Castle of St. George: a place with a long history and great views.

On September 20, 2024, we visited the "Castle of St. George" (also known as the "Castle of St. Jorge") in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. According to the "homework" before the trip: the first fortress on the top of the mountain in Lisbon was built in the 2nd century BC; in 1147, Alfonso I, with the help of the Second Crusade, captured the castle and the city of Lisbon from the Moors. In 1255, Lisbon became the capital of the kingdom of Portugal and Europe, and the castle became the royal palace. Around 1300, Dinesh I carried out restoration. In the late 14th century, the castle was dedicated to St. George by King John I, who was married to the English princess Philippa of Lancaster. Between 1373 and 1375, Ferdinand I built new walls around Lisbon. In 1498, Manuel I received and celebrated the return of the seafaring hero Vasco da Gama from his discovery of the sea route to India in this castle. The castle was renovated between 1373 and 1375 and has 77 towers and a circumference of 5,400 meters. The castle and the city resisted several attacks by the Castilian army in the 14th century. In 1755, the terrible Lisbon earthquake severely damaged the castle. The castle's neglect ended in the 1940s, when it underwent extensive restoration. After entering the castle with the e-ticket purchased on Ctrip (144 RMB/person), we first visited its first "platform" - but saw the Tagus River flowing around the wall, acting as a warning. Walking along the wall, you can see part of the city around it. Then we climbed up the towering walls, watchtowers, and turrets of the castle, which were several to dozens of meters high and looked out over the cruise ships and suspension bridges in the bay, the churches in the city, and the fashionable buildings in the downtown area... The castle is also a beautiful place for leisure: gardens, ponds, peacocks, and cafes, etc., making it a major tourist attraction in Lisbon, especially the best place to enjoy the panoramic view! It is worth mentioning that the castle is open from 9:00 to 21:00 from March 1 to October 31 every year. This made us, the tourists who entered the site at around 16:30, stay there until 19:00, and only left reluctantly when our stomachs growled.