Things to see and do in Lisbon

I've never been either. Sorry. TBoD is great though.

make sure you take a ride on tram 28, it goes through the old part of the city and is bone shaking experience.

I plan to retire there and write my memoirs.

It was once described to me as the most unfuckedup part of Europe and I could see what they meant.

I loved the fact that bookshops, boutiques and galleries were open at midnight and beyond in the Bairro Alto, and yet by day it's a normal area where people hang out their washing and take their kids to school and so forth.

The Chinese Pavilion is among my favourite bars ever.

Palacio da Pena in Sintra is, as was mentioned upthread, truly spectacular. Sintra is well worth a day trip even if you don't go in for castles and stuff.

Oddly enough, I've found that portuguese women as a rule don't really look to Cristiano Ronaldo, or indeed any male footballer, as a role model for what they seek to look like.

The bullfighting stadium at Campo Pequeno looked extraordinary from the outside. Any been in?

this happens on sunday

3 nights, 1 girlfriend, 1 unexplored city

any advice?

ok so the answer to this thread is EAT THE CUSTARD TARTS

Where are you staying? Just got back from Lisbon myself. Stick around the south side of the city really, near the river. It gets progressively less interesting the further away from the river you get.

But yes, EAT THE FUCKING CUSTARD TARTS. But if you're going to do it, go to Pasteis de Nata in Belem, which is the original place. It serves, like, nothing else. The surrounding area is interesting as well.

Also go drinking out in the streets of Bairro Alto until 6am.

Where DID I stay, more like! Right next to the Marques de Pombal, awesome cast-iron dude in a wig with a pet lion.

Belem might well be my favourite place in the world. We didn't go to Pasteis de Nata for our tarts, but a place down the road towards Lisbon (about 2 blocks away) on a street-corner was perfectly sufficient. I think I ended up having about seven in one afternoon.

As for Belenenses' stadium, well there's a photostory in there when I can be arsed to load my pics. Let's just say that security there isn't what it is in Britain.

And yeah, we stuck around the river pretty much throughout. Our only venture north was to the zoo, which was actually a pretty sweet one as these things go.

The city itself is truly lovely, with a hot but not too much so Mediterranean slow-life twisty vibe, great architecture, vivid colours and superb wall-tilings. We went for several walks around the city (when not bussing; that Lisbon card! So handy!) and found it endlessly delightful. Bairro Alto, nice as it was initially, became seedier the more we penetrated, and at my gf's insistence we turned off halfway down Rua de Atalaia, before we could reach all the recommended bars/restaurants but also before we had to walk past a battalion of very shifty-looking bums on the road ahead. Went to an Argentinian place instead. With views over the whole city. Rock.

Oh yeah, the food. The fish!

The funicular railways!

That fucking bridge!

L'ARANJAS!

Shame, Bairro Alto's pretty fucking cool and not as dodgy as it looks. Also those trams are awesome.

to lisbon in may! psyched. 5 nights then to morocco for a week or so. i'm mostly interested in cool old stuff and eating, what should i look at/consume??

Go to the Gulbenkian museum

I really liked this restaurant

http://chafarizdovinho.com/en/index.htm

Also, I second Daniel Giraffe's recommendation to go the Pavilhão Chinês. That bar is amazing and good fun, too.

Eat one pasteis

^^^

They're very good

Going a week today for a long weekend, can't wait. What are the nightclubs like? Been reading a few horror stories about doormen and dresss codes...

just booked a four day stay in july (for what will be my first trip out of britain), wahoo. although three of those days i'll be at a conference. unless i decide to just give my paper and then fuck off into the city.

If you want to party, the Bairro Alto area is basically several blocks full of minuscule bars, with people drinking and partying both inside and on the streets. Seedy and a bit touristy maybe, but we had plenty of fun there.

The Sea World was also really cool, especially the penguins and the sharks. (The queues are long though, so if you want to visit you should go there pretty early in the morning.) The old monastery in Belem was worth seeing too, but the fortress at the top of the city was kinda boring, except for the (admittedly beautiful) view... There were other places in Alfama with almost as nice views, though, and you don't have to pay admission.

I'll also second Michael White's recommendation of the Gulbenkian museum; there's loads of cool art ranging from antiquity to the 20th century, and not just paintings, but also furniture, jewelry, mosaics, grandfather clocks, etc.

Lucky you, it's really good. The Oceanario was terrific - I think that's the same thing as the Sea World? But if you only have a short time, probably stick to the old town, eat custard tarts, etc. The view from the castle is super.

