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Just returned from Lisbon

Posted by (Bay Area, California) on

Hello all: I just had a last-minute trip in Lisbon, Portugal. Here are some notes:

Lisbon is a hilly city, whose sidewalks are mainly built of cobble stones. Surfaces are often uneven. Be careful if you have mobility issues.

Bolt (ride sharing service) is an alternative to public transit. I used it a lot. A Bolt ride from my hotel (Altis Grand) to the airport cost 10 euros.

Restaurant prices are more affordable than in California. However, OTC med prices aren't (I bought cold/flu meds) for those who don't have local health insurance. In general, it's necessary to book a table at popular restaurants for dinner. For the best food, avoid eateries in the touristy areas.

Many small hotels are not equipped with elevators. Please check before booking a room.

I took a train from the Algarve to Lisbon via Tunes. Neither the local train nor the high speed train was comfortable, but acceptable.

The airport in Lisbon is quite small, compared to those in capital cities. TSA lines are long but there is a Fast Track available to premium class travelers or those who are willing to pay 9 euros. Lounge (at least for non-TAP travelers) access is BEFORE immigration and therefore please allow more time to go to your departure gate, as I heard immigration lines can be long. I flew to another city in the Schengen zone and therefore did not go thru' immigration at Lisbon.

Posted by
2260 posts

Very good tips.

I also just returned from Lisbon and loved it. Wasn't it beautiful and interesting.

I was there for four nights and it was not enough.

An old friend of mine came up from Lagos Portugal to visit with me. I was very touched.

Posted by
1 posts

Your recent feedback is invaluable. Thank you for sharing!
Do you have any recommendations for restaurants that you enjoyed? We (foursome) are headed there next month.

Posted by
1632 posts

Glad to help.

For restaurants, I like As Velhas and A Marisqueira do Lis. The former is touristy, but still offers great food. The latter is a seafood restaurant and was full of locals when I visited.

Posted by
353 posts

Can I put a plug for the public transportation system within and around Lisbon? :) Carris runs most of the public transit system, I believe.

Anyhow, if you have Apple Maps on your phone, you can select the Transit view and it'll show you the various bus, tram, metro, and train stops. When you select a particular bus stop, it'll also show you which bus lines go to that stop. With that, you really can easily navigate the whole of Lisbon and surrounding area just using bus, tram, and metro!

We were not planning to use so much public transit during our recent visit to Lisbon, but due to a number of unusual circumstances, we ended up having to ride the bus many, many times. And, it was very easy when you have the Lisbon card or some form of day pass or similar.

Riding the bus in any city seems daunting (unlike riding trams, train, or subway) but in this case, it was quite easy and clear if you have Apple Maps, which as I noted, shows you all the stops. The bus stops themselves also very clearly indicate the direction of travel and lists ALL of the stops along the way, so it's also VERY easy to figure out.

Anyhow, hoping more tourists would use the bus system. Support the public infrastructure as much as possible! :)

Thank you :)

Posted by
8062 posts

Anyhow, if you have Apple Maps on your phone

Google maps works the same way, in fact if you put in your destination, it will direct you to the bus stop, indicate the bus to be on, and show all stops along the way. Of course, this all works best on any phone if you have data service.

I do agree, using the buses was always a bit daunting back in the day. It usually meant narrowing your options down to a few basic lines, to get you in the general area of where you wanted to be. Phones have really changed travel for the better.

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