Lisbon - DIY?

We have a full day in Lisbon during May. Included is an overview driving tour leaving the rest of the day to DIY. Wondering if that sounds like a good way to go vs private tour all day? We tend to enjoy DIY as much as possible when the port makes sense. I appreciate your feedback!

Vineyard View,

Here's what I wrote about our day in Lisbon in 2012:

"In Lisbon, there's a lot to do. More than I originally thought. Public transportation took longer than expected, so be aware of that. We got the multi-site pass at the visitor's center. Spent the morning in Belem visiting the main sites, before returning to the city center. Because our ship's captain upped our All Aboard time by 90 minutes, we didn't have time to visit the Castle or take the trolley in the upper part of the city (yes....not all of the passengers got the memo and we still left at our original All Aboard time.... :-( We had a delightful visit there and left wishing we had even more time. I would set a list of priorities and hit them first."

I think your plan sounds good. It's an easy port to DIY, but as I found out, sometimes public transportation takes longer than expected. I think your overview will be a nice way to ensure you don't miss any highlights. It's a beautiful city....would love to go back.

Enjoy!

We have a full day in Lisbon during May. Included is an overview driving tour leaving the rest of the day to DIY. Wondering if that sounds like a good way to go vs private tour all day? We tend to enjoy DIY as much as possible when the port makes sense. I appreciate your feedback!

Hello VV

This was my day in Lisbon, using an all-day travel ticket (about €7). Very nice city with lots to enjoy if you choose the all-day DIY option. All the best, Tony

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We used the HoHo in Lisbon. It worked really well for us and it was very economical.

We used the HoHo in Lisbon. It worked really well for us and it was very economical.

Ditto.

Easy & inexpensive.

BTW there are two berths at Lisbon, one in the city & another down-river toward the Belem Tower. The ho-ho calls at both, though no transport is needed from the one in the centre

JB :)

Not for everyone, but since we really enjoyed it: We took a 3 hour (I think) tour on a sidecar motorcycle by Bike My Side (Daniel). He took us places that at a tour bus can't go, including parts of the city that most tours don't go, and to a few great viewpoints that I was hoping to walk to on my own if he couldn't go there. We're in our early 60s and I worried a tiny bit that I would find the bike uncomfortable or scary, but it wasn't. It was pure fun, plus educational. If, however, you're the kind of person who likes to do things in depth (for example, want to visit the monastery at Belem for an hour), this may not be a good choice. You do get off the bike about 5 or 6 places, but it's not for extended visits.

On our own, we also enjoyed riding the "elevadores" (cross between a funicular and street car), especially Bica.

Riding in that sidecar must have been a hoot! How fun!

Thanks to all for this info. We will probably take the included excursion into town for the overview and then DIY - I will take a look at the suggestions that you all provided. I appreciate that!

Cornishpastyman1,

Love your videos as usual with just the right historical references and local information. Will be cruising to Spain and Portugal in the future.

Definitely want to see the tomb of Vasco De Gama. Also Columbus tomb when we are in Seville.

I think of this trip as tracing the Colonial powers of the New World back to their sources.

Hope to run into your posts again. Our time in Istanbul was perfect and your videos really helped to give us perspective of the city.

Here's an exerpt from my journal with some timeframes and details to help you decide whether DIY is for you. The Lisboa card is now $18.50eu and includes an all day transit pass. All the sites I listed were within a 10 minute walk from each other. A very comfortable pace without threat of running late.:)

November 7, 2012 We received our wake-up call at 7:30 am and dragged ourselves up to breakfast. When we finally got it together and headed off the ship at 9:30 it was overcast with the threat of showers. We had to make our way to the Lisbon Welcome centre at Commerce Plaza to pick up our Lisboa cards which I ordered on line. The card allows us free admission to 27 attractions as well as transit fare for a 24 hour period. We took tram 15e to the Belem Tower and spent an hour touring the site. We climbed the narrow staircase to the top rampart and it was a bit claustrophobic in the tight quarters. After an hour touring the sight we headed for the Monument of the Discoveries. It was such a beautiful structure and we were so impressed with the carvings. Our next planned site was the Jeronimos Monastery as it was listed as a must see on trip Adviser. We didn’t know much about it before our visit but it was pretty spectacular in its gothic glory. On our way to the national coach museum we stopped and purchased a couple of Portuguese egg tarts which apparently are a must have when in Portugal. They are similar to Chinese egg tarts but I find the pastry better. They serve it with a dusting of powdered sugar. Delicious! The Coach Museum was like the Royal Mews in London. Portuguese royalty must of loved coaches as there were so many in the museum. On completion of our visit we took bus #714 back towards the cruise terminal shortly after 2:00 pm. We arrived at the pier area earlier than we expected so we took a stroll down the waterfront boardwalk and stopped at a restaurant to use their free Wi-Fi. I got wired on an Americano, an Espresso, and tiramisu. We decided to head back on board at 4:00 pm as we wanted to be on deck for the sail away. The harbour area in Lisbon is spectacular and it’s actually too bad that it was foggy and misty. Many were disappointed that we couldn’t see the statue of Jesus on the Redeemer monument.

Lamchops,

Thanks for sharing about using local tram and bus to get around. Your day sounded like a good pace to me.

Beginning my research, I know I will have to prioritize what to see for the day . I know I can spend hours in one museum even with an audio guide.

Cornishpastyman1,

Love your videos as usual with just the right historical references and local information. Will be cruising to Spain and Portugal in the future.