Yeah, the Oceanario, that's what I meant, couldn't remember what it was called.

if you want to see tiles, go to the National Tile Museum. After visiting I felt like I never needed to see another tile as long as I live, a feeling which sticks with me to this day.

Lovely place. I haven't been back for a couple of years. We took the train to Belém and went to Casa Pastéis de Belém for the Pastéis de Nata, addictive! If you want to blow the budget then Bica do Sapato for food and then nip to Lux for dancing - that was a great night.

Already mentioned, but: Custard Tarts. Seriously.

Day trip to Sintra. V Pretty.

Indeed, at Casa Pastéis de Belém I was told they made 10,000 a day. Might be a bit of an overstatement.

ooh, thanks everybody. worst case scenario is being stuck giving my paper on the last day of the conference so i have two days worrying / finishing it rather than being able to relax. if that doesn't happen, this all sounds nice.

i'll be there from sunday evening till thursday evening - what's the weekday nightlife like?

Lisbon is the one place in Europe where I have seen men and women in their sixties drinking in bars at 1am on a Monday night.

If you are a carnivore please do not ignore this suggestion: eat at Tomo La Da Ca
Veal cheeks especially recommended
Cosign on Oceanarium, Sintra, Chinese Pavilion. Shows at ZDB. My favourite city ever

Tomo La Da Ca is in my top five restaurants ever, it's a simple take on Portugeuse food by a French chef

when my cypriot friend who arrived in advance is warning me that lisbon is exceptionally hot, i know that i am absolutely fucked. still looking forward to it though!

if you go to oceanário this vegetarian restaurant in parque das nações is great:

http://www.miss-saigon.pt/?lang=en

the canteen of the hindu temple is cool too:

http://www.comunidadehindu.org/cantina-chp/

it's in an otherwise boring neighbourhood and not very close to the center, maybe worth the trip if you have the time

this one is nice too:

https://www.facebook.com/BIO.RestauranteVegetariano/

oh and damas in rua voz do operário. if you're near the castle you will be m/l close to it

for classical try to see something at palácio foz if you have the chance: http://www.gmcs.pt/palaciofoz/pt/programacao-cultural

ty ilx all of the above duly noted for October

I kinda wanna move to lisbon, any ilxors hear abt great job opportunities let me know thx in advance

I was thinking going there too. Not to live.

coincidentally i was in lisbon, maryland yesterday ask me anything

ty ilx all of the above duly noted for October
― Daithi Bowsie (darraghmac), Tuesday, 3 May 2016 19:14 (five months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I you go to Belém, you should visit the Berardo museum of contemporary art, they have a cool collection and entrance is free:

http://en.museuberardo.pt

This outdoor flea market had people selling loads of useless crap, but also some cool items, like Portuguese softcore erotic magazines from the '70s or self-made designer shoes. Definitely worth a visit if flea markets are you're thing.

Oh yeah, and if you go to Sintra (which we did in April, and it was well worth it), don't just go to the sights you can reach by foot, also take a bus visit the Pena Palace on top of the mountain... It's one of the most amazing buldings I've ever seen, like straight out of a Disney movie!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_Palace

You don't need to take one of the tourist rides that they advertise downtown, there's a regular municipal bus that takes you up the mountain (while stopping at every major sight) and back down for 3 euros.

Quinta_da_Regaleira in Sintra is also an amazing place, but if you go there, don't just visit the main building, spare some time for the various weird and cool things around the palace area... My favourite of those was the secret underground tunnel leading to the bottom of the "Alchemist's Well", where you can then take the narrow spiral stairs way up. The dude who had all this things built for his palace must've been quite the character!

If you take the train to Sintra from Lisbon, be prepared to queue for the train tickets for a while! We went to the station around 10am on weekday, and we still had to wait abour 20 minutes before we got to the ticket machine. But the trains go there every 30 minutes or so, so it's not a big deal if you miss one.

Thanks T!

going for a week in a couple of weeks. if I want to try a francescinha, can I just find one in Lisbon, or must I go to Porto?

Interested in the answer here, will go there end of May as well. Had some Francescinhas in Porto two years ago, would not hesitate to call it a mindblowing experience.

You'll certainly find places that serve it but they're unlikely to be as good as the ones you can get in and around Porto. It's a specific Porto thing, and there being a Lisbon/Porto rivalry, plus general lack of interest for regional Portuguese cuisines in Lisbon...you can find better examples of francesinha in Stockwell.

