Help make our trip to Europe amazing, Lisbon edition
June 6, 2018 4:32 PM Subscribe
Our family will be spending three nights in Lisbon in July. We're traveling with kids (10 & 12), so our plan is for a mostly low-key trip filled with lazily exploring the city. But we're also looking for other unique or special experiences we could do as a family that would really make our trip special.
We would love to hear any ideas that might involve:
- Meeting and interacting with locals
- Visiting special or unique places in the city that might not show up in guide books
- Anything food or wine related that shouldn't be missed
We will have a car. We also have plans to spend a night in Sintra.
We would love to hear any ideas that might involve:
- Meeting and interacting with locals
- Visiting special or unique places in the city that might not show up in guide books
- Anything food or wine related that shouldn't be missed
We will have a car. We also have plans to spend a night in Sintra.
My friends and I stayed at an Airbnb in the Cais do Sodre area of Lisbon close to Time Out Market. It is a huge former market that's been transformed into a food court and art venue. We ate at least six meals there and were never disappointed.
Time Out Market is probably in guide books, but don't dismiss it as a tourist attraction. The food there was really good, and the atmosphere lively and fun.
Sintra was lovely, but also try to drive along the coast to Cascais. It's a small beach town that's extremely pretty and has amazing seafood.
posted by Everydayville at 7:12 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Time Out Market is probably in guide books, but don't dismiss it as a tourist attraction. The food there was really good, and the atmosphere lively and fun.
Sintra was lovely, but also try to drive along the coast to Cascais. It's a small beach town that's extremely pretty and has amazing seafood.
posted by Everydayville at 7:12 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
When we went to Lisbon we booked a photo tour with Miguel - it was amazing. He was a fantastic guide and took wonderful photos of us to remember our trip. Highly recommend for one of the first days of your visit - he will give you lots of ideas of attractions and restaurants to visit during the rest of the trip.
The Museum of Puppetry is a fun outing. Pistola y Corazon Taqueria has great tacos if you're looking for a different dining option.
posted by cessair at 7:16 PM on June 6, 2018
The Museum of Puppetry is a fun outing. Pistola y Corazon Taqueria has great tacos if you're looking for a different dining option.
posted by cessair at 7:16 PM on June 6, 2018
Pasteis de Belem at the Belem stop is a short train ride from Lisbon. EAT. ALL. THE. PASTEIS DE NATA.
Botanical garden and museums right around there too.
posted by Karaage at 7:37 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Botanical garden and museums right around there too.
posted by Karaage at 7:37 PM on June 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Historic trams and funiculars are great! https://www.routesandtrips.com/touring-lisbon-on-tram-28/
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:48 PM on June 6, 2018
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:48 PM on June 6, 2018
2nding Time Out Market - we only managed to make it there once, but it was amazing. On a future trip to Lisbon, we plan to stay nearby so we can eat there more often.
posted by champagneminimalist at 1:35 AM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by champagneminimalist at 1:35 AM on June 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Came here to recommend the Pasteis de Belem, Karaage has nailed it.
I think it's actually against several local bye-laws to eat fewer than twelve egg-based desserts per day in and around Lisbon.
posted by greenish at 2:31 AM on June 7, 2018
I think it's actually against several local bye-laws to eat fewer than twelve egg-based desserts per day in and around Lisbon.
posted by greenish at 2:31 AM on June 7, 2018
I pretty much live part-time in Lisbon.
Lisbon is changing rapidly right now because it is becoming more and more popular, having gone quickly from a hidden destination to a must-go one in Europe. The tourism business is booming there right now.
I think "lazily exploring the city" is the perfect way to see Lisbon as it rewards exploring. Lisbon is best seen by walking. Just make sure you have good, comfortable shoes as many of the older streets are quite treacherous. One way to meet the locals is to sign up for any number of walking food tours. These are all run by locals and are great at taking you to some hidden alleys. For themed walking tours in general, I can recommend this outfit: Lisboa Autentica but there a lot more I could recommend too.
An anti-recommendation: Please don't use a tuk-tuk. You will see these small cars throughout the city. They are noisy and cause pollution and were basically destroying some of the older neighborhoods - thankfully new laws have reigned them in a bit. That is unless you have mobility issues, walking and trams and buses and metros is the way to go within Lisbon.
