nor4

Going for a short weekend, in Fri out Sun in a couple of weeks. Staying at the Marriott. Any suggestions for places to go, does Lisbon have a local Time Out or equivalent, are fado shows for real, is there good public transport, e.g. from airport to hotel, hotel to downtown.

I haven't been to Lisbon in over 20 years so I'm sure my memory of the place is way out of date.

Thanks.

tyn

Have no recommendations for fado, but for a good dinner you can hit Cervejeria Trinidade or Bota Alta both the Bairrio Alto, or Adega Triunfo down in the Rua dos Bacalhoeiros.

If you go to the Time Out website or Frommers' site you'll find plenty of information.

Public transport, especially the metro and tramways, is excellent. Taxis are blissfully cheap, a ride from the airport to the Sheraton cost about 10 euros

Don't miss the pasteis de Belem!

Jespersm

Don't forget to ride tram # 28 from end to end. It's just like a roller coaster going up and down the hills of the beautiful city.

Leviticus

If you are interested in walking around in a nice area and looking at some modern architectural marvels designed my Santiago Calatrava then take the subway out to the old world expo site at the end of line where the "other" main train station is (lisbon oriental ?) close to the Vasco da Gama bridge.

obscure2k

Have a great lunch at Gamberus. Drink green wine and local mountain cheese.

tsastor

If you are interested in Portugals great colonial and maritime history, the frequent travellers of the day, then DO visit the great maritime museum. It is a walking distance from the Belem tower that saw the ships of the great explorers sail towards unknown worlds. There is a fast tram there.

ziti 2

Looks like I might be in Lisbon late April for a few days and planned to use points for the Marriott. I was wondering how it was there and if the location was good. How were the other recommendations here ? Did you try any of them ? Thanks

nor4

The Marriott is a a bit too far from things to my taste. I like to be able to wawalk to my meals/activities etc. The taxi FROM the airport was 10 Euros but the taxi driver didn´t use his meter. He ´thoughfully¨ folded the passenger seat forward so I´d have more room and thereby hid the meter. On the way back the driver used the meter and it was 5 Euros.

I sprained my ankled badly the day I left so I didn´t get around as much as I would have, but the trolleys in Barrio Alto and Alfama (?) were fun. Try to visit the Gelbunkian Museum a real suprise plus for the visit.

A good time but Lisbon is better viewed with lots of walking about which I was unable to do. Enjoy.

FlyerGoldII

I will be arriving in Lisbon for a medical meeting next week.

I will arrive on Oct 11, at 2:30 PM.

I will have the morning of Oct 12 free, and the afternoon of Oct 13 free.

What should I see, and how should I travel around Lisbon.

Note-I have no plans to rent a car.

PS-Is there an hop-on, hop-off tourist bus, of the type that one sees in other major European cities such as London, Paris, Rome etc.

MariaSF

I can confirm what nor4 said about Lisbon taxi drivers: they are full of tricks. Beware.

Or, at least, before you hail a cab, get your map and find where you are and where you are going. Then keep the map open while you are riding the taxi and make sure the driver is aware you are following the route on it.

For a first-timer in Lisbon, I'd recommend the Castelo de Sao Jorge, not only for the castle (ruins) itself, but also because of the unique view of the city and Tejo River. Go uphill by taxi, then downhill towards the Rossio Sqaure by foot, walking through the Alfama.

Don't rent a car: driving in Lisbon is very complicated! There are very few signs with street names so it's hard to know where you are.. even when you are at the right place.
My family is from there, Portuguese is my mother-tongue and I still find it difficult.

dhammer53

We took a Grayline 4 hour tour of Lisbon in early September. We usually don't do these tours as we prefer to run around ourselves. We arrived at our hotel at noon, and departed early the next morning. We didn't have the luxury of time.

Grayline touches on all the highlights.

florin

I second the idea of the castle. I did it on foot both ways and enjoyed that. Belem is also a very nice place to visit. Do try the local resturants (not int'l chains) - the fish is to die for!

gilpin

I agree with all of the above. In addition, when in Belem seek out the pastry shops. It seems they are famous in some circles, but I had never heard of them before. Yummy!

In regard to airport transportation, there is also public bus. I don't recall the route number, but the stop is to the right as you exit the airport. If that doesn't take you exactly where you need to go, it does stop fairly close to a Metro station where you could transfer. I wouldn't do that going to the airport, but on arrival it was fine.

FlyerGoldII

The sponsor (ie drug company) will hire (ie cover the expenses of) limousines or taxis, for the conference participants.

Is there a hop-on, hop-off bus in Lisbon?

MichaelCharlie

Yes, there is a Cityline HOHO bus.