The Gulbenkian currently has an exhibit on Almada Negreiros, a Portuguese visual artist, perfomer and poet who was super-important to Portuguese modernism and surrealism, to give a completley unrelated recommendation.

Thanks for the Negreiros reference, Daniel_Rf!

I've relocated to Lisbon, so if any ilxors fancy a pint (or just an imperial) in this beautiful city, feel free to ilxmail me

!!! congrats

what part of the city?

thanks! I'm in Arroios, close to the Alameda station - a very nice area imo

Planning for upcoming spring vacay in April, was in need of a warm-ish European city with a quaint old town center, and I think Lisbon is the answer, with an overnight trip to Sintra and possibly a 20-hour layover in Casablanca on the way?? It sounds unreal tbh.

Will I go to hell for using Air BnB for accommodations in the Alfama area? Are they displacing ppl from affordable housing/disfiguring the historic city?

it is a paradise of a city you will live it

seville is also brilliant

weve airbnbd a few times there. idk about hell im as lapsed as you are.

Are they displacing ppl from affordable housing/disfiguring the historic city?

Well, yes, but such is life.

I don't know how many other cities in Europe this is now true of but I find Lisbon pretty disconcerting.. Been here about a month, signs in English are almost everywhere, airbnbs and accomodation in general isn't chap, walking down the street you hear more English than Portuguese and not just in Alfama or Alcantara. After going to a couple of coding meetups I've realized, these aren't tourists, they're expats. I'm in Beato, and first time I went into the local shop, on a seemingly dead street the guy asked if he could help in English

It sort of feels a bit like SF, I feel I could get a job offer just sitting in a cafe with a code editor open

Weather is great (was 66 on Saturday), getting around is easy the sea is a little bracing this time of year

Please go eat at Jesus e Goes if in Lisbon.

I liked Porto as much as Lisbon tbh.

expat in X complains about there being too many expats in X.

I dunno, when I was last in Lisbon I found it pretty Portuguese. Yes there are tourists and expats but no more so than in any other capital city, in fact a bit less so was my impression.

haha:)

Yeah, was curious if it was an outlier or if this is something which is prevalent across European cities (I have read that it is more pronounced in Barcelona, but the tech/startup sector in Lisbon is quite strong and it is a smaller city)

i think the tech stuff is def a factor there

crazy hipstery town too but they carry it well

The thing about expats/tourists is that they tend to hang around fairly well defined areas. Jump on just about any tram/bus, stay on it for a half an hour, get off, and you'll find yourself in a district with little discernible expat influence.

I wouldn't say I'm complaining about it as such, it was just quite disconcerting as I've not experienced it to this level anywhere else - the area I'm in (Beato) is much less touristic. its a double edge sword, and thr ar positives about it too. theres a lot of possibility here, especially if you're in software/web.

When we stayed in an airbnb in Alfama a few years ago our host was telling us about the nightlife and an Alfama nightclub, but she said people mostly stayed on the other side of the town until 2, when they would start to head towards the nightclub. As a tragically unhip 40 something geezer I just stood there baffled, thinking "does she mean... 2am??"

Gonna be in Lisbon for three days this spring, the whole family. Other than a destabilizing global pandemic, anything we should keep in mind and/or specifically seek out? I've never been. We're staying in Chiado, which seems hip/swank.

Some worthwhile touristy things are Pena Palace (in Sintra) and Sao Jorge Castle; take Tram 28 for a city tour.

Museu Berardo - top-notch contemporary art museum. Nearby is Pasteis de Belem, with its beloved custard tarts.
Carmo Convent is near Chiado and worth a quick visit - a church that lost its roof (topless church?) in an earthquake long ago.
Estufa Fria is an indoor botanical garden and a nice escape.
Cemiterio dos Prazeres (cemetery) - mausoleums galore, photo ops for Joy Division bootlegs LPs, if that's your thing (you can board Tram 28 on a nearby stop from here).

The food situation there is amazing (but do a little research), if your family is into that.

Keen to hear more about the dive bar where the estimable Daniel_Rf had his sublime fado experience, plus any other Lisbon recs ahead of a short break in a couple of weeks...

What a beautiful city. Caught a bit of Santo Antonio festival madness and now want to go back every June.

Aw sorry I didn't see that at the time, would have tried to dig up the place!

