Lisbon "Non Touristy" recs

January 23, 2024 1:00 PM

Going to Lisbon a couple weeks and would here and there enjoy some things that are non touristy, i.e something a tourist never really goes to, but you stumbled upon on your trip or when you lived there. Ideally Tram/Metro accessible (Things like neighborhoods where expats, or middle class, or super rich live, supermarkets, target equivalents, parks not in touristy areas, public transit/ferrries, libraries etc)
posted by sandmanwv to Travel & Transportation around Lisbon, Portugal (15 answers total)

Pootle across the river on the Cacilhas ferry whether or not you do the views from Santuário de Cristo Rei on the other side. Ferries also to Barreiro and Seixal. Me, I could rattle around town allll day on the 19thC trams but YMMV.
At the other end of the 19thC, The Lines of Torres Vedras were /are a series of defensive military works constructed by Wellington the Allies against the French in 1809. You can walk along, there won't be many tourists in Feb.
Further back you might reflect on the 1755 earthquake which inspired Voltaire's Candide. There seems to be a 'minority interest' museum.
Oh, and Caldo Verde at least twice a day; but again, that might be just me.
posted by BobTheScientist at 1:57 PM on January 23

Best answer: Walk out on the aqueduct, visit the Mãe d'Agua, walk through the Torel Garden to look out upon the city.
posted by chavenet at 4:01 PM on January 23 [5 favorites]

Seconding the ferry. We did not get off, just enjoyed the views and being on the water. We stayed in/spent most of our time in the Alfama neighborhood, while there are touristy things there it's not touristy in the long lines and too many people sense. We also enjoyed the National Tile Museum. It was delightfully uncrowded and lovely to wander the halls of the former convent it's housed in. Don't skip the attached church and reliquary if you're a fan of the weirder arm of Catholicism.
posted by donnagirl at 4:17 PM on January 23 [2 favorites]

When I visited Lisbon in summer 2018, we stayed in a fairly residential neighborhood called Lapa that did not strike me as particularly touristy. We were easily able to walk to more touristy areas, but we were also just a few blocks from a Pingo Doce (very affordable grocery store). It made for a very quiet and pleasant home base!
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 4:19 PM on January 23 [1 favorite]

Best meal I had in Lisbon was at this sweet little local spot: https://www.instagram.com/listambul_

Looks like they're on break til Feb 16, but if your trip aligns with their reopening, it's worth a visit.
posted by luzdeluna at 4:46 PM on January 23

Best answer: A highlight and unique experience of Nov 2022 trip was eating clandestine Chinese food in Lisbon family apartments (two dinners in a row, a block from each other — second place had salt and pepper shrimp done right, which is not even that common in US restaurants!). Mostly local crowd, but up to you if too touristy.
posted by eyeball at 7:04 PM on January 23 [3 favorites]

Galeto cafe on Avenida da Republica
is an amazing little restaurant/bakery/bar where every seat (there are many) bellies up to the bar. Open early for espressos to late in the evening, good food and service at reasonable prices. Love that place!
posted by artdrectr at 9:21 PM on January 23

Not sure if this is what you are looking for. But we went to get Portuguese tarts at Pastéis de Belém. I believe one of the original places to make them. Well known tourist recommendation with lots of tourists but also so many locals. We were waiting in line with a family who were getting a treat after their kids morning soccer game. It was their local bakery.
Still the best Portuguese tarts I have ever had.
We also went to Bonjardim for charcoal chicken. So delicious. Kind of near the main square but definately just off the tourist main track. I got good use out of my Portuguese phrase book.
posted by daffodil at 9:53 PM on January 23

Best answer: The thing about Lisbon is that with all its windy streets there are plenty of almost-hidden non-touristy places right in the center. There's hardly any reason to go to too far. Neighborhoods like Estefania or Amoreiras have tourists but also locals going about their day.

Its funny chavenet (a Lisbon resident) mentions Torel Garden because one of my walks from my in-laws in Estefania to the city center involved walking first to Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, a neighborhood park and sitting there with a gelato from the great Miu Gelato on the corner and watch the free-roaming chickens and ducks, the families on the playground, - and then walk down into Torel Garden and admire views of the city with nobody around. There are many more hidden places like this.

In any case, tourists don't go up to Columbo, this mega-mall that all much of my Portuguese family seems to love going to. There's a ton of places to eat there too. Its just north of Monsanto park, which is pleasant to walk around in and not something many tourists do. Not to my liking but you did mention 'target-equivalents'.
posted by vacapinta at 12:52 AM on January 24 [4 favorites]

Endorse the parks vacapinta mentions and Torel Gardens. Something that is a given in every little park in Lisbon and none in the US (where I live) is cafes, with coffee, pastries, beer, fritters, and even incredible chocolate cake sometimes. What a gift to be able to enjoy these while the kid played or chased ducks.

There’s a little square in Mouraria with a couple restaurants — Food Temple, and Jasmin da Mouraria — that I loved. They felt hidden away. There are dozens of places like this around the city.

Jardim da Cerca de Graca was our favorite day to day park.
posted by xaire at 4:42 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]

Wander up the hill from Av da Liberdade at Avenida to visit Jardim Botânico de Lisboa. There's a good indian restaurant right there too. Then walk up the rest of the hill. There's often an open market in Principe Real (maybe only summer). Then wander back down through all the little streets of Barrio Alto. Or cut across to Jardim da Estrela (big park).

Take public transit out to the coast towns (commuter train to Cascais, Bus across the river to Costa da Caparica). From Cascais you can get a bus to Praia do Guincho, a dramatic Atlantic-facing beach.

Look for public events/festivals/movie-screenings/football-tournament-screenings that are popular with locals. There's lots in the summer but maybe tougher to find in January.

Eat pao de mafra.
posted by pjenks at 4:50 AM on January 24

Seconding Pingo Doce for groceries (you can live on a snacks of bread, sausage, cheese, wine). The Target equivalent is Continente (one is in the Colombo mall).
posted by pjenks at 5:04 AM on January 24

Do you like fish? Go to the Oceanarium to see the sharks and manta rays ... and otters! While you are in the area, wander around Parque das Nações, a part of the city that few tourists go. It was built as a planned development for the World's Fair in the 90s and has some really weird architecture. Eat at Honest Greens, which is a restaurant with delicious seasonal food. Then walk along the waterfront of the Tagus river estuary along the boulevard that goes over the water in several places. You can keep going and walk under the Ponte Vasco da Gama, which is the longest bridge in the EU. It's quite eerie.

In the center, go to Bettina Corallo if you like coffee. It's one of only two shops (the other is in Italy) selling coffee and chocolate developed by a botanist who decided that the extreme bitterness of those plants is a fault and bred to reduce it. Get a coffee and will come with a sample of chocolate that will blow your mind. 100% black cocoa that is delicious, not bitter. It's close to the Botanical Garden.
posted by Mournful Bagel Song at 7:15 AM on January 24 [1 favorite]

If you are a history buff, you might consider the African Lisbon Tour.
posted by simonelikenina at 9:02 AM on January 24

One thing we loved when we stayed in Lisbon for a month was the Jardim da Estrela. Don't know if you have kids but there's a great playground there and, if not, there's some nice walking paths and a couple cafe/bars in the gardens.
posted by Inkoate at 4:24 PM on January 24