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OT - Lisbon, Portugal

RUPedro

RUPedro

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Aug 2, 2001
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My wife pulled this trip out of the hat last night when she saw some good rates. We leave this Sunday night and will be there until next Saturday.

I have been to a few other European countries and other than my youngest daughter telling me her favorite beaches were in Portugal, not Lisbon, I don't have much to go on. I can speak/understand a little spanish, and assume it is similar to portuguese - so hopefully no major language issues.

If you have any recommendations, please weigh in! It will be me, my wife, and a 24 year old daughter (not the one who has been to beaches in Portugal). Thanks!
 
I recommend doing a day trip out to Sintra, where the former palace is located. I also recommend going out for an evening of Fado (music).

As for language, the Portuguese and Spanish don't really get along all that well as the former have long felt that they are treated like the little brother by the latter. So if you try to speak Spanish to anyone, he/she might well answer you in English. I learned this the hard way the first time I was there. The two languages look a lot alike and share a lot of grammar but they sound quite different from one another. But any Spanish you have will definitely help you when reading signs and other materials, as there are a lot of cognates between the two.

Lisbon is a beautiful city. I think you'll enjoy it.
 
Dialects of a language are similar. Portuguese and Spanish are two distinct languages. I'm not sure how much English the average Portuguese can speak. Don't they have good translation apps for this by now?
 
Other than getting ripped off by a cabbie from the airport, Lisbon is a very inexpensive city by European standards. So get ready to eat well and drink well for very little money.
 
A few things. As stated above the cabbies will try and rip you off from airport. Find out from your hotel what the rate should be before you go and make sure you let the taxi driver know you have this information.

Make sure you take a walk up to Castle St George. Nice walk and beautiful views.

Also do the whole area below the Castle, truthfully the touristy area. The sides streets around this area have some great restaurants.

Go over the Monastary of St Jeronimos and make sure to stop by the Pastry shop de Belems. There some of famous statues right on the river right by there.

Do not speak Spanish. Know the basic Portuguese, thank you etc and you will be fine.

No beaches in Lisbon head West to Sintra.

LAst but not least if you are sleeping on the plane and you wake while getting ready to land, don't freak out and think you are in San Francisco. You will see what I mean.
 
I agree with the day trip to Sintra and also check out the most western point in continental Europe.

As far as beaches, definitely visit the Albufeira region for a solid 3 days. Gorgeous beaches. The old town is a good spot to stay at and St rafael beach is stunning.

Try the filet mignon on the hot stone and also the octopus ("pulpo"). Also if you like hot sauce they have a hot oil called "piri piri" so Def try that.

Great country to visit.
 
Sintra is a pretty town and it's very close to Lisbon, but if you're looking for a nice beachtown, pass on it. The nicest beaches are in the southern coast of Portugal - Algarve. It's worth the trip.

Portuguese, whether spoken in Portugal or the Azores or Brazil sounds nothing like Spanish. You're better off with English.
 
I live in Europe and Lisboa is one of my favorite cities due to it's climate, affordability and general kindness of the people.

Some tips:

1. Are you renting a car? I highly suggest you do and make sure it has a GPS. Also - DO get the EZ Pass equivalent of Portugal. It's like 5(?) Euros a day but it will save you a ton of time when passing through tolls. We didn't rent a car right off the bat, but instead visited Lisbon by foot/public transport for a day or two and then went back to the airport, got a car, and drove out to the coast. Highly recommend it.

The subway is pretty straight forward and clean so you can use that to get around. But I say it's better to explore by walking (like all of Europe), so the most important tip is to buy some comfortable shoes. Like really really comfortable.

Do visit!

Bairro Alto: It's pretty much bars packed into a neighborhood. Cheap drinks/beer and if you see a guy walking around with a basket selling homemade "pao com chorizo" (sausage bread), do eat it. It's awesome. This was my favorite part of Lisbon. You can then go down the hill to Bica for more drinking and finally end at Cais do Sodre which is by the water.

I recommend the aquarium if the weather is grim or if you want to lay low for a bit.

Outside of Lisbon, rent a car and try to go to Guincho (Cascais) to experience European beach life, and better yet go to Adraga (Sintra) and visit all the crazy castles and beautiful scenery. I'd get a hotel close to Sintra as there is a lot to see and it's a bit far from Lisbon. But try your best not to eat there, as every restaurant is a terrible tourist trap with the menu in 15 languages.

In terms of food, the best ones were the ones we thought locals were eating at. We ate at these highly rated/fancy ones and found them to be underwhelming.
 
I had one cab driver who didn't speak English. Some people there speak Spanish, but they will prefer to use English. I know some Portuguese which definitely came in handy, but if I lapsed into Spanish I definitely got an eyeroll (followed by friendly advice in Spanish).

Get a cerezinha shot for one euro. It's a cherry liqueur and it's famously sold out of this one little street stall.

Drink a lot of Port. Liquor stores will let you sample. Also, Super Bock is a pretty good beer, especially for a Mediterranean country.

