including writing, It’s in Portuguese, so I’m not sure what it says, but it’s an interesting addition to the platform.

Looking down the platform.

Some text on the wall.

I mentioned how the Green Line platform at Alameda is pretty generic. The Red Line one is much better. It’s very open, with high ceilings, interesting walls, and a blend of modern and old-fashioned architecture.

A large mezzanine.

It’s so big!

Looking over the platform.

And on the platform.

A train coming in.

You thought that station was amazing? Oh, boy, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The next station, Olaias, is the most beautiful subway station I’ve ever seen. I mean…just look at these pictures!

I’m lost for words…

The quality for these pictures is lower because these were taken on an iPhone (the camera was out of battery), but you can still see how beautiful this station is.

Rainbow boats? Sure, why not?

This panorama of the mezzanine makes my head spin…

It seems like it can’t get any better, but it does – the line goes above ground right after Olaias! Okay, it’s for a short time, but it goes over a little valley with some interesting views. It also goes over the suburban rail tracks, but there’s no interchange with any stations.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t expecting the line to go above ground, so it took me a while to get my camera out, and…yeah.

The line continues through Bela Vista, Chelas, Olivais, and Cabo Ruivo stations, then comes to Oriente. This modern station has become Lisbon’s main rail terminal for both suburban trains and long-distance trains. For such a busy place, the Metro station was dark and generic. It did have some artwork, though.

Pretty dark in here…

There isn’t anything special about this platform.

Here’s some artwork, though.

From there, after stops at Moscavide and Encarnacao, the line reaches its last stop at Aeroporto (airport). Platform-wise, there isn’t much of note here, but I do love the artwork on the walls – this station has a bunch of caricatured people all over. It’s pretty fun to look at them, and at least some of them are based on famous people. The problem with this station is that it doesn’t have nearly enough ticket machines, causing a massive line of confused tourists to always exist here.

The platform.

One of the caricatures. A runner, I guess?

I love this entrance!

Phew, that was a long post – I guess covering a whole metro system takes a while. I’m so sorry this took four times the amount promised to get published, but posts should be more frequent from here on out. Hopefully.