Suggestions re: Lisbon
Aug 1, 2006, 12:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Lifetime Plat, AA EXP, SPG platinum, Hyatt Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 145
Suggestions re: Lisbon
I've decided to take a side-trip next week to Lisbon. This will be my first visit to Portugal, and I've booked several days at the LeMeridien. I would appreciate any suggestions of places to visit, dine, experience. Artistic, architectural, and cultural attractions are high on my list. Thanks!
Aug 1, 2006, 3:06 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2006
Programs: SQ-PPS+8, BA-Mucci Diamente, Mucci Siegneur des Bains Chauds
Posts: 2,286
Lisbon is based on the river Tagus with a huge suspension bridge linking the two sides. Most of Lisbon is on the north bank, but standing on the south side is a huge statue of Christ the redeemer. Some say it's a better likeness than Rio's!!!
You can take a ferry across from the Discoverer's Monument and walk up the hill to it. You get a brilliant view back over Lisbon itself from the top. The food prices here in the local cafes and bars are about a quarter of that in the main town. I can't really reccommend one place as we just went into a local bar/cafe and had some of the freshest seafood we had all weekend.
You can take a ferry across from the Discoverer's Monument and walk up the hill to it. You get a brilliant view back over Lisbon itself from the top. The food prices here in the local cafes and bars are about a quarter of that in the main town. I can't really reccommend one place as we just went into a local bar/cafe and had some of the freshest seafood we had all weekend.
Aug 1, 2006, 4:48 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: The city of sex and drugs and KLM
Programs: KLM FB, BA EC, Miles&Mafia, Delta SM, Mile High Club
Posts: 347
Take Tram #28 from start to end, walk the narrow streets of Alfama up to Castelo, drink a Pirata in the Bar Pirata on Restauradores, go to the nearby record store Illegal for some alternative portuguese music (fado gets boring real quick).
Bairro Alto at night: have dinner in Cochera Alentejana (check if they have porco preto, they don't have it every day) or eat naco na pedra (Rua das Gveas), then go to a couple of small (!) Bairro Alto bars and drink up the courage to get a piercing or tattoo in Bad Bones on Rua do Norte.
At about 2 am (not before!), head to Lux (across the street from Sta Apolonia). Go to the roof and dance with a view on the Rio Tejo. Smaller places to go out: Bruxa Bar (live brazilian music, Rua So Mamede Caldas, just off Rua da Madalena which separates Baixa from Alfama) and Incognito (Rua Poiais So Bento 37, it doesn't look like a club from the outside). The Docas area is too much of a teenage tourist trap to my taste, but Speakeasy and Blues Cafe are OK.
When you've slept away your hangover, take the ferry to Cacilhas and have seafood for lunch. Cristo Rei (the big jesus statue) is overrated and overpriced and the view from Torre Vasco da Gama is better. Get a bus or taxi to Pragal (you'll pass my girlfriends house in Almada) and take the train back to Lisboa: it runs across the red suspension bridge with a fantastic view on the river.
Back on the north bank of the river, Torre de Belm looks good on the outside but it's not worth going in. On the other end of town, the penguins in the Oceanarium in Parque das Naoes are cool (go early on a weekday, crowds are big and queues are long).
Out of Lisboa: take a train to Sintra and go to the Palacio Pena, the place on top of the hill with the red and yellow tower. Walk through the forest and smell the pine trees instead of taking the bus.
The Miradouro de So Pedro de Alcntara (near Principe Real, next to Bairro Alto) is closed for reconstruction, and the people from Restaurante Os Tibetanos (Rua do Salitre, between Avenida and Rato) are on vacation until august 7, but the Cow Parade is still running.
Bairro Alto at night: have dinner in Cochera Alentejana (check if they have porco preto, they don't have it every day) or eat naco na pedra (Rua das Gveas), then go to a couple of small (!) Bairro Alto bars and drink up the courage to get a piercing or tattoo in Bad Bones on Rua do Norte.
