Ideas for things to see in and around Lisbon
No pictures ... just ideas!
We spent several weekends in Lisbon and have a list of things that we quite enjoyed.
For shopping go to the Columbo Mall. It has a metro stop in the basement and is a HUGE mall even by US standards. It also has the largest one story store I have ever been - Continente - complete with 98 checkout stands. You can find furniture, housewares, clothes, tolietries, food - cheese, fish , meat, wine, beer - all there. The rest of the mall has a variety of stores ... note how small many of them are.
Another great place is the Instituto de Vinho de Porto. Take the funicular up the hill - or walk! Across the street is the marketing arm of the port industry. They have comfortable chairs, fireplace, charm,
and at least 100 different types of port to taste. The glasses cost from 1 euro to 25 euros each. Try 3 or 4 varieties of the same brand and see if you can tell the difference.
Tired of walking on cobblestones and need a break? Find the Cervejaria de Trinidade - the oldest brewery in Lisbon - and have a beer. Good beer and if you want to take a glass home they will sell you one - used!
Sintra is one place everyone goes including every tour group. Take the train out and then pay for the bus that will take you to the Pena Palace. It is at the TOP of a nasty hill. The bus ride is worth the price just to be amazed that the bus can actually get thru the narrow streets and up the hill. We only made it to one palace because it was about 38C and we couldn't handle any more heat. Pizza and wine were a better idea.
Other places we liked:
- Sao Jorge Castelo - interesting walk UP the hill!
- Museo Gulbenkian - an amazing collection and very manageable in size.
- Monasterio de Belem
- Pasteis de Belem. This is the famous pastry near the Monasterio in the building with the blue awning. Go in and keep walking back and around the different rooms and you'll find a table eventually. If they are all taken, hang around and eventually someone leaves. Order 2 pasteis and a cup of espresso each. Add powdered sugar to the warm pastries. They're great!
- Igreja de Sao Roque - beautiful church
- Convento Carmo - destroyed in the earthquake and now an archeology museum. Small and beautiful.
Before we left
Arriving in Portugal
In Evora!
Where we lived
Places we went
The University
Lisbon Tourism Office Web site