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Things to do in Lisbon - An essential guide for those visiting Lisbon for the first time.

Updated: May 27, 2022


Best places to visit in Lisbon

A lot of things to do in Lisbon are made known by our free tours. In the centre of the city, we additionally recommend visits to the Tile Museum, Ajuda Palace and Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. We recommend a tram tour, of course, but if you can avoid the tram 28 after 8:30 in the morning, the lines are very long. If you have time, enjoy the end of the day at the Torel Garden.

  • São Jorge Castle

  • Lisbon Cathedral

  • Miradouro de Santa Luzia

  • Santo Estêvão Church

  • São Vicente de Fora Church

  • Feira da Ladra

  • National Pantheon

  • Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

  • Church and Convent of Carmo

  • Santa Justa Elevator

  • Bica Funicular

  • Praça Dom Pedro IV

  • São Domingos Church

  • Rua Augusta Arch

  • Praça do Comércio

  • Belém Tower

  • Jerónimos Monastery


Where to sleep in Lisbon

There are hundreds of accommodation options in Lisbon, not only hotels but also hostels and apartments. The following recommendations are made based on personal impressions of city dwellers and opinions of tourists who have taken our Take Free Tours in Lisbon. Our main interest is that your stay in Lisbon is the best one possible.

  • We Love F Tourists | € | R. dos Fanqueiros 267

  • Goodmorning Lisbon Hostel | € | Praça dos Restauradores 65

  • Home Lisbon Hostel | € | R. de São Nicolau 13

  • Yes! Lisbon Hostel | € | Rua de S. Julião 148

  • Hotel White Lisboa | €€ | Av. da República 9

  • Tings Lisbon | €€ | Rua da Senhora do Monte 37

  • Alecrim ao Chiado | €€ | Rua do Alecrim, 73

  • Torel Palace | €€€

  • Hotel da Estrela | €€€

  • As Janelas Verdes | €€€

  • My Story Hotel Rossio | €€€

  • Hotel da Baixa | €€€

Where to eat in Lisbon

You always ate well in Lisbon but in recent years the supply of restaurants has exploded. Restaurants from Cape Verde, Armenia, Georgia, Peru, Syria, join the most common international offers. There are ten Michelin-starred chefs, five street food markets, Pan-Asian restaurants, burlesque, erotic, in short, there's everything for everyone. But Take Lisboa is "alfacinha de gema", truly Lisbon, so our suggestions are all about Portuguese food the old-fashioned way. Some restaurants are instagrammable, others are the opposite, some have cloth napkins, others have paper towels, but all without exception are an anthem to traditional Portuguese food. There is no disguised commercial interest here; we just want you to make the most of Lisbon apart from Take Lisboa's free tours. The recommendations are all supported by the opinion of Lisboners who love to eat.

Cod

  • Laurentina O Rei do Bacalhau | Avenida Conde Valbom 71A

  • A Casa do Bacalhau | Rua do Grilo 54

  • Restaurante Ti Natércia | Rua das Escolas Gerais 54

Pataniscas

  • Marlene Vieira Food Corner | Time Out Market Mercado da Ribeira | N.A.

  • Clara Jardim | Campo Mártires da Pátria 49 | 21 885 3053

  • D’Bacalhau | Rua do Bojador 45 | 21 894 1296

Bifanas

  • Bifanas do Afonso | Rua da Madalena 146

  • O Trevo | Praça Luís de Camões 48 | 21 346 8092

Favas

  • A Tasquinha do Lagarto | Rua de Campolide 258 | 21 388 3202

  • Estrela de Ouro | Rua da Graça 22 | 21 886 5230

  • O Poleiro | Rua de Entrecampos 30 A | 21 797 6265

Bife à Café (no coffee in it)

  • Café do Paço | Rua Paço da Rainha 62 A | 218 880 185

  • XL | Calçada da Estrela 57 | 213 956 118

  • Café de São Bento | Rua de S. Bento 212 | 213 952 911

Portuguese Traditional Food

  • Com Certeza! | Rua da Padaria 12 | 21 886 3930

  • Solar dos Nunes | Rua dos Lusíadas 68 | 21 364 7359

  • O Fernandinho | Rua do Duque 15 | 21 346 8555

  • Taberna da Rua das Flores | Rua das Flores 103

  • Maçã Verde | Rua Caminhos de Ferro1100 | 965 512 266

How to get to Lisbon by Car

The city of Lisbon is 314 kilometers from Porto and 625 kilometers from Madrid (Spain). We recommend that you organize your trip with the Google Maps route planner. There are several parking lots in the city and different parking meter zones. The company that manages the parking meters is Emel and has punctual zones in the city where you can park all day for only 2 or 3 Euros. These are called Daily Ticket Zones. The best recommendation we can make is to install the ePark application on your mobile phone (link here: https://www.emel.pt/pt/onde-estacionar/via-publica/meios-de-pagamento/epark/instalar-o-epark/) and search for the Daily Ticket zone on Avenida Lusíada, Avenida Brasília, Rua Sanches Coelho or Rua Jorge Castilho.

There is also an outdoor park Empark that has a daily maximum of 7 Euros: https://goo.gl/maps/T2wUi8Va1VUvZRrH9.

How to get to Lisbon by Train

From Porto there are trips to Lisbon almost every hour and the train arrives at Santa Apolónia station in the city center. Depending on the departure time, the trip with fewer stops lasts about 2h50m and costs 31.70 Euros in 2nd class; the one with more stops lasts about 3h15m and costs 25.10 Euros, also in 2nd class. But if you buy 8 days in advance, the values can drop to almost a third of the original price! Please check the schedule on CP's website here: https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en.

When arriving at the station, you can always take the metro at the station (Blue Line). Check the Lisbon metro map here: https://www.metrolisboa.pt/en/travel/diagrams-and-maps/.

How to get to Lisbon by Bus

The bus trip from Oporto to Lisbon is a little slower than the train trip, 3h20m, and the schedule doesn't depart so often. The value is 20 Euros, higher than the promotional price of the train, so we do not recommend this option.


How to discover Lisbon?

Of course with Take Lisboa. Discover our Lisbon Free Tours in www.takefreetours.com


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