Hi. We are arriving in Lisbon at the beginning of Oct. and we are looking for a tour to show us the city. We will be flying in from the states and will be there for 5 nights. This means that I might have 3 days of conscious awareness of where I really am. That first full day in country can be a killer for me. So, we would like to take a tour of Lisbon to give us a sense of where we are, what is around us, what is to being eaten, what can be drunk, what are people doing? I have explored, 'Inside Lisbon', 'Lisbonwalker' and 'Your Friend in Lisbon' tour companies.
Due to time constraints we think that a combined walking tour & food/wine tour would be fun to do.
Do any of you out there have a suggestion which might satisfy our needs?
Thanks for trying.
FirIslander
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1824 posts
When I did my scouting trip to Lisbon, I did a tour with Your Friend in Lisbon and it was the best money I spent on that trip. The guide was personal and patient with my struggles to climb the hills of Lisbon... She gave a lot of history and showed us the main parts of the city along with the 'secret' elevators and ways to help navigate the hills. After I told her of my plans to move to the area, she slightly modified the tour to help me in deciding a good place to stay when I first arrived and gave me suggestions as to where I might want to live. In short, she personalized the tour for me and left me feeling I really did have a friend in the city.
That said, it wasn't a food tour though we did have coffee and Pastéis da Nata during the tour. I just checked and they do have a tour that includes some food and port.
I've also heard good things about Culinary Backstreets but have yet to take one of their tours.
I also did a tour of the Campo de Ourique area with Taste of Lisbon after I arrived which was quite good. But, for your purposes, a tour of a more mainstream area would likely be better.
Hopefully, you will get some other responses to your question!
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
On my first full day in Lisbon in May of this year, I took the Inside Lisbon small group walking "experience" tour, called something like that, which was terrific. Combined history and culture with a number of great food stops, mostly little neighborhood places with typical foods and beverages, we would have never found these on our own. Our guide Pedro was very personable, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and great at answering questions and explaining things beyond the specific scope for the tour. He said the purpose was to introduce us to Lisbon beyond the major squares and sites. We concluded by taking the ferry to the other side of the river for ample snacks at a seafood place near the ferry building, then returned to Lisbon proper to end the tour near the "TimeOut" market and food court. Great value, lots of interesting walking, lots of delicious food.