At about 2 am (not before!), head to Lux (across the street from Sta Apolonia). Go to the roof and dance with a view on the Rio Tejo. Smaller places to go out: Bruxa Bar (live brazilian music, Rua So Mamede Caldas, just off Rua da Madalena which separates Baixa from Alfama) and Incognito (Rua Poiais So Bento 37, it doesn't look like a club from the outside). The Docas area is too much of a teenage tourist trap to my taste, but Speakeasy and Blues Cafe are OK.
When you've slept away your hangover, take the ferry to Cacilhas and have seafood for lunch. Cristo Rei (the big jesus statue) is overrated and overpriced and the view from Torre Vasco da Gama is better. Get a bus or taxi to Pragal (you'll pass my girlfriends house in Almada) and take the train back to Lisboa: it runs across the red suspension bridge with a fantastic view on the river.
Back on the north bank of the river, Torre de Belm looks good on the outside but it's not worth going in. On the other end of town, the penguins in the Oceanarium in Parque das Naoes are cool (go early on a weekday, crowds are big and queues are long).
Out of Lisboa: take a train to Sintra and go to the Palacio Pena, the place on top of the hill with the red and yellow tower. Walk through the forest and smell the pine trees instead of taking the bus.
The Miradouro de So Pedro de Alcntara (near Principe Real, next to Bairro Alto) is closed for reconstruction, and the people from Restaurante Os Tibetanos (Rua do Salitre, between Avenida and Rato) are on vacation until august 7, but the Cow Parade is still running.
Aug 1, 2006, 7:34 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,296
I would go to Belm where you can see the monument honoring the Portuguese explorers, a great monestary, and you can eat pastis de Belm, one of the signature foods of Lisbon.
Bairro Alto is the center of night life, except for Lux, which is more mixed than the places you'll see in B. Alto. If you know a Portuguese person, try to get inside with them because cover charges are totally random, with foreigners usually paying a premium over locals.
Senal Vermelho and Casa Nostra are good restaurants in B Alto. A Brasileira is the signature cafe, located just seconds from Bairro Alto next to Praa de Cames and the Baixa-Chiado Metro station.
I wouldn't recommend the Christ statue - you get fine views from either the old elevator that is near Baixa-Chiado or from the monument in Belm. Beware, the Christ statue is a high-crime area.
I would also put the Castelo So Jorge at the bottom of my list because it takes a while to get there and it is mostly fake - built during the Salazar dictatorship.
Bairro Alto is the center of night life, except for Lux, which is more mixed than the places you'll see in B. Alto. If you know a Portuguese person, try to get inside with them because cover charges are totally random, with foreigners usually paying a premium over locals.
Senal Vermelho and Casa Nostra are good restaurants in B Alto. A Brasileira is the signature cafe, located just seconds from Bairro Alto next to Praa de Cames and the Baixa-Chiado Metro station.
I wouldn't recommend the Christ statue - you get fine views from either the old elevator that is near Baixa-Chiado or from the monument in Belm. Beware, the Christ statue is a high-crime area.
I would also put the Castelo So Jorge at the bottom of my list because it takes a while to get there and it is mostly fake - built during the Salazar dictatorship.
Aug 2, 2006, 9:15 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Posts: 437
It's been a few years since I was in Lisbon, but I found a great gay restaurant called "Stasha" in Bairro Alto (Rua das Gaveas, 29-33). The food and service were great. If you have a desire to hear good Fado, try Senhor Vinho (18 Rua do Meio Lapa). It is a restaurant, but you can also just order a drink and enjoy the music.
Aug 2, 2006, 10:18 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: MN, USA
Programs: NW plat
Posts: 297
I think you got some good suggestions. Like every experience, what you enjoy depends on many things, including what other things you have seen. My son loved the castle, but it was the first castle he had seen. It wasn't great, but for him it was spectacular.
My favorite activity in Lisbon is walking around some of the residential areas; just pick a road and start walking up hill and enjoy the people and architecture. It's hard to get too lost and the people are very friendly. In a small way Lisbon reminds me of SFO as they are both built on hills. Lisbon also suffered earthquake damage. You will notice how few buildings are tall for such a large city.
