Algarve/Portugal/Madeira/Azores Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in the Algarve
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The Lisboa Tejo is right in the thick of it in the centre near to Rossio, there is a zoomable map on it's listing in the directory. There are dozens of bars etc within a few minutes walk. Depending on how many there are with you the best ways in from airport would be taxi with a prepaid voucher (from the desk in the terminal) or the Aerobus 91 to Rossio. Tickets bought on the 91 are valid as Carris day passes so if you land early enough you can go for a ride on the 28 tram (scroll up to my earlier post) to see the city at no extra cost. Not to be confused with the Tivoli Tejo which is out at Oriente (and more expensive!).

The stadium is out of the centre but Lisbon is not massive so distances aren't that great. On the Carris transport map it's in square F3 between the two Campo Grande labels. This map was designed for display in bus shelters so gets a bit unwieldy if you try to print it. The easiest (in terms of not getting lost) way from hotel to stadium would be the Metro Linha Verde from Rossio to Campo Grande but whether that would be feasible at a big footie match needs to be checked when you get there, the system isn't built on the scale of London or Paris so could be overcrowded. Note the basic Carris bus/tram day pass is not valid on the Metro but there is a slightly dearer version which is.
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Thanks very much for your help Steve - this is useful
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Am hiring a car from Lisbon airport.I want to get on the E01. Will I exit the airport on Almada das Comunidades to get to the Rotunda do Relogio then take the slip road West for the E01.I am heading for Costa de Caprica.
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You have the right idea but I wouldn't bother learning road names, even if they are marked you won't have chance to read them with the traffic. Assuming that the car is at the airport (and you're not ferried to a depot somewhere) just follow the direction signs out of the airport. The E01 is known locally as the Segunda (2nd) Circular at that point . Initially you are more likely to see signs for Sintra/ Cascais. At the cloverleaf interchange with the Eixo Norte-Sul look for signs for Costa de Caprica/Setubal/ Ponte 25 Abril, the E01 route is going your way but from here may be signed as the IP7.
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Thanks Steve.As we are in Lisbon Easter weekend will there be any church processions in the city.
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I wouldn't know about Easter but I'd guess anything that was happening would be done at a very local level rather than one big city event and if there is a city event it will be on the Avenida Liberdade (thus maximising traffic chaos).

Going back to your previous query, graffiti has virtually overtaken football as the main pastime in suburban Lisbon so there is a danger that roadsigns may not be legible. Last year I actually saw trees being sprayed because they had run out of other vertical spaces!!!
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Just arrived back from a long weekend to Lisbon/Costa da Caprica.Had a hire car from airport, and can only descibe it as hair raising.The directions I had tried to memorise just seemed to go out the window.
Got on to the main roundabout after leaving the airport, and went round it about 3 times looking for my exit.The fact it had at least 4 lanes and other drivers were swopping lanes at speed without warning didnt help, plus the fact that there are multiple sets of traffic lights!!!
Then my memory kicked in, located my exit to my right and went for it the same time as another driver who shot passed me on my right doing about 60 mph.It was a close one.
From then on it was OK reached my destination without any problem.
Returning to the airport was Ok but it was heavy morning rush hour .Finding the rental car return at airport was a bit of a problem not very well sign posted.
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Visiting Lisbon on a cruise in May, with an overnight stay in port .

Can anyone advise the best way to get from the cruise terminal into the city and onto Sintra without paying P&O £54 for a 3 hour tour?

Many thanks
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Depends on exactly where the ship docks but there are two basic options.

Local train out to Cascais and then bus to Sintra. Or train/tram into central Lisbon, metro across city and train out to Sintra.

How long is the ship in dock for? Three hours is barely enough for the coach journey and a look around Sintra, if that's all you've got it would be difficult to achieve on public transport. If you can find out which dock you are using we can look at specific timetables.
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Steve

Ship is in dock a day and a half including overnight so we have plenty of time to see the city and surrounding area under our own steam. Do the P&O ships dock near Belem, if so I guess we can take public transport from there without going into the city?
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I'm not sure where it will dock which is why I can't be more specific. I've seen liners east of the 25 Abril bridge at the docks around Alcantara. However the plan would be much the same.

details in English of the Lisbon suburban train service is here and the Cascais line follows the waterfront. If not Belem then Santos or Alcantara may be the stop closest to the dock gate.