Time Out Market is fun but I find it a bit crazy. It has a lot of variety in one place but many of the individual sellers - well, you could probably do better on your own. It is worth checking out at least once I suppose. I think the Campo de Ourique market has better food and is quieter but that may be too much for tourists to trek out to.
Some random recommendations:
- You'll find Custard Tarts everywhere. The amazing thing about Pasteis de Belem is that they are tasty and also somehow light and it feels like you can wolf down like 5-10 of them. Contrast this with another new contender Manteigaria which is delicious but I can only have like: 1.
- I really love the Museu Arte Antiga. Not only the amazing Japanese screens depicting Portuguese explorers but also their cafeteria. It is home-cooked food and you take your tray out to this amazing garden-terrace overlooking the city and river.
- Have a shot of Eduardino. The shop itself is nothing more than a guy serving shots which you take out onto the street and gulp down - it is too small in the shop to drink it inside.
- Get out to Expo. The metro will take you there. It is totally different than old Lisbon but amazing in its own way. The Lisbon Oceanarium is there and honestly one of the best around. It is really fun and very well designed.
- You can try wines in lots of places. I really like Chafariz do Vinho which is inside an old water tower.
- Whatever you think you know about Port wine, go to Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto in Lisbon and then make up your mind. You can have glasses of very old Port and it is incredible.
- For Portuguese gifts, go to A Vida Portuguesa. They have a few stores but the best one is the one near Metro Intendentes. (It still is incredible to me that less than 5 years ago this square was dangerous and to be avoided - full of junkies shooting up - and is now full of hip shops and cafes.)
- When in Sintra, don't miss Quinta da Regaleira, although almost everything in Sintra is wonderful.
posted by vacapinta at 5:53 AM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
Lisbon is changing rapidly right now because it is becoming more and more popular, having gone quickly from a hidden destination to a must-go one in Europe. The tourism business is booming there right now.
I think "lazily exploring the city" is the perfect way to see Lisbon as it rewards exploring. Lisbon is best seen by walking. Just make sure you have good, comfortable shoes as many of the older streets are quite treacherous. One way to meet the locals is to sign up for any number of walking food tours. These are all run by locals and are great at taking you to some hidden alleys. For themed walking tours in general, I can recommend this outfit: Lisboa Autentica but there a lot more I could recommend too.
An anti-recommendation: Please don't use a tuk-tuk. You will see these small cars throughout the city. They are noisy and cause pollution and were basically destroying some of the older neighborhoods - thankfully new laws have reigned them in a bit. That is unless you have mobility issues, walking and trams and buses and metros is the way to go within Lisbon.
Time Out Market is fun but I find it a bit crazy. It has a lot of variety in one place but many of the individual sellers - well, you could probably do better on your own. It is worth checking out at least once I suppose. I think the Campo de Ourique market has better food and is quieter but that may be too much for tourists to trek out to.
Some random recommendations:
- You'll find Custard Tarts everywhere. The amazing thing about Pasteis de Belem is that they are tasty and also somehow light and it feels like you can wolf down like 5-10 of them. Contrast this with another new contender Manteigaria which is delicious but I can only have like: 1.
- I really love the Museu Arte Antiga. Not only the amazing Japanese screens depicting Portuguese explorers but also their cafeteria. It is home-cooked food and you take your tray out to this amazing garden-terrace overlooking the city and river.
- Have a shot of Eduardino. The shop itself is nothing more than a guy serving shots which you take out onto the street and gulp down - it is too small in the shop to drink it inside.
- Get out to Expo. The metro will take you there. It is totally different than old Lisbon but amazing in its own way. The Lisbon Oceanarium is there and honestly one of the best around. It is really fun and very well designed.
- You can try wines in lots of places. I really like Chafariz do Vinho which is inside an old water tower.
- Whatever you think you know about Port wine, go to Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto in Lisbon and then make up your mind. You can have glasses of very old Port and it is incredible.
- For Portuguese gifts, go to A Vida Portuguesa. They have a few stores but the best one is the one near Metro Intendentes. (It still is incredible to me that less than 5 years ago this square was dangerous and to be avoided - full of junkies shooting up - and is now full of hip shops and cafes.)
