Lisbon Weekend Trip

kevin306

Heading to Lisbon this Friday and looking for a bit of advice. We are planning on heading out to Sintra for the day Saturday. What is the best mode of travel. I was told by a work colleague from Lisbon to take the train as it will land in the heart of Sintra. And what about actually visiting the palaces there, do people queue up or pay in advance. Also any other recommendations in terms of food, nightlife etc around Lisbon would be very welcome.

Lemsiper

kevin306 wrote: »

Heading to Lisbon this Friday and looking for a bit of advice. We are planning on heading out to Sintra for the day Saturday. What is the best mode of travel. I was told by a work colleague from Lisbon to take the train as it will land in the heart of Sintra. And what about actually visiting the palaces there, do people queue up or pay in advance. Also any other recommendations in terms of food, nightlife etc around Lisbon would be very welcome.

Yeah, take the train. Get a tuk-tuk to the top from outside train station.

Buy tickets there and then. Shouldn't be as busy this time of year.

Depends what kind of food tickles your fancy but I can point you to a few places depending on how adventurous or what your budget is.

Bairro Alto and Cais do Sodre for nightlife.

kevin306

Lemsiper wrote: »

Yeah, take the train. Get a tuk-tuk to the top from outside train station.

Buy tickets there and then. Shouldn't be as busy this time of year.

Depends what kind of food tickles your fancy but I can point you to a few places depending on how adventurous or what your budget is.

Bairro Alto and Cais do Sodre for nightlife.

Great thanks for replying, so no need to pre-book anything you feel! Budget somewhere in between not cheap but obviously not too expensive either

beggars_bush

Was there before. Don't know if Sintra was worth the trip out there to be honest.
I'd have done more wining and dining around the city instead. Or just wander.

AngryLips

Ah no, Sintra was the highlight of my trip to Lisbon, along with the aquarium in Lisbon. The castle and the palace in Sintra are both amazing although completely swamped in tourists. Recommend going either first thing in the morning (get there for when it opens and buy tickets online in advance), or get there for after 4pm to miss the cruise ship crowds.

Ponster

AngryLips wrote: »

Recommend going either first thing in the morning (get there for when it opens and buy tickets online in advance)...

Take the train

I wouldn't be so sure that November will be quite that busy. I've been in October 2018 and it was possible to walk directly into everything. As to beggars_bush's point, I've been to Lisbon 3 times and only went to Sintra on the 3rd occasion as there was lots to see/do in the city before leaving it for elsewhere. The easy solution is to go there multiple times

kevin306

AngryLips wrote: »

Ah no, Sintra was the highlight of my trip to Lisbon, along with the aquarium in Lisbon. The castle and the palace in Sintra are both amazing although completely swamped in tourists. Recommend going either first thing in the morning (get there for when it opens and buy tickets online in advance), or get there for after 4pm to miss the cruise ship crowds.

Do you think I would still need to book in advance this time of year?

Ferris_Bueller

I went to Lisbon in January gone and would definitely recommend going out to Sintra, one of the more memorable things we did. You get the train from Cais do Sodre train station and it is only a few euros, I think it took around 45 mins to an hour to get out there and then when you get off the train station in Sintra village there are plenty of hop on hop off buses you can get to most of the different destinations. Just plan were you want to go and make sure the bus you get on stops at the locations you want as there are different routes. I would recommend the palace and the Gardens beneath but probably easier to get the bus to the palace and walk downhill through the gardens rather than get off at the gardens and walk up to the palace (steep walk!).

Lisbon in general is great. Bairro Alto is good for bars and nightlife, we went midweek and even still it was lively enough. We stayed in Cais do Sodre which has a few bars around too but was much quieter during the week anyway. The Timeout Food Market is there which is really cool, ate there a couple of times as it was so handy. Would second the aquarium which is brilliant and the area it is in is a different part of Lisbon (more modern), Alfama district where Casteo Seu Jorge is is cool but very confusing to walk around. We went out to Belem too which was okay but if you are only there for a few days I don't know if I would bother. Maybe it would be nicer in the summer. Enjoy!

Muahahaha

Heading to Lisbon myself soon. Does anyone know of a shop there that sells local kitchen cookware products? Not looking for their equivalent to Brown Thomas, more so a place selling traditional kitchen products that the locals use.

Lemsiper

kevin306 wrote: »

Great thanks for replying, so no need to pre-book anything you feel! Budget somewhere in between not cheap but obviously not too expensive either

Ramiro (best seafood in Lisbon but expect to wait, but enjoy a beer while you do)

Prado (use Portuguese ingredients but slightly adventurous dishes, great wine list)

Taberna da rua das flores (very traditional, good value, menu changes daily)

Bairro do Avillez ( something for everyone in this place, can work out expensive for dinner but is a good lunch spot)

Time Out market has something for everyone again, from Portuguese classics to pizza and burgers. Little pricey but super convenient.

Manteigaria and Pasties de Belem for the custard tarts.

Dr. Nick

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

I went to Lisbon in January gone and would definitely recommend going out to Sintra, one of the more memorable things we did. You get the train from Cais do Sodre train station and it is only a few euros, I think it took around 45 mins to an hour to get out there and then when you get off the train station in Sintra village there are plenty of hop on hop off buses you can get to most of the different destinations. Just plan were you want to go and make sure the bus you get on stops at the locations you want as there are different routes. I would recommend the palace and the Gardens beneath but probably easier to get the bus to the palace and walk downhill through the gardens rather than get off at the gardens and walk up to the palace (steep walk!).

Lisbon in general is great. Bairro Alto is good for bars and nightlife, we went midweek and even still it was lively enough. We stayed in Cais do Sodre which has a few bars around too but was much quieter during the week anyway. The Timeout Food Market is there which is really cool, ate there a couple of times as it was so handy. Would second the aquarium which is brilliant and the area it is in is a different part of Lisbon (more modern), Alfama district where Casteo Seu Jorge is is cool but very confusing to walk around. We went out to Belem too which was okay but if you are only there for a few days I don't know if I would bother. Maybe it would be nicer in the summer. Enjoy!

Sounds good. We're thinking of going there in Feb. What area would you recommend to stay in? Ideally we'd like to be near the coast and city centre(?)

Ferris_Bueller

Dr. Nick wrote: »

Sounds good. We're thinking of going there in Feb. What area would you recommend to stay in? Ideally we'd like to be near the coast and city centre(?)

We stayed in Cais do Sodre and really liked it. Handy to get to from the airport for a start, then it is right beside the train station if you want to go out to Belem and Sintra too. It has some bars and restaurants and is only a short walk (although up a steep hill!) to Bairro Alto which is the most lively area at night. Also it is on the seafront and even in January, it was nice to go for a walk from Cais do Sodre down towards the main square. We stayed in the Lisbon 5 Star Apartments 8 and it was perfect for what we wanted.