Welcome to my 3rd part of #RRS (Running Route Series)!
This time I am sharing with you my favorite routs in Lisbon for running.
I spent whole July in the capital of Portugal, the city which I really love! I love the climate here, people, culture, the weather… but it is not the easiest place for running, definitely not!
Why?
Because this is very hilly city, and most of the pedestrian walks are covered with brick stones. These are very tricky, slippery and not running friendly.
However I really enjoy Lisbon and running here, there is something in the air that makes it very encouraging and motivating to sneak through streets of the city.
Also if you are staying close to the riverside you can have an easy access to the lovely path along the riverside, nice and smooth without any hill 😊
Anyway, let me tell about my favorite routs around the city:
1) Park Monsanto
I stayed in North-West part of the city, located close to the Monsanto Park. This is the biggest park in Lisbon. This is an amazing option for trail/weekend long run when you can get lost between paths in the forest or jump into more solid rode, and hit the asphalt to the Monsanto Look Out.
I have been running there quite a lot , especially during the week when I wanted to run a bit off the city and enjoy quiet park with only few people around. Although, my very first run there happened in Sunday and I realized that this must be a popular spot for trail races as I passed many men and woman running up with me that sunny morning.
2) ‘Classic 10’
This is a custom-made name of the route 😉. I made it up to call the route I run starting off from my house heading around Park Eduardo and running all the way down along Avenida de Liberdade, the main alley in Lisbon. Over there brickstones on the street did not bother me, as they are spreading out in such an elegant way all the way along the Avenida, which may make you feel like a Queen/Kind of the city 😉
Once you run down the alley, you turn in … … street and hit exactly at Plaza (main yellow plaza of Lisbon) with the view over Tagus. Amazing beginning of the day! Than head toward Cais Sodre (the train station that connects Lisbon with Cascais) and.. head up! Yes… This is the moment when you really need to shorten your stride, higher up your cadence, and regulate the breathe. Over 3 kilometers of uphill street won’t get any flatter! This is a good opportunity to really work on you running strength (be careful with the traffic, the streets are very narrow! I usually was running just on the road (against cars), or hopping off to the pedestrian walk once it was too tight – when you cross a big bus… )
I would recommend to run this route either early morning on weekdays when the traffic is mild or during the weekend when there is almost no one, only lazy locals / tourists watching you through the coffee bars and thinking “omg, this girl is crazy… “
3) Make it longer
As and addition of route 2 – you can lengthen your run and pass Cais de Sodre and head towards Ponte 25 Abril (Bridge of 25th April) – which is a landmark place in Lisbon.
Once you get there and make a selfie for memory you can either continue your run towards Belem which is in total 7km long (Lisbon – Belem) and end of for coffee and pastel de nata in one of the most famous pasterias there. Or head back / up toward Lisbon and run via Rua Maria Pieta to my neighbourood.
4) Park Eduardo – this park is definitely a must to visit and see while you are in Lisbon. It spreads in the north part of Lisbon where is an awesome look out over the city. You can enjoy the view over the city and have a good workout running down and up the park which has many paths to cruise around.
So… are you ready for a little run? 😉
