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Please critique my Lisbon itinerary over 3 full days

Posted by (Ottawa, Canada) on

We will be in Lisbon over 5 days...but really 3 full days. Here is my planned itinerary and feel free to critique it please.

Day 1: arrival around 4-5 pm after dropping the car off at the airport at 3 pm ( will have driven from Algarve that day). Plan on Uber to reach our accomodation and nothing else planned that day yet.Accomodation on Fresca street.

Day2: Do the two self-guided walks recommended by RS: Braixa followed by Bairro Alto. After that: ferry ride to Cavilhas and take the bus to go see the April 25th bridge and the Cristo Rei from up close.

Day 3: 9-hour organized tour to Sintra and Cascais with Viator ( paid for already)

Day 4: Early departure to Belem by Uber, see the sights ( walking from the Belem tower going east ) til early afternoon and return to Lisbon by Uber. Go directly to the Castle ( visit it) and start the self-guided walk of Alfama by RS .

Day 5: free morning and leave downtown Lisbon at around 3-4 pm to sleep at the Star Inn at the airport for an early flight home the next day.

One of my questions is: due to moderate knee problems, is it realistic to do 2 walks back to back on day 2...or should we take a hop-on hop-off bus? The sights appear close to each other to me on the map.
Also, I'd take recommendations for good, reasonnably priced restaurants for the end of each day according to where the days end.
Finally, is there anything in this itinerary that is missing that we absolutely should see? Thanks in advance!

Posted by
460 posts

The walk is somewhere between 3 to 4 kilometers although it seems longer.
The Baixa is flat with a slight incline after the Rossio train station.
The funicular after the Rossio train station will take you uphill to Bairro Alto from there is mostly downhill towards Baixa Chiado.

If you want a nicer restaurant I recommend Cervejaria Trindade ( it's number 19 on RS map).
https://www.cervejariatrindade.pt/en/

Posted by
3452 posts

Hello Evelyne

I spent three nights in Lisbon a few years back and I loved it.

I can only tell you that I loved Sintra but regret that I never made it to the top, walking. Severe knee problems. Still the walking was beautiful. Lots to see and do.

Also made it to Belem and Belem was more interesting than I expected. I think that it would be very easy to spend a whole day in Belem. I did not eat at any of the bakeries but my memory is that there were some very good bakeries in Belem.

I did not take any of the hoho buses. My memory is there were four separate routes and you had to pay for each one individually. Things might have changed. If you bought three, you got the fourth one free.

My hotel was in the Baixa neighborhood and unfortunately for me, that is the only neighborhood I explored. Big regret. I took several walks from Rossio Square to the waterfront and back again.

You did not mention what months you would be there. I was there towards the end of October and it was very rainy with occasional downpours. It was also still crowded but manageable .

My first time at the Lisbon airport and it was challenging but I survived.

Lisbon is wonderful. Would love to someday go back.

Posted by
3489 posts

Try to squeeze in a visit to the Gulbenkian Museum. Very interesting and varied collection…and they have a very good cafeteria!

Posted by
50 posts

Lisboa is a small city, the proximity of those 2 walks is not that significant time-wise, so if I had concerns vis-à-vis aggravating a knee condition I'd do the walks on separate days. Also, Uber is quick, ubiquitous and not terribly expensive (again, it's a small city), so consider availing yourself of Uber to save time and knees getting between destinations and to/from your hotel. We were last there during an unseasonably-hot and crowded autumn and found airconned Ubers preferable to long queues and being crammed into crowded stifling trams.

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