I agree with Bairro Alto and the Fado dinner. You need to book the Fado in advance.

The bread on the table at restaurants isn't free- they charge you for eating it. Still eat it.

I did a segway tour, which is an adrenaline rush on the hills. You will come back with stronger calves.

I would also try a Franceszinha (kind of like a croque madame in sauce) and any piri-piri chicken joints.

You might get bored there for one week. I know a few years ago, a one way flight to Madrid was like $20-30.
 
RUPedro said:
My wife pulled this trip out of the hat last night when she saw some good rates. We leave this Sunday night and will be there until next Saturday.

I have been to a few other European countries and other than my youngest daughter telling me her favorite beaches were in Portugal, not Lisbon, I don't have much to go on. I can speak/understand a little spanish, and assume it is similar to portuguese - so hopefully no major language issues.

If you have any recommendations, please weigh in! It will be me, my wife, and a 24 year old daughter (not the one who has been to beaches in Portugal). Thanks!
Click to expand...
That's weird, I was going to start a thread because my wife and I are traveling there at the end of June. Loving the recommendations.
 
Obidos is an old castle town about 1 hour or so from Lisbon. Very cool day trip. If you are willing to travel I second the Algarve.
 
My wife and I loved Portugal - did a 5-day trip based just outside of Lisbon, in Cascais (nice local restaurants). We rented a car so we could get around.

We second Obidos and Sintra.

Also, the Western-most point in Europe - Cabo da Roca.

We also did enjoyed Palacio Nacional de Queluz.

In Lisbon, if you wish to see a couple of nice, not overwhelming museums, there are 2 we recommend (though I do not remember their exact names): The Carriage museum, and the museum about the Portuguese global explorations.

And, for fun: Caldas da Rainha. This city is about 50 miles from Lisbon. It has a great farmer's market every morning, and a lot of shops with ceramics. BUT ... the "fun" part about this city is that every souvenier shop has ceramics of varying types in the shape of phalluses. We got my wife's brother, who was a pediatric urologist, a jar of brandy in a ceramic jar shaped exactly like a penis.

When in Portugal make sure to go out to have a port sampling outing. And then buy some port with which to come home.

AND ... you MUST have plenty of pasteis de nata - the sweetest, lightest, best tasting pastries you may ever have.
 
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I forgot to mention Evora, a medieval city in the Alentejo region to the east of Lisbon, closer to the Spanish border. A place that looks like time has forgotten it. Since I spent a weekend there and was staying in Faro on the Algarve at the time, I don't know for sure if it can be done as a day-trip from Lisbon.
 
RUSK97 said:
Sintra is a pretty town and it's very close to Lisbon, but if you're looking for a nice beachtown, pass on it. The nicest beaches are in the southern coast of Portugal - Algarve. It's worth the trip.

Portuguese, whether spoken in Portugal or the Azores or Brazil sounds nothing like Spanish. You're better off with English.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you don't have a clue!!!

I speak both Spanish & Portuguese, and yes they can communicate fine. Are they the same language no, but they are very similar.... if both speak it slowly they'll understand each other just fine!
 
wcfan10 said:
Sorry, but you don't have a clue!!!

I speak both Spanish & Portuguese, and yes they can communicate fine. Are they the same language no, but they are very similar.... if both speak it slowly they'll understand each other just fine!
Click to expand...
Look, it's not my determination. They're both Latin-derived languages. I know no more than twenty Portuguese words. I have no more than a most basic knowledge of Castillian Spanish. I hosted a business meeting in 2013 in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul which is in the southern part of the country not far from the Uruguayan border. I had delegates from São Paulo and Buenos Aires. They tried - they had a very hard time understanding each other. The Brazilians understood the Spanish-speaking Argentinians more or less, but when they spoke Portuguese, the Argentinians were dumbfounded. Maybe I don't have a clue, but I can tell you neither did my delegates - would have been useful to have someone like you there.
 
fischy5000 said:
some of the beaches in Lagos area look amazing...all sorts of rock/cliff formations in the area as well.
(Camilo, Dona Ana, Praia da Batata, Meia Praia...)

http://tanamatales.com/discovery-of-the-week-lagos-beaches-portugal/

*a couple hours drive south of Lisbon
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Did a 3-week honeymoon in Spain/Portugal, with one week of that in Portugal. We spent that week in the Algarve, including 5 days in Lagos and 2 days in Sagres. Lagos might have been our favorite location on the entire trip, which included Barcelona, Sevilla, Granada, San Sebastian and Toledo, at least with regard to sheer physical beauty and the friendliness of the locals (it doesn't have the size/history of the others, so it can't compete there).

We just loved it there. Reminded us of the laid back and friendly vibe we always got from Key West, except the town was prettier and the food was much better. I could've eaten fish soup and bread every night (for about $5, 1991 prices) in the numerous outdoor cafes and been happy, but the other dishes were so good I couldn't resist splurging a bit. The beaches were also spectacular and the weather in early September was superb - warm, but not hot and low humidity.
 
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