COME AND VISIT LISBON!
Lisbon is a historical city full of stories to tell, where the sun shines 290 days a year and the temperature rarely drops below 15oC.
A city where you feel safe wandering around day or night, where the cuisine is dedicated to creating over a thousand ways to cook the beloved bacalhau (salted cod), and where you’ll find hotels and restaurants to suit every taste, budget and requirement.
Lisbon is ageless, but it loves company, as you’ll find out if you meet someone and ask them to explain, with lots of gestures and repetition, where the best place is to listen to Fado.
After all, Lisbon is famous for its hospitality and the family-like way that welcomes visitors.
Find more about Lisbon below and complete information at www.visitlisboa.com
LISBON MUST SEE
Baixa, Chiado
This is where you’ll find the city’s most popular and best-known areas. The historic centre – the Baixa Pombalina, with its traditional shops and museums, and the lively streets of Chiado – are some of the city’s main places of interest. The Baixa and Chiado neighbourhoods are a must for anyone visiting Lisbon which combines hi-tech historical information centres, contemporary museums, world-famous designer shops and excellent examples of pastéis de nata. This is where the locals converge; and this is where tourists find the liveliest side of the city.
Alfama, Castelo
The oldest and most traditional neighbourhood in Lisbon, with cobbled lanes and alleys and steep, gruelling inclines, should be discovered little by little, to savour the view, atmosphere and authentic spirit of the oldest side of the capital. Climb the hill that will reveal one of the best views of the city. Enter the Sé (cathedral) and continue up to Miradouro de Santa Luzia where you can see the pure essence of Alfama and the splendour of the Tagus river, and finally to Castelo de São Jorge. Only after absorbing every angle of Lisbon can you go to Portas do Sol and enjoy the outdoor cafés which give the square its name.
Bairro Alto, Cais do Sodré and Santos
In some of Lisbon’s oldest and most traditional neighbourhoods, you’ll find a nightlife and festive spirit that you’ll find hard to believe in the centre of the city. The whole city meets at the centre of its nightlife, where there are places to suit every taste and music for every genre. It always begins in Bairro Alto with its many and varied bars and restaurants, then heads down to Bica and always ends up in Cais do Sodré, where the most popular nightclubs. During the day, Bairro Alto is home to various alternative shops, from records to art and hairdressers; Cais do Sodré has countless restaurants for a recharge and Santos, Lisbon’s design district, is full of studios and unique shops selling fantastic and irresistible objects.
Av Liberdade, Marquês de Pombal
Come and discover the most important shopping and business area in Lisbon. The most luxurious side of the city lives side by side with top companies, offices and studios. Discover Avenida da Liberdade, where premium hotels and luxury shops alternate door by door. Here you’ll find some of the major representatives of global brands where the service is always sophisticated. You’ll also find several old theatres and cinemas converted into alternative venues. If you continue up to Marquês de Pombal, you’ll complete what was once known by the locals as the Passeio Público, or public promenade, and where a large part of the city’s business travel industry is concentrated. The long avenue flanked by acacias and palm trees was heavily inspired by Paris and has extraordinary stone pavements (calçada portuguesa) featuring intricate designs.
Belém
The monuments of Lisbon, which personify the age of the Discoveries and the country’s great maritime feats, can be found here: the famous Monastery of Jerónimos and Torre de Belém – internationally recognised as UNESCO world heritage sites. The Padrão dos Descobrimentos and Praça do Império complete the sensation of the grandeur of yesteryear of the Great Portuguese Empire. Such monuments recount the history of the Manueline style in an architectural setting that is unique anywhere in the world. Add to all of these reasons for visiting Lisbon a riverside with green areas, various marinas and sailing clubs, and a cycle lane combining with the beauty of the view. Belém is the place where you can enjoy Portuguese culture in its purest state and where you find the famous and delicious Pastéis de Belém.
Parque das Nações
A more contemporary Lisbon in this area totally regenerated for the world exhibition of the oceans in 1998. Notable for its modern and luminous architecture, Parque das Nações is the ideal place to spend a day with the family. Discover the treasures of the seas at the Oceanarium; relive your childhood at Museu da Conhecimento; enjoy a concert or show at the fantastic Altice Arena; and never cease to be amazed at the extraordinary architecture of the Pavilhão de Portugal and Gare do Oriente. With the river always there by your side, you can run, walk, date, picnic, watch a play at the Teatro Camões, try your luck at the Casino Lisboa, watch the water volcanoes explode, have a siesta or catch the cable car.
NEAR LISBON
Sintra
Sintra is known for its many 19th-century architectural monuments, which has resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sintra’s village and its surroundings have testimonies of hundreds of centuries secular history of aristocracy and royalty. There are numerous places that you can visit in Sintra, from palaces, mansions, farms, as the fantastic Quinta da Regaleira or castles.
Cascais
Cascais is a cosmopolitan town containing a beatiful bay. It is a former fishing village combined with the aristocratic life. It is a city of great natural beauty, heritage, cultural and sporting events. From fantastic beaches, museums with pieces of great artistic value, to a natural park, Cascais has a diversity of attractions that you can and should visit.
