POST DOSTĘPNY TAKŻE PO POLSKU
Lisbon was recently given a title of one of the most interesting touristic cities in Europe, or even in the world. I can’t remember if this title was given by a magazine or an Internet portal, but in my opinion, it doesn’t deserve it much. Well, the city is charming, but not that much as let’s say Florence or Granada. This is my personal opinion.
We take a flight from Madrid to Lisbon on Monday, June 3rd. The plane takes off on time at 9.55 (the cheapest option: EasyJet airlines). We land in the capital of Portugal at 10.15. How come? Because of the different time zones. It may seem strange but these two countries that divided between them the Iberian Peninsula function in different time zones. We will lose the hour we’ve gained now, when we return to Spain.
Portugal is three times smaller than Poland, it occupies an area of a bit more than 92,000 sq. kms. It has also much less inhabitants – approx. 10,6 mn. It’s not our first trip to this country. This time we’ll spend a week in Lisbon. We will go on a one-day excursion to the nearby Sintra, we’ll stay for the night in Évora, and then we’ll spend one more day in Faro in the south. From there we’ll go to Malaga and Torremolinos where we’ll spend a week on the beach.
Worth to know
- Country code: +351
- Emergency numbers: police 213 466 141, general emergency 112, tourists helpline 800296296
- Main post office: Praça dos Restauradores, Mon-Fri until 20, weekends – shorter
- Tourist Information: Airport – arrivals hall, open 7-24; Palácio Foz, Praça dos Restauradores 1250-187, open 9-20, www.visitlisboa.com; Tourist Helpline: 808 781 212
- Lisboa Card – a special card for tourists, comprises free transportation (including some local trains), free entrance to 26 museums and a discount to many others; prices: 24h – 18,5€, 48h – 31,5€, 72h – 39€. It turns out that according to our program it’s not worth to buy this card; everyone must calculate and decide for themselves.
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| Panorama of the city with the 25 April Bridge |
Transportation
*Official railways website: www.cp.pt*Many bus companies operate in Portugal, we traveled with Rede Expressos: www.rede-expressos.pt
*Metro in Lisbon: www.metrolisboa.pt
*Urban buses and trams in Lisbon: www.carris.pt
*To get to the other side of the gulf, for example to Cacilhas, there are ferries
The most convenient way of traveling around the city is a metro, obviously it doesn’t reach all the places, then you have to change for a tram or a bus. To use urban means of transportation you need to buy an electronic card called Viva viagem, which you charge with small amounts of money, and then you cancel it on entering the vehicle or passing the gates. Charging for 24 hours costs 6€; there’s also something called zapping – then one trip costs 1,25€.
Generally one trip (one way, valid for one hour) costs 1,40€ (in the whole Metro and Carris network).
*The best way to get from the airport to the center is to take metro (ticket: 1,40€, it takes half an hour).
Accommodation and food
Generally Lisbon is not so cheap a place when it comes to accommodation, and a price isn’t always reflected in the quality. We used Airbnb website. We managed to find a small apartment (we chose this option because we wanted to stay here for a week) at Travessa André Valente, a narrow street in the strict center, in a somewhat neglected (but in that time under renovation) building for 40€ a night. It wasn’t that cheap, but well… Nevertheless, the owners were very nice and very helpful.We can’t complain about the prices in the eateries and shops. In the side streets of the old town you can find a two dishes modest lunch for 7-10€. Prices in the shops don’t differ much from those in Poland. Of course, some goods are more expensive, others are cheaper. Assuming that we prepare a breakfast, lunch and dinner by ourselves, we spend approx. 70€ for two persons during a week in Lisbon, so it’s nothing to complain about.
Sightseeing
Contrary to what they say, Lisbon doesn’t offer so many attractions and places to visit as one could think. Portuguese capital is not so friendly towards tourists as for example Madrid where the most important places like the Royal Palace and Prado Museum can be visited for free during selected hours. Here you can count on a small discount when you buy a special card.Our program:
*Foz Palace (Palácio Foz) – Praça dos Restauradores; it can be seen only from the outside
*Eléctrico 28 (old tram) – the line was inaugurated in 1914 , now it has 7 kms, between Martim Moniz square and a quarter called Prazeres; a shorter route is between Graça and Estrela; a trip takes 40-60 minutes depending on the traffic; it goes from 6 until 23; a ticket bought from the driver: 2,80€
*Bairro Alto – this quarter is described in the guidebooks as a very interesting one; there is some truth in it: narrow streets with paved sidewalks which are too narrow even for one person, old buildings with tiny balconies and colorful shutters give it a specific atmosphere, but most of them are in not so good a condition and they look much worse in reality than on the postcards.
*Alfama – an interesting quarter, as above
*Belém – it’s said to be one of the most beautiful parts of the city, hum…, besides several historic buildings, as above…
*Basilica da Estrela – Praça da Estrela, neoclassical church from the XVIII century; daily 8-20, free admission
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| St. George Castle |
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| Jeronimos Monastery |
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| Tower Belém |
*Monument to the Discoveries (Monumento Dos Descobridores) – at the gulf, close to the Jeronimos Monastery; you can go to the top, but we think that it’s not worth to pay for the view from there
*St. Justa Elevator (Elevador de Santa Justa) – in the city center, rua do Ouro, close to Praça do Comercio; Mon-Sat 7-23, Sun 9-23; entry: 5€. You can admire the panorama of the quarters Rossio and Baixa as well as St. George Castle from here. On the top platform there is a restaurant. You can enter the same level walking or rather climbing, for free
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| Monument to the Discoveries |
*Park of the Nations (Parque das Nacões) – far from the center; built in 1998, on the occasion of the Expo; daily 10-20; www.portaldasnacoes.pt; there is Oceanário there, daily 9-19 – interesting for those who have never been to such a place before.
Nightlife
Lisbon offers a very rich nightlife. There are plethora of cafes, clubs, pubs and discos. What’s not so convenient, at least for us, is the fact that lisboetas (city’s inhabitants) go the disco much later than we do in Poland, even later than the Spaniards – at about… three in the morning. First everyone goes to the pubs for a beer or a drink, and as the places are small, there are crowds in front of them, what gives Lisbon streets a specific atmosphere during evening and night, but what may be troublesome to the people who live nearby. Some places have special guards (although it’s not the proper word) who watch that the guests don’t behave too loud.Nevertheless, we are surprised – in a positive way – by the prices. A small draft beer, called imperial here, costs 1-2€, you pay a bit more for a bottle; drink 2-3€. Of course I mean “ordinary” places, not those more elegant and chic where the prices are much higher. You pay to enter to some of the discos, usually about 6-8€, the price includes a beer or a drink.
Beaches
It’s not easy to go to the beach in Lisbon. During weekends everyone goes to the nearby Costa da Caparica. The beaches here extend for about 30 kms. They are numbered from 1 to 20; to the first and the last there are buses, to go to those in-between you have to walk. Beach no. 19 is for naturists.Generally it takes some effort to go the beach. First from the pier at Cais do Sodre we take a ferry to the other side of the gulf (we use Viva viagem card), and then we take a local bus to the beach. It takes 40-60 minutes, depending on the traffic; one way ticket costs: 4,05€
Some of the beaches are connected by a mini-train, but the price is not that low: return ticket costs 7,5€, that’s why less and less people take this train even as an attraction. The owners of the line (it’s private) wanted to close it, but during the summer of 2013 it was still operating.
Read also:
Portugal (2013): Sintra
Portugal (2013): Évora