Holiday Truths Forum

Popping to Lisbon for a weekend. Any thoughts from anyone as to about the transport around the city -whats worth seeing and where to avoid etc? Hotel is fairly central and I understand distance between the airport and the city is only a short ride away.


Nivsy

Take the open top bus tour to get acquainted with the layout of the town, ride on the number 28 tram (included in the open-top bus ticket) to see the old town and use the small but efficient metro system.

Thanks for your reply - will do.


Nivsy

Watch out in restaurants. They "ripped" me off when I was there, one place in Belem especially. Look out for "non optional cover charges", such as for cheese, on the menu. I ended up eating in ECI as I got fed up with it.

If you're out clubbing don't bother going until 3am at the earliest. One place still had an entrance queue at 6.45am.

We will be staying in cascais at easter.
What would be the best/most convenient way to make the transfer from the airport? I'm sure a taxi would be very expensive & don't see any mini shuttle bus serices operating here although maybe I'm wrong? We used one in Paris & it was great.
Any tips welcome!

There is actually a transfer bus fron the Airport to Cascais and vice versa
Scotturb provide a shuttle...i think the fare is 8.5 euros. The link below provides a time table but I don't know how up to date it is. You may have to search around the Scotturb site to make sure its up to date.


http://www.scotturb.com/update/hora.pl?en1012586307220

Thanks Sunbear.........that's exactly what I'm after. I'll investigate further!

Jst back from a great week in Cascais/Lisbon, but just wanted to update re the airport shuttle bus. This still goes in to Lisbon but NOT Cascais & I assume Estoril. Apparently the service stopped in Jan.
So apart from bussing into Lisbon & train transfers I think the only option is a taxi which is what we did. Actually wasn't as expensive as I feared (about £30 one way)

seeing that easyjet are flying to Lisbon now,am thinking of going in Feb.What will the weather be like?

Anyone any idea what it will be like at New Year - is it worth a trip for New Years Eve?

Same here, which is why I'm looking in here.

If you have a look at http://www.wunderground.com you can look up weather stats for previous years. I returned from Lisbon on 4th November, and it was tee shirt weather. I found Lisbon to be well worth a visit. 4 days wasn't really long enough to see everything.

What are the main sites to see in Lisbon? We are visiting for a day next September on a cruise.

luci

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Luci

Much depends on how long the day is after you deduct the time needed to get to and from the docks.

On my first visit I spent the first day getting a feel for the old city by using the route 28 tram service which goes around most of what's worth seeing, using a day pass and jumping on and off when something took my eye. The day pass currently costs €3.85 including .50c for the purchase of the reuseable 7 Colinas card that stores your credit. You can also use this pass on all other Carris bus and tram routes and on the metro so you could use it to get to and from the boat. They do market a tourist tram with guide, a ride on that will set you back €17.

West to east, the three main districts of the old city are roughly Bairro Alto (on a hill), Bairro Baixa (sea level commercial centre) and Alfama (on another hill). When you see the hills you will realise why the tram is handy!! Alfama includes the castle which has a superb view over the city centre.

Further out from the old centre is Belem, famous for it's tower (which you will probably pass on the ship anyway), the palace and egg custard tarts. There is also the Oriente district, north of the centre past the airport, which was the Expo 98 site, this is supposed to be a tourist attraction but I'm not convinced.

Lisbon transport company Carris website is at http://www.carris.pt/en/index.php although like most Portuguese sites there are bits that don't work! These include the link to the Tourist Tram page http://www.carris.pt/en/index.php?area= ... _tur_elect

The tour company may try to sell you trips to Sintra (which is worth seeing) and Cascais (which isn't) but if you've never been before you don't need to leave the city.

Steve

PS - by the way, I've always said that crossing a road in Lisbon should be classed as a dangerous sport for insurance purposes so be careful!

Many thanks for the information Steve, very helpful. The local tram sounds right up our street.

luci

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I know the numbers of busses to catch from the airport into Lisbon,but does anyone know the number to change to for Costa da Caprica?

The operator covering services all around the Setubal peninsula and the Costa de Caparica is Transportes Sul do Tejo who are none other than the Portuguese subsidary of the ubiquitous Arriva Group.Their website does offer an English version but many of the options fail, so best of luck!

They run 2 services from Lisboa. The 161 runs from Praça do Areeiro which is on direct Carris routes 5 and 19 from the airport. It also calls at Campo Pequeno which is served by the 91 Aerobus.

The other route is the 153 from Praça de Espanha but that isn't as easy to reach from the airport.

We are considering doing a weekendtrip to Lisbom in May but are struggling to find a good but cheap hotel ina 'safe area'
When we find one (a good 3*plus/4star) centrally it always seem to be standing on a street where the local ladies of the night trade their wares or you are not advised to walk around the local area after dark - is it that bad?
Any reccomendations would be grateful
thanks

Which areas have you ruled out? The bulk of the hotels in the grade you mention are clustered in the streets around the north end of the Avenida Liberdade/ Pombal roundabout with a cluster spreading up towards Entrecampos station. The problem with this is that it tends to put them out too far out to walk to the main "centre".

Last year I used the Principe which was a simple but solid 3 star, more of the business traveller type than luxury frills. There wasn't a problem with streetwalkers - possibly because the street was actually missing due to them building a new metro line!! Last years prices may have been discounted as they now seem to have gone up somewhat.

The list of Greater Lisbon hotels is here if you know the area you want to avoid.

Just got back from a city break to Lisbon, so thought I would write it up before I forget.

Firstly, the transport - absolutely first rate, with frequent trams, busses and a metro system. Upon leaving the airport walk out through the glass doors and find the bus stop for the Aerobus number 91.

€3 euros takes you straight to the city centre, the bus has a display on board showing the streets (bit like a sat nav) and tells you the next stop. If you know where your hotel is you can just keep an eye on the display. Alternatively if you ask the driver he will tell you when you need to get off.

The €3 ticket also gives you 24hour access to any other Carris (the bus company) transport, so for the rest of the day you can jump on and off busses and trams at your pleasure.

Hotel (Hoilday Inn) was excellent, close (5min walk) to both busses and the metro system and a 25 min walk into the centre. It seemed to be based in the car sales and repair part of town with every other building being either a car show room or a mechanics.

The centre (Baxia) was very pleasant, shops cafes and resturants in abundance - please note a pastaleria is not a pasta restaurant, but a pastry shop selling the excellent custard pies but also a varielty of meals and drink.

1st evening spent in Barrio Alto - a maze of small streets with bars and restaurants, was informed that eating before 9pm earmarked you as a tourist, however when we got there at about 9.30 most restaurants were absolutely full. So perhaps the idea is to get there at 9.00 on the dot. Still avery pleasant evening, good beer and lively. Oh - bought a metro card €4 - 24 hours on all busses trams and metro (good value - would recommend it)

Next day took the metro to Oriente - about 10- 15 mins, big shopping centre and the oceanarium. Well worth a visit, from there caught the sightseeing bus - €14 each - please be aware that there are three different routes and the tickets are not valid on all. We took the yellow tour, in hindsight the blue tour would have been better.

Spent the day sightseeing and a few beers. Decided to go back to Oriente in the evening as there were many bars and restaurants - the Irish bar is very nice - have a few Super Boch bohemians - then try walking in a straight line!!

Food was a bit ordinary, lots of fish mostly grilled with salad and more macdonalds than you can shake a stick at.

Two days was probably enough to see and do most things but certainly would go back now we know the layout.

Any questions please ask?