Lisbon in December

moonstruck

Booked a few days midweek in Lisbon in Dec with husband. Never been there before . Any tips or advice appreciated .:)

Tombo2001

Great city for walking in.

Worth taking a trip to the aquarium; the whole area is impressive, its out of the centre and very modern.

Football - we went to Sporting Lisbon, fantastic atmosphere.

Cascais is a nice town at the edge of Lisbon, similar to going to Dun Laoghaire in terms of distance.

Great coffee, great pastries.

I really like Lisbon, one of the top cities in Europe to visit I would think.

fricatus

Great city...

- Belem is a lovely area to just go and hang out. There's a great pastry shop there, for pasteis de nata.

- Walk up through Alfama to the Castelo de Sao Jorge - atmospheric area and cool castle

- Sintra is beautiful, and the trip out on the train gives you an idea of how big Lisbon actually is, even though it feels so intimate and villagey in the centre. If you plan to visit the castle there (I forget the name, but it's the colourful one) be sure to check out the opening hours. We arrived up and it was already closed, though the ride up in a tuk-tuk was some compensation!

- No 28 tram is an experience, but be prepared to queue, and watch your wallet!

- The funiculars/elevadores are a very enjoyable way to get from the lower parts of town (Baixa) up to the higher ones (Bairro Alto).

Tigerandahalf

Lisbon/Cascais is a nice city/beach combo. There is a lovely run/bike path from Cascais all the way out for about 8 or 9 miles...just follow the prom the whole way and the path takes you that way.

Some lovely small bars in the city when you get into the higher side streets. Some real snugs there.

Humour Me

fricatus wrote: »

- Sintra is beautiful, and the trip out on the train gives you an idea of how big Lisbon actually is, even though it feels so intimate and villagey in the centre. If you plan to visit the castle there (I forget the name, but it's the colourful one) be sure to check out the opening hours. We arrived up and it was already closed, though the ride up in a tuk-tuk was some compensation!.

Second the trip out to Sintra. If you get the train out, there is a bus outside the train station that will take you up to the castle. It stops in the town centre and a few scenic spots first. A friend recommended staying on the bus and going straight up to the castle in the morning. Most tourists stop in the town first, so by the afternoon the castle is packed. Going to the castle in the morning and town in the afternoon worked out great for us.

Space Dog

A trip to Sintra is a must. I liked Quinta da Regaleira better than the castle, it's an ethereal, otherworldly place, just stunning. We spent hours exploring the gardens with its grottos and sculptures.
Need to go back to Lisbon soon, it's a great place.

moonstruck

Also i was wondering what sort of weather to expect .. regarding what to pack.
Has anyone been in December ? Do they have a market for christmas ?

fricatus

moonstruck wrote: »

Also i was wondering what sort of weather to expect .. regarding what to pack.
Has anyone been in December ? Do they have a market for christmas ?

Yes, we were there for New Year's just under two years ago. It wasn't warm by any means, but the days were pleasant enough, maybe 10-12 degrees and hazy sunshine. Nights were quite chilly so bring winter woolies. We did have quite a bit of mist or even drizzle, so you'd need something waterproof too.

There was a Christmas festival area called Wonderland Lisboa. You could Google that to see if there's anything of interest to you there.