Hi all.
Your advice please forummers.
Two must sees in lisbon from your experience - daytime preferably - quick trip next week.
Thanks
B
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Hi all.
Your advice please forummers.
Two must sees in lisbon from your experience - daytime preferably - quick trip next week.
Thanks
B
Pick up a GMT Rolex ... I did ...
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kitz
A good suggestion indeed - however I was looking for more of a cultural exchange :-)
:eagerness:
B
Lisbon is a great place to roam around for a few days.
What do you like doing?
Cultural stuff really but I wont be around at the night - work - hence the daytime stuff.
Last time I was there saw the hotel room and office.
B
One of nice things about Lisbon is that are no real big-ticket things to see.
I'd go to Belém on the tram, and take the ferry to Almada and go up to the statue of Christ. (We had a very memorable lunch at a casual and cheap little restaurant called Cova Funda on the road between the ferry and the statue.)
We had a great relatively-reasonable priced lunch at the Michelin-starred Belcanto in the city centre.
Generally though, it's a great place to wander around the various neighbourhoods.
This is a good summary:
https://www.thecrazytourist.com/25-b...sbon-portugal/
The Baixa - the grid of commercial streets bound by Rossio in the north, and Praca do Comercio in the south - is the centre. There’s not much to see in the Baixa itself – it has pleasant shopping streets, the nicest the central one, Rua Augusta, which is pedestrianised. From here you could spend half a day looping east, and the other half looping west.
East = the cathedral [Se], clocking up Santa Antonio [opposite] en route, then heading up to the Castelo on foot [best way in is via Rua a. Rosa, then Rua de Saudade]. There are wonderful views of Lisbon from here; it’s worth leaving an hour for the top, although much remains closed. If you head further east through the Alfama district [slightly higher chance of a bag-snatching here] you could head for their version of the national Pantheon, Santa Engracia. There are good views from the dome, to which there’s a concealed elevator if you ask nicely.
West = Bairro Alto: charming, steeply ascending streets with washing hung out by day, Lisbon’s Soho by night. The iconic Elevator St Justa still goes up from the Baixa [though when I was there the pedestrianised walkway that connects it to the Bairro Alto is closed]; the most evocative way up is up the stairs which lead west from the n-w corner of Rossio, called Cal do Duque; this comes out in a small square, Largo Trindade Coelho, from which you could loop round the district. Turn right and head up Rua S. Pedro Alcantara and there’s a small park on the right with superb views of the city looking across to the Castelo. You might follow this main [but quiet] road around and further up to the Natural History Museum and Botanical Gardens; there’s a good, spotless, pastry-rich café on the left-hand side just beforehand. Just before is a good left turn into the heart of the Bairro Alto, Rua de S. Marcal – great plunging views – then simply wander through the grid as the mood takes you, heading back east and aiming ultimately for the beautiful ruins of the Convento do Carmo in a small square called Largo do Carmo. There’s a friendly little café in the south-west corner of this square which does good seafood and has outside tables, a perfect spot for lunch. Having strolled around the ruins of the Convento itself, look at the building to its immediate left: HQ of the National Republican Guard, guarded by a sword-brandishing fascist, and last refuge of Caetano during the 1974 revolution. From this building you can head down the adjacent road – called something like CC Carmo – and you’ll come to where the itinerary started, at the foot of the Cal do Duque stairs.
That’s one very full day, or two leisurely ones.
A good offbeat tip is the English Cemetery, a beautiful spot. It’s in Rua de Sao Jorge a Estrela, just north of Jardim da Estrela [to the west of the city]. Make sure to knock persistently at the gates as the custodian pretends not to hear callers [this may have changed]. Henry Fielding is there, having gone to Lisbon for the sake of his health ... There's also the Gulbenkian, esp good on Islamic and oriental art, and notably well exhibited and air-conditioned.
Re food, avoid the tourist-trap eateries along the Rua das Portas de Santo Antao, a main street which leads north from Rossio.
