Azulejos in Lisbon

Before my recent trip to Lisbon I was aware that it was known for its azulejos (tiles) but I didn’t realise just how much they are almost everywhere. Whole buildings are covered, underpassess, metro stations, shop fronts, pavements, stairwells, churches, bars, everywhere! My research tells me that the name is Arabic in origin and means ‘small polished stone’. They date back as far as the 13th century and the first tiles generally kept to a simple palette of blue and white. Since then the patterns and colours have expanded to a huge range of designs. I love taking photos of patterns and textures when I’m on holiday but if I’d taken a photo of every design I liked I wouldn’t have time to see anything else, so here is just a selection. Lisbon is a beautiful city, I’d highly recommend it… in spite of all the hills. Sooooo many hills…