We are staying in Lisbon Al Fama district for 5 nights (4 days) next week. Please share any thoughts on the best things to see in that time frame. Any advise will be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Toronto, Canada
415 posts
Try to find some fado - I have no specific recommendation, but Alfama is a good place to find small places with fado singers.
The castle. Baixa neighbourhood. Belem area.
I enjoyed taking the short ferry ride across the river to eat lunch overlooking Lisbon - you catch the ferry close to Cais do Sodre train station. You could also go to the big statue of Christ on that side of the river.
Eat pastel de nata.
Mercado do Ribeira for the many small food outlets in the Timeout section.
You also have time to go to Sintra to see the palaces there (30 minutes by train from Rossio station) or go to Cascais by train from Cais do Sodre station.
I took a "pay what you want" walking tour of Lisbon that started in the Chiado neighbourhood and it was quite informative.
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2787 posts
We are headed to Lisbon on June 10th and have found RS Portugal Guide Book very helpful in our planning. If you have one great. If you want one you can purchase one elsewhere on this web site.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3292 posts
Shirley has given you some great advice. If you have Rick's guidebook, take the three recommended walks. If you don't have one but have a smartphone or tablet, I would download one to your device. I would also add a visit to the wonderful Gulbenkian museum - free on Sunday! Beware of pickpockets! I found out the hard way how proficient they are.
Posted by
Lollygag, Missouri
210 posts
Cabo de la Roca…..western most point on continental Europe…... might be something to consider. I coupled that with a stop at Cascais.
Posted by
127 posts
In addition to what has been recommended, I suggest taking in a few museums. Lisbon has many small museums that can be seen in an hour or two - the prefect size for a museum in my opinion. Among those I like, the maritime museum in Belem (a world class collection of ship models), the Berardo modern art museum also in Belem, the electricity museum, the tile museum, the Asain art museum, and of course, the Gulbenkian. There are several dozen other interesting museums in Lisbon. Most are not well promoted, but are worth a visit.
The Alfama has been gentrifying rapidly in the past few years, with hordes of tourists coming off huge cruise ships tied up on the river. The father you can get from the river, the better, if what you want is to have cultural encounters and experience the old world charm that is disappearing all too quickly.