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Not a fan of the "I'll write 3000 words of drivel about a bar of soap to get myself an E" school of Ciao-ing. I think it's more important to write something well and succinctly. Of course, I may be in a minority!... :)
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We visited Lisbon this September having decided to go there instead of Rome. It has to be said that we were initially motivated by the fact that an equivalent holiday- same number of days, same rating of accommodation- was about HALF the price of Rome.
Lisbon is a fascinating place, the overall impression being of a city of great style and architecture, the ancient (colossal old buildings, grubby but striking statues and monuments) rubbing shoulders with the modern (great trains and tube, some flashy restaurants). It may be because of this that it took a little getting used to.
We arrived on the Saturday evening- admittedly a little late following various delays with the flight and then the bus, which became stuck in rush hour traffic- at our hotel, the Travel Pak in the Anjos area of the city. We ventured out to see if we could find a small supermarket to stock up on a few drinks and snacks, but we were a little too late for the (only) supermarket in the area so wandered about for a while and then back.
It has to be said that my initial impression of the city was coloured by
walking through Anjos. If you've ever had to negotiate Croydon on a weekend evening you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Every dozen yards or so it seemed some drunken tramp would stumble into us, and there were groups of people on the streets for whom the word "dodgy" would fit exactly.
Luckily the hotel had a minibar, which we made some use of upon our return!
THE SIGHTS...
The following day we visited Belem, which is effectively a little suburb of Lisbon but which has some fantastic architecture- the famous Monument of the Explorers, and not only that but possibly one of the grandest monasteriesI've ever seen. The interior of the place took my breath away- I've seen some pretty good cathedrals in England, but this (and don't forget this is a monastery, not a cathedral) was something else. The stained glass was the best I'd ever seen, the pillars vast and high and the ceiling was one of those you can stare at for hours wondering just how people could possibly have crafted such a work of art. The ability to create beautiful buildngs like this is something that seems sadly to have been lost throughout the world now. This is a grand statement of a time when people could and did come together to make such wonderful architecture.
On the Monday we visited the castle in the centre of Lisbon- be warned, unless you're particularly fit, don't attempt to walk up the steep hill all the way to the castle- get the tram instead.
[TOP TIP No.1 - you can buy 3-day "Lisbon cards" from tourist information centres which give you free transport on the tube and trains and trams, plus discounted or sometimes even free access into many of the musuems and attractions around the city and surrounding area.]
Some great views of the city- all gleaming white walls and terracotta tiles- can be had from the turrets and walkways of the castle. Definitely worth a visit, and with our Lisbon cards it was about 5€, which is pretty damn good if you compare it with the ridiculous prices you pay to enter castles in England.
Also worth a visit are the Oceanarium, which includes a number of unfeasibly large fish- manta rays and sharks amongst them- and the zoo, although in fact the zoo was a slight disappointment in one way, as it was a little small and the walkways hadn't been planned especially well. Nevertheless we got some good shots of tigers, lions and a couple of hippos amongst many other creatures.
[TOP TIP No.2 - if you go to the zoo, I advise you not to go on the overhead cable car ride- not because you won't get a decent view- I'm sure the views are great- but because the route actually takes you OVER such areas as the lion enclosure, the rhino enclosure... okay, the line probably won't snap, but if it did...!!! I was a bit surprised to say the last that they allowed people to effectively dangle precariously over such areas...]
FOOD
The restaurants in general seem to be pretty good, we only had four days there so we didn't sample that many, but each time we ate out it was good. Steak with mushroom sauce was possibly the highlight- rich and wonderfully tender- but the Portuguese style sardines (proper sardines, not the nasty tinned muck you see lining the shelves in England) came a close second. Prices are average- we could have ate at cheaper restaurants but chose not to, so can't really quibble about the cost.
THE PEOPLE
The people are mostly fine- much the same as in most other places on the Continent. If you treat them with respect they'll generally do the same in return.
One thing I would say is that unlike in this country they don't seem to have so much of a problem with evil teenage scumbags wandering about doing all sorts of things "for a laugh". It's a pretty loud, boisterous city but aside from a few pockets it doesn't have the same level of seething malevolence so prevalent in English towns and cities after nightfall. Like most continental Europeans it seems the Portuguese know how to relax and have a good time without getting hammered and causing trouble- something a lot of British people could learn from.
TRANSPORT
The trams are slow and creaky but have a certain charm to them. The tubes and trains are excellent- clean, efficient, well-run and frequent. I don't know if it's just me but it seems every country in Europe turns out to have a far better public transport system than the UK.
The tube lines do tend to branch out from the city centre rather than interconnect much with each other, but then this is a much more recently-built system than, say, the London Underground- and with the tubes being so frequent and efficient, it really doesn't matter if your journey is often a bit "in-out".
OVERALL COST
For an extended long weekend or week-long break, Lisbon can be very reasonably-priced. Buy a multi-day Lisbon card and plan your trips out to various places and you can not only pack a lot into a relatively short time but save a fair bit of money as well.
LOGISTICS
Flights from the UK take about 2 and a half hours. We flew from Heathrow and back to Gatwick, which meant extra trainfare costs, but you can go to and from the same airport most times. From Lisbon airport you can get the Aerobus into the city centre which in theory takes half an hour (although it took us longer as we were caught up in the rush hour).
IN SUMMARY
Lisbon is definitely worth a visit. If you go there, make sure you pay Sintra a visit, as well as the monastery at Belem- particularly if you like your architecture. The city is fairly easy to get to, resonably priced in most respects, as safe as most other western Eurpean cities, and there's plenty to see and do.
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Advantages: Easy to get around and different quirky places to visit, everyone speaks English Disadvantages: The City seems a bit 'faded glory'- places uncared for and tired
catsholiday 21.06.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Lisbon (Portugal)
Advantages: Plenty to see, good food, the trams, nice people Disadvantages: Can't think of any, unless you count having a really odd-sounding language!
BNibbles 14.07.2007 (29.07.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Lisbon (Portugal)
Advantages: Overall it was a fantastic holiday and would not hesitate to go again. Disadvantages: The ship is very very big and felt bit impersonal at times
alexandria112 14.08.2009 (14.08.2009)
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Review of Royal Carribean
![Lisbon, Portugal [DVD] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/86952113.jpg "Lisbon, Portugal [DVD] [NTSC]")
![Vista Point Lisbon Portugal [DVD] [NTSC]](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/icons/no_pic_generic_S1.gif "Vista Point Lisbon Portugal [DVD] [NTSC]"){kind=icon}
Sep 28th, 2007
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