We didn't catch any fado in the end, but were treated to a busker segueing from RHCP to 4 Non Blondes, so were culturally nourished to complement the many amazing meals we had.

gonna be there for 3 days in mid-june, i read thru this thread (very helpful) ... open to any recent/new suggestions but specifically curious if anyone has recs for good record stores, vintage stores, bookstores etc or neighborhoods where you can just walk around & stumble upon such things

Peekaboo Records, within the Espaço Chiado shopping mall, is the best record store in Lisbon and owner can prob point you to other points of reference re: vintage clothes and hangouts - just say Reifferscheid sent you.

Carpet & Snares, in the same building, is also a good record store.

amazing thanks daniel

Just got back from Portugal and had an amazing trip (Lisbon > Madeira > Porto > Lisbon, all great in different ways).

We were over by Martim Moniz during our first pass through Lisbon, probably the best parts of which were all the Indian restaurants on Rua do Benformoso (literally the street was just Indian restaurants & grocery stores, and it was popping at night) and proximity to Miradouro da Graca (really nice sunset spot).

When we came back to Lisbon we were on R. Prior Coutinho (not sure what neighborhood that would be). Wandered into a Russian craft beer bar (Sputnik) in search of the best Portuguese beer we had found (Ophiussa) where there was a Russian poetry reading in progress and the bartender's puppy in a box by the bar. Also found some really great Tibetan food, a nice park (w/roosters, hens, and ducklings wandering around), and another amazing miradouro (I think it was da Senhora do Monte, which you can see from Graca).

On our last day we went to LX Factory, which did have some good record stores and some vintage clothes. The Jazz Messengers shop (in the big bookstore there) was great, I got a Dorothy Ashby record. And there was another boutique-y record store there with tons of great Brazilian, funk, and dance records (pretty pricey but good stuff). But it was just as good to wander down by the shipyard and watch fish jumping out of the water for an hour.

Also once we succumbed to using Bolt that made getting to different parts of the city much easier, you can get anywhere for like 5 euros or less.

thanks so much jordan

my understanding is that our trip overlaps w/ santo antonio festival so if any locals had any tips for how to navigate that lmk

lol I had a hard time keeping you Jordans straight

lol, just prepare for absolute madness. go with the flow and enjoy it.

Hoping to finally make it out to Lisbon this year. That's it, that's the post.

Btw I don't know how long you have there, but Porto ruled too. We got an incredibly affordable Flixbus between the two.

Hi -- I would love to request recommendations from everyone (Jordans and otherwise) about current Lisbon and Porto? I will be visiting both places in two weeks and would deeply appreciate your guidance and recommendations.

I'm interested in where to go at night-time in Lisbon. Hot Club for jazz scene? Anything else?

Porto: What's the best thing to do these days? I'm also consulting ( More travel tips:Southern Portugal )

Thanks for everything on both of these threads!

Lisbon nighttime: LuxFrágil remains the grand cathedral, a great anomaly in that it is by far Lisbon's most well known club but also the programmers have immaculate taste. Be aware portuguese nightlife starts late, you'll get plenty of people arriving there at, like, three in the morning and if you rock up at 23:00 place might look deserted. Otoh that means you'll have no trouble getting in.

ZDB has good concerts. Espaço Damas is a smaller, more chill place with a good vegan menu.

I'll do another post for Porto

Every time I look at downtown Porto now I get depressed - the city I loved is gone, the downtown area now resembles the downtown area of anywhere else, a tourist trap with some unconvincing nods to "local culture". That is obviously not a helpful thing to tell someone visiting though. Along with the tourism though has come immigration, and it did make me happy to see halal restaurants and the like...I have faith that these cultural changes will lead to new and exciting things happening in the city.

Palácio de Cristal gardens has peacocks and the best view of the riverside. Casa da Música is a Kohaas designed building and our main concert venue. Serralves museum is a must, as are the surrounding gardens.

Foodwise, get some grilled fish in the Afurada region (it's nothing but restaurants, you'll find one). Portucale is an amazing preserved in amber place, feels like fine dining circa 1965. The consensus pick for best francesinha is Bufete Fase, but expect long queques and uncomfortable seats - alternatively if you're in the Casa da Música area I was always a partisan of Favo.

The local nightlife, fleeing the tourists, has started to gravitate towards the area of the Fine Arts college. There's a super-traditional local association that's become a big hipster hangout, lots of fun to see millenials mingling with w/c boomers in a setting of pool tables and small beers.

Two events organisers that do good stuff, depending on yr tastes of course, are Geração Suave and Lovers & Lollypops.

The port wine tours are the most basic bitch thing ever but fuck it, free port.

Thank you so much! This is super helpful. Looking forward to visiting & taking heed of this guidance next week.