Definitely want to see the tomb of Vasco De Gama. Also Columbus tomb when we are in Seville.

I think of this trip as tracing the Colonial powers of the New World back to their sources.

Hope to run into your posts again. Our time in Istanbul was perfect and your videos really helped to give us perspective of the city.

Thanks for your very kind words. You sound wonderfully organised compared to us :) but our day in Lisbon was fun, despite the major blunder of queuing for that elevator, which cost us well over an hour. It meant I didn't go in the monastery at Belem so didn't see Vasco's tomb (not that I even knew about it until I came home), or have one of those famous custard delicacies. So I'm sure you will make a much better job of it than us !

I'm sorry, another query about Lisbon.

We are going with my blind, elderly mother and whilst we would love to see Lisbon, we can't really leave her sitting on the balcony for longer than 2 hours (maximum).

What can we see in that time? Anything?

Thanks in advance.

Well, I might head for one of the HOHO buses (and possibly even with your mother, if she could handle it for a while) and just ride around for an entire loop. You can see and hear a lot just doing that, and if the weather's good, it's even nicer. There are a couple different companies that run HOHO buses. Here's one: http://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/lisbon-hop-on-hop-off-sightseeing-tour_7880. I notice one of their routes stops at the Santa Apolonia station (estacao), which isn't far from where many cruise ships dock. There is also a stop near "Docas" - where some smaller cruise ships dock. With those stops, you (but maybe not your mom!) could just walk to catch the HOHO, without the need for a taxi. (Simple is better in an unfamiliar city with limited time!) Maybe one person could go back to the ship and mom while another person stays out in the city, and then alternate.

There is so much to see in Lisbon, but I would concentrate on the city itself and probably Belem - although the ship will pass within decent viewing distance of some highlights of Lisbon, like the Praca de Comercio, and the Torre de Belem, Discoveries Monument, and monastery in Belem. If you're lucky enough to be coming into or going out of Lisbon during daylight and good weather (and Lisbon gets plenty of good weather!), I'd suggest getting up early or staying up top during sailaway to see these things, plus the Cristo monument on the other shore, near the bridge you'll pass under.

You could also just go to a location to try to pick up the infamous 28 tram and take a ride around the city. It's usually pretty crowded, though, so you may not see as much as you'd like. Tram 12 is good for sightseeing, too. I loved the Bica Elevadore, but it's a little hard to find unless you know where it is.

Of course, a lot of people head straight to Belem, and that is a great place to visit, but for me, there were so many neat things to do in Lisbon itself that I would encourage anyone to at least get into Lisbon proper and take the tram around to a viewpoint or two, and other things. We were lucky, as we had two whole days in Lisbon - so we rode trams, elevadores (funicular/streetcar thing), went a little outside Lisbon, etc. My pics are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123 Look for "Iberian Interlude" cruise.

If you use the HOHOs or plan to use public transportation, one thing that might be helpful is to look up where your ship docks. Port of Lisbon's web site is http://www.portodelisboa.pt/portal/page/portal/PORTAL_PORTO_LISBOA_ING/CRUZEIROS/PREVISAO_NAVIOS_CRUZEIRO although they only post a month in advance. Some berthing locations will put you closer to things to discover without too much hassle, and will put you near metro stops (like Apolonia) or bus or HOHO stops. Then again, I'm sure wherever you dock, there will be cabs available, which might be the easiest and quickest way to get somewhere, given that you have limited time.

Hello VV

 

This was my day in Lisbon, using an all-day travel ticket (about €7). Very nice city with lots to enjoy if you choose the all-day DIY option. All the best, Tony

Just to give you an idea of what we have done in Lisbon, it's a lovely City:

26th Dec Lisbon (Thurs)

Got €6.50 day transport pass from lottery kiosk at Apolonia Station, just behind main ticket counter. Metro to main Comercio square, tram 15E to Belem, had a nice walk around all along the front and had the Pasteis (yummy) from the famous cafe. Tram back to Figurera square and did the Santa Justa elevator which is included in transport pass. Got tram 12 around the Alfama past the Castle, walked back to ship.

April 14.

Got day pass from St apolonia again, metro to Restauradores, went up the Gloria elevator. The church of Sao Roque is reached by turning left at the top of the Gloria elevador, really nice inside. Turned right at the elevator for the miradore alcantara. Back to Restauradores Metro station and got metro in same direction to Parque, Had a look around Park Eduaro Vii, walked to top end for view. Walked to Sao Sebastiao metro which is underneath the Corte Ingles, got on red line to Almeda, got on Green line to Martim Moniz, got 12E tram towards Castle. Get off at viewpoint and walk around castle area, walked it down to look at Cathedral and walked back to ship just after lunch then sunbathed. A nice sail out under the bridge and past Belem.

We are planning on going to Cascais by train the next time we go.

Great info...thanks!

One question...was there the usual line at Pasteis de Belem cafe? And is there ample seating inside? Also wondering the best time of day to go when lines might be at their shortest. Was in Lisbon once before and were lucky that our tour guide was able to run inside and basically "skip the line" while we waited in his van. This trip, as a DIYer, I'll be in line with everyone else.

Thanks for your input!

No queue for the pasteis, but it was boxing day and we got there early around 10.30am. Plenty of seats at the back, I was surprised how big it is in there.

No queue for the pasteis, but it was boxing day and we got there early around 10.30am. Plenty of seats at the back, I was surprised how big it is in there.

You can just take them out, also, right? Just out of curiosity, are there separate lines for take out and eat in, or was there just one queue?