My latest favorite hotel, for those of us who are not tied to one chain, is the Lisboa Tejo http://www.evidenciahoteis.com/(horrible web site; you can't even book on-line); [email protected]. The hotel is really nothing special, but the location is great and the price (120 Euros for 2 people, including taxes and breakfast, which, with an early morning flight I have never been able to have) isn't bad. Many of the other hotels are in an area surrounded only by other hotels and are pretty dreary at night. This one is right in Baxia, so it is close to activity.
Be careful with the pastis de Belm. I thought they were just O.K. at first, but have developed a growing affection for them with each visit. Other than that, I am not a big fan of Portuguese food. Too much dried salted cod and no good chocolate.
I hope you enjoy your stay.
My favorite activity in Lisbon is walking around some of the residential areas; just pick a road and start walking up hill and enjoy the people and architecture. It's hard to get too lost and the people are very friendly. In a small way Lisbon reminds me of SFO as they are both built on hills. Lisbon also suffered earthquake damage. You will notice how few buildings are tall for such a large city.
My latest favorite hotel, for those of us who are not tied to one chain, is the Lisboa Tejo http://www.evidenciahoteis.com/(horrible web site; you can't even book on-line); [email protected]. The hotel is really nothing special, but the location is great and the price (120 Euros for 2 people, including taxes and breakfast, which, with an early morning flight I have never been able to have) isn't bad. Many of the other hotels are in an area surrounded only by other hotels and are pretty dreary at night. This one is right in Baxia, so it is close to activity.
Be careful with the pastis de Belm. I thought they were just O.K. at first, but have developed a growing affection for them with each visit. Other than that, I am not a big fan of Portuguese food. Too much dried salted cod and no good chocolate.
I hope you enjoy your stay.
Aug 3, 2006, 2:18 pm
#7
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,296
[QUOTE=tharris]Be careful with the pastis de Belm. I thought they were just O.K. at first, but have developed a growing affection for them with each visit. Other than that, I am not a big fan of Portuguese food. Too much dried salted cod and no good chocolate. [QUOTE]
Very true about the cod fish! At the cafeteria in the place where I worked there, each day we had an American/non-Portuguese item, a Portuguese item, and then the "bacalhau do dia" (Cod of the day)... They say the Portuguese have a different way of preparing cod for each day of the year.
Walking around Bairro Alto and the downtown areas like Rossio, Liberdade, Praa do Comrcio, Marqus de Pombal, is a very good suggestion! Generally you will come to a taxi stand or a metro stop every 20-30 minutes so you can't get too lost. The one exception is the upscale neighborhood of Lapa, where taxis are not common, and there is no public transport. It's entirely residential plus a lot of embassies (not the US one, though) and ambassador residences.
Oh, and if you have time, go see the palaces on the outskirts of the city. Usually having the hotel arrange a driver to take you there is the same price as a Gray Line-type tour, but with a 1-on-1 guide. They have all been well-cared for.
Very true about the cod fish! At the cafeteria in the place where I worked there, each day we had an American/non-Portuguese item, a Portuguese item, and then the "bacalhau do dia" (Cod of the day)... They say the Portuguese have a different way of preparing cod for each day of the year.
Walking around Bairro Alto and the downtown areas like Rossio, Liberdade, Praa do Comrcio, Marqus de Pombal, is a very good suggestion! Generally you will come to a taxi stand or a metro stop every 20-30 minutes so you can't get too lost. The one exception is the upscale neighborhood of Lapa, where taxis are not common, and there is no public transport. It's entirely residential plus a lot of embassies (not the US one, though) and ambassador residences.
Oh, and if you have time, go see the palaces on the outskirts of the city. Usually having the hotel arrange a driver to take you there is the same price as a Gray Line-type tour, but with a 1-on-1 guide. They have all been well-cared for.
Aug 4, 2006, 11:16 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Lifetime Plat, AA EXP, SPG platinum, Hyatt Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 145
Wow... thank you all for the terrific suggestions. You guys should consider compiling travelogues--the descriptions are so vivid that I can imagine myself witnessing the locale and the scene. There will be no shortage of activities and places to explore during my 3.5 days there. Thanks again!