Good day everyone! I am curious what you guys would recommend with a half-day in Lisbon. My wife and I are going to be in Lisbon for a few days before the rest of our family arrive and we do group activities nonstop. We are spending one of those days visiting Sintra, but we have about half a day leftover before the family gets there. What would you recommend doing? We will have our infant daughter with us so we were thinking we'd visit Cascais since the transit there is simple and it's a quick 45 minute trip from our hotel so that could be a nice relaxing day. What are your thoughts?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1409 posts
Cascais is a perfect idea for the reasons you’ve given. The little beach right there in Cascais would be fun for your little one and relaxing for you as well. There are many little cafes and restaurants and it is a very walkable small city by the water.
A trip to Belem might be another idea, although I bet it will be one of the places you visit with the rest of your family, especially if this is your first trip to the Lisbon area.
Posted by
OP
Florida, USA
4 posts
Cool. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything obvious that we are missing. Our uncle is organizing a walking tour of his own doing so i'm sure belem will at least be a small part of it. For transiting to Cascais can we just get a transit pass that will work on that train line? And will that work for Sintra as well if we get a multi-day one?
Posted by
Chicago
545 posts
I loved visiting Lisbon, an authentic European city.
A site or two in Belem, a district about 3 miles west of downtown, are worth a visit. Belem is accessible via trolly or bus, which is what I took. Belem was the send-off point during the Age of Discovery. Sailors would stay and pray there before embarking.
The No. 1 highlight was the Monastery of Jeronimos with its distinctive Manueline architecture. The tomb of explorer Vasco da Gama is near the entrance of the church.
Other highlights include the National Coach Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Monument to the Discoveries and the Belem Tower.
On the way there and back, you'll go under the amazing 25 de Abril Bridge, which commemorates the Carnation Revolution. It's as stately as the Golden Gate Bridge.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1409 posts
What I did for travel around Lisbon, Belem and Cascais is I bought a transit card and loaded it with funds from my credit card. I believe the card is called Via Viagem, or otherwise known as a Zapping card. It probably works for trains to Sintra, but I am unfamiliar with independent travel to Sintra as I took a tour.
Here is a very useful YouTube video on Lisbon’s public transportation.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1774 posts
Buy a Via Viagem card for transit all over the Lisbon region. It works both coming out to Cascais and to Sintra.
There is a brand new ‘pay with your credit card’ for transit. But, it is so new, I don’t know how it works. With the zapping card, you get a small discount. I don’t know if the discount is in effect paying with a CC.