From Cascais there are regular buses to Sintra, these are run by a Stagecoach subsidary which explains the colour scheme! The website is http://www.scotturb.com and it currently doesn't have an English version. Timetables are behind the image called Horarios... You'll have to bear with me here, their format is a joke. The numbers in bold across the top of the grid is the hours, the numbers in the column below is the minutes past at which a bus departs the start - you are then expected to add the minutes from the diagram to work out all other times. You want route 403, this takes about an hour for the whole run. If you have time coming back it is worth breaking the journey at Cabo Roca for an hour if the weather is fine. This is the most westerly point on mainland Europe and quite a view on a good day. If you do this a day ticket would probably be the best idea for the bus part of the trip.

Alternatively you can come back to Lisbon on the Sintra line but this doesn't come into the centre at present, you'd need to get of at Entrecampos and get a metro or bus down to the centre and then a tram back out to the ship when ready.
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Update to previous advice:

Trains for Sintra are now running from Rossio station following completion (well I hope it's complete!!) of repairs to the dodgy tunnel. Most of the line details on the CP website are currently wrong except for the downloadable PDF timetables and the on-line journey planner. Rossio station is just west of the narrow racetrack ( I nearly said road!), between the bottom of Ave Liberdade and Praca Dom Pedro (otherwise known as Rossio Square). Trains run at least every 20 minutes from early to late every day.

If you're staying at a hotel nearer to Entrecampos or Oriente stations you can avoid the centre by getting a Cacem bound train and change at any station from Benfica onwards. Note that Mira Sintra is not the same place! Coming back get off by Benfica and change to an Alverca train.

Fares from the city are around €3.50 return.
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Steve 8482

Weekend break booked for Lisbon in December. Are there any special markets or treats?

Looking at either staying at Tryp Oriente or Tivoli Tiejo at Parque dos Nacoes. They both seem a little out of town but close to a train station - is that right?

Thanks in advance

Becky67
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First problem is that my Lisbon hotel map has gone walkabout! However, they are both some distance from the centre. The Oriente district is the place where Expo 98 was held and is modern with a huge shopping centre as well as riverside leisure facilities, plus the main railway station of the same name. It has metro and bus services to the centre although the actual train service isn't that useful as there aren't any connected stations in the centre. Oriente is also convenient for the airport, it's closer than the central area (in the opposite direction) and has much less traffic congestion in between which saves a lot of time. The Tivoli Tejo is actually next to Oriente station and is a landmark I give to people to decide which way they are facing before looking for the airport bus (route 44 at frequent intervals)! This is an upmarket area so 4* is the minimum hotel and the restaurants tend to reflect the market, however it could be anywhere that had 90's regeneration and isn't especially Portuguese in any way. Do not pay rack rate without checking whether you can get a better price by booking through the likes of Expedia (actually that's true for any Lisbon hotel!).

I've never been in the winter so don't know about events then, the Lisbon Tourism site is http://www.visitlisboa.com/home.asp?lng=uk and that has nothing listed for December yet. Lisbon Transport is http://www.carris.pt/en/index.php , see previous post about using the ordinary tram for seeing the main sights. If you're staying that far out either a Lisbon Card or a Carris day pass (with Metro) would be a good idea because you will need transport.
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Hi

I have booked a trip at New Year to Lisbon, going on 29th December, returning on 2nd January. Staying at the Residencial Florescente which has very good reviews and only cost £50 per night for a double room with breakfast.

Has anyone been on NYE and what is it like there at that time - I have found out that there is a firework display/live bands but not much else. Also, will anything be open on New Years Day?

Also wondered what the weather will be like at that time.

Any advice/tips would be helpful

Thanks

Helen
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