Anyone ever been to Lisbon?

[Lathum]

Looks like my wife is going in February for he companys global GM conference. CEO told them spouses were invited. Pretty excited for an all expenses paid trip to Portugal.

Anyone ever been?

Any advice?

[Bisbo]

Yes - go! It’s a great city, smaller and more charming than lots of Euro capitals. I’ll post some detailed recommendations in a day or so.

[AlexB]

Amazing city. Cheap, vibrant, great food & really good fun.

Top tips

• Pasteis de nata from Pasteis de Belem (and the whole are a round ther: monastery, tower, waterfront)
• Time Out market: a selection of local restaurants, some Michelin starred, serving limited menus from kiosks all in one place (which conveniently is by a train station leading to Belem!)
• A Valenciana - the best piri piri chicken I have ever eaten

Really good city, lovely vibe, mix of old/new, great food, just go!

[whomario]

One of my favourite cities, few quick tidbits below (stuff to see, do). Overall it is a pretty easy city to navigate and no need for any sort of special care/caution other than the obligatory "keep your wallet all the way down your pocket/bag and don't leave your stuff" like in every other big city.

Great mixture of culture and easy access to everyday stuff. There's a great restaurant, bar/pub or sth like this every 10 yards Visit "Chimera Brewpub", which despite it's english name offers great portuguese craft beer.

- Get either a Metro/Bus pass or the "Lisboa card" which costs about 13-16 € a day and gives unlimited travel and free entry for pretty much everything. Should be available at pretty much every hotel as well as tourist info.

- there's still a regular historic tram and a few funiculars to use, pretty neat. There's also newer ones catering for tourists

- the castelo overlooking the town is well worth a visit and the way there is very atmospheric going through one of the oldest neighbourhoods.

- Belem is a must-do, lots of historic monuments in a small area.

- Depending on how much time you have, you could do a day trip to Sintra/Cascais. Both can usually be booked in one tour, Sintra has amazing palaces, views and scenery while Cascais has great beaches to wander around. Both only 45 minutes with public transport if you want to do it independently.

[AlexB]

Double down on the Sintra suggestion, lovely town and the Quinta da Regaleira is one of the strangest and best places i have been to.

[Izulde]

Haven't been myself, though the folks I know who have been there say it's absolutely amazing.

[cartman]

I was there back in 2002 for work, so I'm sure things have changed since then. There are tons of places to explore on foot. Depending on where you are staying, that would impact things to recommend. I was at the Sheraton when I was there, and it was a great walk down to the harbor area. A short drive west is Estoril, which is a cool place to visit, and there is a casino there as well.

[Chief Rum]

Is Sintra where the beautiful old timey castle-mansion is, on a hill? One of Bing or Google put up an incredible night time shot of that place. It looks amazing.

[AlexB]

Yes, there’s a couple of places like that, and this amazing garden with fantastic follies, grottos, tunnels, caves that is also like being in some alternative universe

[Lathum]

Thanks for the input guys!

[Bisbo]

I highly recommend a small fado bar in the Alfama neighborhood called “A Baiuca” R. de São Miguel, 20 Lisbon. It’s a very small restaurant where you share a table with the other diners. The food is good, and the fado is fantastic. Far from a staged show - its just a bunch of the locals getting up and singing, accompanied by 2 guitars. The night we were there, the singers included our waiter, an old woman from the kitchen, and a guy sitting on the steps across the street. Really enjoyed it. Make sure to get a reservation if you can - it seems to always be crowded. We saw some other fado while we were there, but this was, far and away, our favorite. The Alfama neighborhood is a great place to stroll around, too.

Mouraria is another interesting neighborhood to explore. Like Alfama, but totally without tourists and tourist establishments. The residents seemed to be more Arab than Portuguese. Lots of narrow alleys with small restaurants. There are also amazing photos of fado artists and ‘village elders’ on the walls of the streets in and around ‘Beco Das Farinhas Street.

Took a very good food tour called ‘Lisbon Awakens’ offered by Culinary Backstreets http://culinarybackstreets.com/tours...bon-food-tour/. It lasted most of the day, and included stops at numerous small restaurants and very old shops known for their specialties (samples included). It’s a small group (maybe 6-8 people) walking tour. We tasted all kinds of food, wine and liquor. There are a couple of other food tours offered by the company if this doesn’t suit your schedule. I would highly recommend booking a tour that was led by our guide, Celia Pedroso, if she’s available - she is a writer and food critic, knows her stuff, and is exceptionally nice.

Had dinner one night at a very interesting restaurant called Minibar Teatro, R. António Maria Cardoso 58, 1200-026 Lisbon (Home) (there’s a button in the upper right hand corner that switches the site to English, if its in Portuguese). It’s owned by Jose Avillez, one of the big chefs in Lisbon. Order the ‘Epic’ tasting menu - it contains all kinds of interesting things that are not what they appear to be - expensive, but very fun, unique and delicious.

Mercado Ribeiro is the 'Time Out' food hall mentioned by others, with an adjacent vegetable/fruit/meat market. The food hall offers some real high quality stuff - lots of the big chefs have small food stands there. Everything is good. I particularly recommend the “Chicken All Around” stand - it’s owned by Chef Miguel Laffan and features piri-piri chicken, a national dish. I read an essay - actually more of a love note - by a food writer from Texas who absolutely raved about the chicken and fries there. It totally lived up to its advance billing.

[Lathum]

Leave in a couple days. Wife will be working most of the time we are there, but we have all day Sunday and Monday morning together.

Her company is doing tours for the spouses. One day we are doing a tasting Lisbon where we go to Alfama and Bairro Alta, listen to Fado, taste food wine, etc...

The other day we go to Royal Sintra.

The third day is shopping so I am going to do my own thing that day.

Combing around trying to see what wife and I should do Sunday, our only full day she isn't working.

[Lathum]

Our flight gets in at 8AM. I am thinking a couple hours to get through customs and to hotel. We are staying at Pestana Palace Lisbon. Looks like a pretty short walk to get to Pasteis de Belem. Maybe grab a late breakfast there then walk through Belem and see the sites.

Thoughts?

[cartman]

Yeah, that should be very doable. Plus I think they have the bike rental places which will make getting around the neighborhoods really easy.

[Lathum]

Just got back. I am very tired. I'll do a trip report at some point, but just have to say it was an absolutely amazing trip.