Lisbon..help needed

We have been to Lisbon once before and did a taxi tour of the Monastery etc.

Has anyone got any other suggestions?

We are only there 7 hours, 12 noon till 7 pm.

Is it a good place to stroll around the centre square?

Or should we do a ships tour of Sintra and another town.

Thank you

We have been to Lisbon once before and did a taxi tour of the Monastery etc.

Has anyone got any other suggestions?

We are only there 7 hours, 12 noon till 7 pm.

Is it a good place to stroll around the centre square?

Or should we do a ships tour of Sintra and another town.

Thank you

I don't know if this will add anything to your knowledge, as you've been before but I did this on my day there

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From memory my all-day travel ticket cost €7, entry to the castle €7 and it was €5 to go up the Discoverers' Monument at Belem. All the best, Tony

Of all the places we visited a few weeks ago on Independence, both of us want to come back to Lisbon for a weekend. Got a 5 day weekend break end of September so hopefully will be coming back. Loved those old trams.

I would consider Sintra either on a ships tour or a private tour.

Keith

I would consider Sintra either on a ships tour or a private tour.

 

Keith

We would add that Sintra is easily accessed by a very inexpensive train that runs every 15 minutes during the week and every 30 min on weekends. The train is a lot cheaper then tours (4-5 Euros round trip) and once in Sintra there is a decent tourist office.

Hank

You could try a tour of Lisbon on a Segway sounds great,may try it when we are there.:)

Something a bit different, although a little pricier, would be what we're planning, if it's available on the day you're there: Bike My Side does a 130 euro (for 2) 3 hour tour of many places in Lisbon in a motorcycle and sidecar. He (Daniel) has a great reputation and while it's not the cheapest option for Lisbon, it sounds like a great way to see a wide area of the city, or at least the central part, without doing a lot of walking. You do make a number of short stops, but a good deal of the tour (all narrated by Daniel using a mike into your helmut) is done while driving - no long museum visits. It sounds perfect for me, as I like to see off-the-beaten path places, spending short amounts of time at lots of places.

But yes, from what I've read (which is extensive!) there are a lot of places to explore by foot within a couple areas - Baixa, Cais do Sodre by the waterfront, Chiado (more shopping though than tourist attractions) and Alfama come to mind. If you walk in Alfama, a good map is helpful, due to the small streets. Of course many people ride the 28 tram around town, but I hear it's crowded and sometimes hard to get on. Beware pickpockets on it. I'm guessing you'll probably dock up near the Santa Apolonia Metro and train station. Near there are buses that run to the city center, plus the metro, which will help with getting around, or your ship might offer a shuttle or I'd guess taxis would be available.

I'm planning to go to Sintra, but I have two days in Lisbon, so more time than you. I'd stay in Lisbon if I only had a day - although since you've been there before, that may make Sintra more desirable.

If you want something quite different, there is a trip that can be made to the big Cristo Rei statue across the river. However, you need to take a little ferry boat and then take a bus to get there. I hear the views are great, however, and the river crossing gives you a little different perspective of Lisbon - although you may get the same perspective when you cruise in at 11 and back out at 7!

We did a ship's tour that included Sintra and Cascais. Both were lovely places, but I was a bit disappointed with the trip overall, as time in each place was too short to see as much as we wanted. From memory I think we had an hour in Sintra and 45 minutes in Cascais. I would have preferred to just go to one.

The city centre is well worth exploring- loved the castle and the little roads around it with tiled houses. The view from the castle was amazing. We also rode in the Elavador St Juste (?) which was designed by Eiffel.

kate

We did a ship's tour that included Sintra and Cascais. Both were lovely places, but I was a bit disappointed with the trip overall, as time in each place was too short to see as much as we wanted. From memory I think we had an hour in Sintra and 45 minutes in Cascais. I would have preferred to just go to one.

The city centre is well worth exploring- loved the castle and the little roads around it with tiled houses. The view from the castle was amazing. We also rode in the Elavador St Juste (?) which was designed by Eiffel.

kate

Yes, I noticed our cruise line combines the two in its excursions. I want to actually go up to the Pena Palace (castle on the hill) and i don't think our excursion does that, unless they detour up to the castle on the way to Cascais! (Kate, did yours do that? Also, were you talking about the castle in the town or the one up on the hill (Castelo do Mouros or something like that) that you can see from the townl?) I think the excursion my cruise line offers drops you off in the town for an hour and then you go to Cascais for a while. I am planning to just take a train to Sintra and then get a cab or take the bus that goes up to Pena Palace. I wouldn't mind seeing Cascais because there's a pretty lighthouse there, but I'd rather have time to actually see some things in Sintra, so doing it myself sounds like the way to go. Sintra is really not far from Lisbon....

It is Santa Justa. I hear the lines can be long for it, but yes, it certainly looks interesting! I am planning to ride at least one funicular, probably the Ascensor da Bica, with a non-descript entrance in a yellow building on Rua Sao Paulo. It isn't too far from Santa Justa.

We have been to Lisbon once before and did a taxi tour of the Monastery etc.

Has anyone got any other suggestions?

We are only there 7 hours, 12 noon till 7 pm.

Is it a good place to stroll around the centre square?

Or should we do a ships tour of Sintra and another town.

Thank you

Yes walking around on your own will be worthwhile. A train over to the Pastry of Belem would also be a nice sidetrip. Sintra is very beautiful but very touristy. Personally, I would spend 2 or 3 days in Lisbon before going there.

Yes, I noticed our cruise line combines the two in its excursions. I want to actually go up to the Pena Palace (castle on the hill) and i don't think our excursion does that, unless they detour up to the castle on the way to Cascais! (Kate, did yours do that? Also, were you talking about the castle in the town or the one up on the hill (Castelo do Mouros or something like that) that you can see from the townl?) I think the excursion my cruise line offers drops you off in the town for an hour and then you go to Cascais for a while. I am planning to just take a train to Sintra and then get a cab or take the bus that goes up to Pena Palace. I wouldn't mind seeing Cascais because there's a pretty lighthouse there, but I'd rather have time to actually see some things in Sintra, so doing it myself sounds like the way to go. Sintra is really not far from Lisbon....

 

It is Santa Justa. I hear the lines can be long for it, but yes, it certainly looks interesting! I am planning to ride at least one funicular, probably the Ascensor da Bica, with a non-descript entrance in a yellow building on Rua Sao Paulo. It isn't too far from Santa Justa.

Hi, the castle I was referring to is Sao Jorge (see Cornishpastman1's post above). We walked up there but transport would have been a better option!

And no, our trip to Sintra did not include the Pena palace- we just had a brief glimpse from a distance. There were little land trains in Sintra that took you there, but we couldn't fit it in in the time.

kate