- When in Sintra, don't miss Quinta da Regaleira, although almost everything in Sintra is wonderful.
posted by vacapinta at 5:53 AM on June 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
Culinary Backstreets also has a Lisbon tour. We did their tour in Barcelona (and have done it in Istanbul and Athens) and have heard nothing but incredible things. Expensive, but highly worth it.
posted by something_witty at 2:20 PM on June 7, 2018
posted by something_witty at 2:20 PM on June 7, 2018
Look for a place to stay in Madragoa, it was a quieter neighborhood with some lovely local-oriented food spots (Pratinho Feio had nice fat grilled sardines and O Pocinho was delicious Cabo Verdean food). Not too far from the Puppetry museum if that is your thing also.
Don't remember if it was in guidebooks but the Archaeological Center of Rua dos Correeiros is a tour of the roman ruins under a bank in the tourist center/plaza downtown, and it's not a long tour and you get to walk through basements.
Also, read about the earthquake before you go if you think your kids will enjoy noticing how the city was rebuilt! It's easy to see the damage/old city at the Convento do Carmo then looking out at the tourist area, plus then you can take the Elevador de Santa Justa down to the street below and those are both in tour books but pretty fun.
We found that the Pasteis de Belem at Belem were ok but not worth the trip, with so many other places to try them in the city (the best we had were at a shop outside the train station in Porto and a Manteigaria in Lisbon). Belem in general was a bit of a hassle. We had seen a lot of cool architecture already so it might have been just saturation, but the lines and crowds were not cool (literally too hot, not a ton of shade along the water, and also ruder than most crowds we've been in), and the architecture museum had some interesting things but was pretty disappointing overall. Might be more fun to see Belem from a boat. The Castelo de Sao Jorge in Lisbon/Moorish Castle in Sintra would scratch similar martial/historical itches, also.
We did take the ferry over to Cacilhas, which was substantially a street of restaurants and our goal was cold wine, but boats are fun and there might be some other things around there- google shows a historical submarine?
posted by slanket wizard at 6:29 PM on June 7, 2018
Don't remember if it was in guidebooks but the Archaeological Center of Rua dos Correeiros is a tour of the roman ruins under a bank in the tourist center/plaza downtown, and it's not a long tour and you get to walk through basements.
Also, read about the earthquake before you go if you think your kids will enjoy noticing how the city was rebuilt! It's easy to see the damage/old city at the Convento do Carmo then looking out at the tourist area, plus then you can take the Elevador de Santa Justa down to the street below and those are both in tour books but pretty fun.
We found that the Pasteis de Belem at Belem were ok but not worth the trip, with so many other places to try them in the city (the best we had were at a shop outside the train station in Porto and a Manteigaria in Lisbon). Belem in general was a bit of a hassle. We had seen a lot of cool architecture already so it might have been just saturation, but the lines and crowds were not cool (literally too hot, not a ton of shade along the water, and also ruder than most crowds we've been in), and the architecture museum had some interesting things but was pretty disappointing overall. Might be more fun to see Belem from a boat. The Castelo de Sao Jorge in Lisbon/Moorish Castle in Sintra would scratch similar martial/historical itches, also.
We did take the ferry over to Cacilhas, which was substantially a street of restaurants and our goal was cold wine, but boats are fun and there might be some other things around there- google shows a historical submarine?
posted by slanket wizard at 6:29 PM on June 7, 2018
I found the Jardim Bordallo Pinheiro cool for a short visit. It's a (free) park next to the city of Lisbon museum that has some freaky/cool outsize animal sculptures and a large resident peacock population (birds, not sculptures). No idea whether it's in the guidebooks, but I'd wager it gets a lot less traffic than some of the (good) suggestions above.
We also found the tour of the former power station at the MAAT really cool. I'm sure it's in guidebooks but, again, probably not the same levels of traffic as some other places.
posted by veggieboy at 8:45 AM on June 11, 2018
We also found the tour of the former power station at the MAAT really cool. I'm sure it's in guidebooks but, again, probably not the same levels of traffic as some other places.
posted by veggieboy at 8:45 AM on June 11, 2018
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The end of the tour also included a local tapas and drinks session with the Lisbon tour guide in an old nunnery that has now been converted into a brewery. Might have been the Cervejeria Trinidade.
posted by Willow251 at 4:57 PM on June 6, 2018