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BELEM: You could see the main sights of Belem in a long half day, or just spend the whole day there, but the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos is a categorical must. Much the nicest way to get there is [or was] via tram: no. 15 tram starts from Praca de Figueira, stopping at Comercio and then Cais do Sodre, a square to the west, before heading out straight west along the coast. It goes every 10 mins or so. After about 20 minutes it stops opposite the monastery. Having seen the interior make sure to turn right on exiting the nave and into the admissions hall for the fabulous cloisters. There are two obvious landmarks to stroll to on the sea: the Padrao dos Descobrimentos [Salazar kitsch, close by, across some pleasant gardens] and the Torre de Belem about half a mile further up the coast. Between them is a big new Cultural Centre with generally missable exhibits.
It’s worth staying in Belem for dinner, not least because if you go back in the evening the no. 15 tram tends to be a charming tiny wooden clanking one rather than the Siemens behemoth they deploy by day. There are some lovely little family-run seafood restaurants in the area of Rua v. Portuense.
SINTRA: A day in Sintra [Byron’s ‘Glorious Eden’, UNESCO World Heritage Sight] is mandatory; if you can pick a weekday it would be additionally pleasant. Trains go every 15-20 mins from Rossio station, clean and quick, 45 minutes to Sintra. Once there you can haggle with taxi drivers for a daily deal; but simpler is to go to the Stagecoach office [turn right outside the station, more or less opposite the main entrance] and buy a ‘Day Rover Ticket’ for a few euros – this lets you get on and off sequentially at all the main sights (buses go every 20 mins). Then you can simply see them in order. The first stop is called ‘Turismo’ but is simply the town centre and you should disembark here for the Palacio Nacional; then Moorish castle ruins; then Palacio da Pena; then Villa da Sintra. Note that it’s not lazy to get the bus: it’s only a very short stroll into town and the first stop, but the subsequent walk up to the Moorish ruins and then Pena would take the fittest walker an hour or two, it’s so steep. I wouldn’t dine in Sintra as it’s a bit of a tourist trap. One tip: it’s always much cooler and often wetter in Sintra, and the wind up on the hills can be cold, so make sure not to set off from balmy Lisbon in t-shirts.
Jeez thanks a lot guys- that will keep me busy for the next two visits as well.
Thanks again
B
Two eating spots that stand out.
As you get off the ferry to the statue of Christ there is a restaurant where they grill fresh sardines as you wait. Touristy but excellent and fairly priced.
The market place opposite the water is a foodies delight. There are dozens of eating places from cheap snacks to higher end type stalls.
As you’ve been before Im sure I don’t need to mention the custard pies .
Quote:
Originally Posted by thegoat
Thanks for the info
.......and nobody mention the custard pies :-)
B
Cascais and Sintra are worth a visit too and quick to get to on train...
also check out the food markets- https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/t...ets-in-lisbon/
Custard Tarts DO taste better from the Belem area.... though many places sell them in Belem and everyone just queues up at the one place
also most cheap eateries have long tables and you sit where you want and rub elbows with the next lot... get used to it...
Just came back from a long weekend.
We had a great time sailing (with a skipper) up and down the River Tagus, starting out from Doca De Santa Amaro. Brilliant. A superb way to see the south and north sides of the bridge.
Other than that, lose yourself in the town. It is beautiful. We were based near Cais de Sodre which was ideal for exploring.
Have visited Lisbon twice,nothing really stood out,if you like seeing the churches probably check out the cathedral and the birthplace of St Anthony
Another alternative will be mosteiro dos jeronimos and Belem
Personally I like Porto better to discover
Definitely visit the castle. Take the bus from the square down below if you want to bring some excitement into your life.
I went in March for 5 nights. I like to do a longer trip despite what people advise (my mate said 3 nights easily enough).
Me and the wife loved it. We stayed in Alfami near the Fado museum and the area was lovely. Very quaint and lots of great bars and restaurants. A visit to Belem was enjoyable as was the view from the top of the Monument of Discoveries. We didn’t get time to do the Jesus statue.
Food and drink was very inexpensive and had some excellent meals. A great restaurant in Alfami does a wonderful fish stew/rice dish (Restaurant O arca). Genuinely just looks like a cafe inside but the food was fantastic.
I loved Lisbon and didn’t expect to as thought I’d prefer Porto which I went to and loved last year. Very chilled and relaxing