Which city with mum? Lisbon or Amsterdam?

theoldbreed

Hi all,
The good people of boards have always been spot on with advice so here I am again looking for some more.

I went to Rome the last time with mum and stayed in a fab hotel recommended by someone on here so thank you.

My mum has a big birthday this year and I want to bring her away on a city break, it will be a few days during the first two weeks in August. I have narrowed it down to either Amsterdam or Lisbon, we've been many other places and have heard good things about both these cities. She loves walking, walking and more walking, nice food, beautiful buildings and a bit of shopping.

Any recommendations between the two?

johnire

Just back from Lisbon and it was fabulous.
There’s loads to see and do and my goodness it’s such great value!!
Only point I would make is that’s it’s very hilly and quite steep in places but there is a really good tram/metro network.
Amsterdam is good too though!
Have a lovely time wherever you go.
PS- I can recommend the hotel we stayed in if you need it and any other info you may need.

theoldbreed wrote: »

Hi all,
The good people of boards have always been spot on with advice so here I am again looking for some more.

I went to Rome the last time with mum and stayed in a fab hotel recommended by someone on here so thank you.

My mum has a big birthday this year and I want to bring her away on a city break, it will be a few days during the first two weeks in August. I have narrowed it down to either Amsterdam or Lisbon, we've been many other places and have heard good things about both these cities. She loves walking, walking and more walking, nice food, beautiful buildings and a bit of shopping.

Any recommendations between the two?

hunter164

What about Porto? Beautiful spot

theoldbreed

johnire wrote: »

Just back from Lisbon and it was fabulous.
There’s loads to see and do and my goodness it’s such great value!!
Only point I would make is that’s it’s very hilly and quite steep in places but there is a really good tram/metro network.
Amsterdam is good too though!
Have a lovely time wherever you go.
PS- I can recommend the hotel we stayed in if you need it and any other info you may need.

Oh fab! Yeah she loves to walk but the hills might be a bit much and it'll be August do I'm assuming hot!
Was it very busy given it's Easter week? Did you eat lots of delicious custard tarts?!
Which was your preference between the two? I'd go anywhere but have to bear in mind mum isn't as sprightly as she used to be....

theoldbreed

hunter164 wrote: »

What about Porto? Beautiful spot

Hadn't considered it but I'll look into it, thank you!

dudara

Lisbon is quite hilly yes, but you can use the trams to get you up & down the hills. Both are lovely cities with nice cafes and places to sit outside. I’d probably shade it in favour of Lisbon though

hunter164

theoldbreed wrote: »

Hadn't considered it but I'll look into it, thank you!

Having personally been to both Lisbon and Amsterdam I think Lisbon is much nicer. The timeout food market in Lisbon has a great variety to eat and a good buzz around it. Loads to see and do in Lisbon.

Porto is a great spot too, a slower pace than Lisbon but a really nice vibe to it with some great restaurants and there’s a huge Corte ingles if you want to shop.

johnire

Sorry for delay in replying.
If I had to make a choice I think I would go with Lisbon.
It’s really a lovely place and I’ve no doubt your Mum will love it.
Belem with its monastery and monuments takes up most of a day. Sintra is a must do and involves a full day.
As I say the value is brilliant and if you need any specific information just send me a PM and I’ll abswe as best I can.

theoldbreed wrote: »

Oh fab! Yeah she loves to walk but the hills might be a bit much and it'll be August do I'm assuming hot!
Was it very busy given it's Easter week? Did you eat lots of delicious custard tarts?!
Which was your preference between the two? I'd go anywhere but have to bear in mind mum isn't as sprightly as she used to be....

grimm2005

I've been to both cities but Lisbon is the one I keep going back to (3 times now!). It would be my personal choice over the two even though I enjoy both cities.

As johnire says above, Sintra is an absolute must imo for a day trip. It's only 40 minutes away by train and is stunning. It's also very hilly (moreso than Lisbon) but there are tourist hop on-hop off buses right beside the train station that take all the effort out of that and will take you to all the sights of interest, would highly recommend this for you and your mother.

Depending on how long you're in Lisbon I'd also recommend visiting Cascais which is also about 40mins by train from Lisbon and has some nice beaches and is a nice town to walk around although if you can only do one I'd pick Sintra.

One thing to note about Lisbon is it's far cheaper than Amsterdam so you'll likely get a much nicer hotel/accommodation for the same price than you would in Amsterdam and eating out etc is far cheaper also.

There's a great thread on Lisbon myself and others have contributed to that I'd recommend you check out here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057724796

xalot

Haven't been to Amsterdam but I loved Lisbon. Stayed in this place
http://www.hotelavenidapalace.pt/hotel-overview

It was FANTASTIC. would go back in a heartbeat

Jack Kanoff

Lisbon, beautiful city, wonderful food and as others suggested... Sintra is an absolute must... plenty of tuk-tuks to get you up and down the mountain and the scenery is exquisite

theoldbreed

Thank you everyone, extremely helpful as usual. Have booked Lisbon for August! She'll be thrilled!