Lisbon

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Introduction

Posto de Informação, Lisbon

© All Rights Reserved edhong

Lisbon, Portugal's capital city, is a fascinating city of charming architecture, art and tradition. Set on the Portugese west coast where the river Tagus meats the Antlantic, Lisbon claims the title of mainland Europe's westernmost capital. But geographic location is not what draws most visitors to Lisbon. The city's relaxed atmosphere, cultural diversity, nightlife, casinos and architecture are more likely reasons to attract travellers. As a compact city with narrowly defined boundaries around the historical city, Lisbon is a city that can be explored on foot. Built on seven hills, like Rome and Istanbul, it is pleasant to know that public transport and taxi's are also readily available for when the climbing begins to wear down one's legs.

For those planning to visit a lot of museums, the Lisboa Card, purchasable from tourist information outlets around the city, offers free use of all public transport and reduced price (or free) tickets to countless museums, galleries and tourist attractions. There are 1, 2 and 3 day options available.

Neighbourhoods

• Alfama district
• Baixa
• Bairro Alto & Chiado
• Belem district
• Uptown

Sights and Activities

Castelo de Sao Jorge

Located in Downtown Lisbon, Sao Jorge offers one of the best views available of the city. The castle is filled with old ruins and interesting history and, more recently, a top-class restaurant as well as peacocks that roam freely around the grounds. The walled-in fortress area is square-shaped, and the actual castle is located on the northwest side of the hill.

As you take in the views around the castle, you will notice that this hill is the highest in the center of the city. For thousands of years, military minds have recognized that high ground is easiest to fortify and defend. Archaeological evidence shows that the hill has been the site of a military stronghold in one form or another for hundreds of years. Roman fortifications from 137 BC have been excavated. Other evidence shows that this area has been occupied for at least another 400 years before these Roman walls were built. In the 5th century A.D., the Visigoths, a tribe of Germanic people who sacked the Roman Empire and took control of this area, strengthened the fortress. Their guard towers still remain.

Convento do Carmo

The tall Gothic arches of the ruined Convento do Carmo are visible from a long distance. Today its preserved remains are a museum, but it began as the promise of one man to God. The convent that you see before you was also an outcome of the Battle of Aljubarrota. During the battle lvares Pereira promised God that if this battle was won by the Portuguese, he would build a convent. He kept his word, and the construction of the convent started in 1393.

The construction and design of the convent was overseen by three architects who were also brothers. These architects, Afonso, Rodrigo and Gonzalo Eanes, built the convent in plain Gothic style with some influences from the Monastery of Batalha, which was being constructed at the same time. Today, the Monastery of Batalha is a UNESCO world heritage site located in Batalha about 140km or 85 miles from Lisbon.

Se de Lisboa

Located in an the oldest area of Lisbon, Se de Lisboa is the cathedral of Lisbon and looks like a combination of a fort and a church. The cathedral is a mix of its original Roman construction and later Gothic and Neoclassical styles. A 20th century restoration converted as much as possible of the old church back to its Romanesque look based on old plans of the church.

Sintra

Sintra is a small village outside of Lisbon that makes for an excellent day trip. It's romantic architecture has been stunning people since the 19th century. Before the 19th century Sintra was a popular sight for the Portuguese royalty. Due to its popularity among the elite many wealthy and royal people built magnificent castles and homes in the area. The Sintra area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List because of its importance to Portuguese culture.

Other Sights and Activities

• Maritime Museum - Visit one of the best maritime museums in the world that tracks the history of portuguese naval domination from the 14th century onward.

Events and Festivals

Fish Festival
The Lisbon Fish Festival celebrates the huge gastronomic fish tradition of the city on her diverse recipes and is held in April. Demonstrations from several invited cookers and cpecialist as well as open events for everybody.

Indie Lisboa
Indie Lisboa is Lisbon's biggest film festival. It's goal it's to launch and promote new films and directors on the contemporary international scene. It's held during the end of April/beginning of May.

Festas de Lisboa
The Festas de Lisboa are celebrations that take place in the traditional neighborhoods of the city of Lisbon, held in June. On the streets you find party, popular music and grilled sardines. Three events are the highlight of the party : The "Marchas Populares", the colective Wedding of the brides of Santo António and the gold of walking from the river up to St. Jorge castle.

Weather

Lisbon has a great climate with warm summers from June to September when temperatures average between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. Nights are around 17 degrees. Occasionally, temperatures hit 40 degrees. Winters last from December to March, when daytime temperatures are between 15 and 17 degrees and nights slightly under 10 degrees.
Most of the rain falls during the wintermonths while summers are very dry.

Getting There

By Plane

International
The national airline of Portugal, TAP Portugal, flies to and from Lisbon. Apart from many European countries, TAP also has flights to destinations in Brazil, like Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Salvador among others. Other former colonies to serve from Portugal are Angola, Mozambique, Guinee Bissau, as well as other African cities such as Dakar, Johannesburg and Algiers.
There are many more airlines serving the capital of Portugal.

Domestic
TAP Portugal and Portugália Airlines both have flights to and from Lisbon and Faro, Madeira, Porto Santo, Porto and the Azores. SATA (the Azores' airline) has flights between the Azores and Lisbon as well.

By Train

Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses has an extensive network of train links throughout the country.
There are fast links with speeds well over 200 km/h from Lisbon to the Algarve and from Lisbon to northern cities such as Porto, Braga, Guimarães, Coimbra and Aveiro, but on most routes there are intercity services which still are fast enough and a good alternative to buses or cars. From Lisbon, there are also frequent links to Cascais and Sintra, popular traveller routes.

By Car

By Bus

Contact Rede Nacional de Expressos for more information about prices and schedules to and from Lisbon.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Apartments

Casa na Bica in Largo de Santo Antoninho, in the heart of historical Lisbon, right next to Bica's funicular, the apartment is in walking distance to Bairro Alto Baixa, Santos and Cais do Sodré. Near the apartment you have restaurants, bars, markets and typical Portuguese shops and you can really feel the traditional life of Lisbon. You also have the wonderful view of Miradouro of Sta Catarina just 100 mts from the house.

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

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