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ATM Lisbon

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Mrs. T and I are sloping off to Lisbon for 5 days in mid February to celebrate my move to what the government delicately calls economic inactivity. Bring it on. Recommendations of everything good from views to cafes to restaurants, bars, galleries, venues and more very welcome. I want it all! TIA!

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  4. Hi Twang!

    Mrs duco01 and I have had six holidays in Lisbon six times in recent years, as we have friends who live in the Graça district of the city, and we stay with them. We love Lisbon. It’s a terrific place. I can get back to you with some recommendations for museums, etc. in a few days, but my initial tips are these five restaurants. They’re not fine dining places; they’re restaurants where the locals go and the food is good at incredible value for money. People just come in from round the corner and order a nice bacalhau with a glass of wine. Really nice atmosphere at all five places: relaxed – the opposite of touristy.

    1. Maça Verde.
    Brilliant little place right down by the water. Go for the fish! Get there early, because it fills up quickly, and people are queuing out of the door
    https://restaurante-maca-verde.business.site/

    2. Colina
    Another great place that’s full of jolly regular customers. Go for the cod – muito bom!
    https://restaurante-colina.com/

    3. Cantinho da Amizade, (address: Rua da Cruz da Carreira n. 38)
    This is a tiny, secret place down a backstreet, with the entrance so discreet that you’d walk past it without realising that it was a restaurant. In the winter I think it’s only open for weekday lunches. A charming family runs the joint.
    https://pt-br.facebook.com/cantinho.daamizade.7/

    4. Carvoaria Jacto
    If you’re looking for good meat dishes rather than fish, this is the place.
    https://www.yelp.com/biz/carvoaria-jacto-lisboa

    5. Sabores de Goa
    There’s lots of Goanese food in Lisbon, as, obviously, Goa used to be a Portuguese colony. This is a nice place – a little rough and ready, but the food hits the spot. It rather reminds me of the Manchester curry houses I used to frequent in the early 80s!
    https://www.saboresdegoa.com/

    Let me know if you get to any of these places!
    Best,

    //duco

  5. I’ve never been to Portugal. My friends told me they found the sea very cold, even in August. That put me off. It’s one of the reasons I don’t live in California. So I checked Lisbon out on Google Maps (street view) instead of actually going there, which is just as good. Looks nice. I enjoyed it, hope you do too.

  7. We took the ferry from Lisbon to Almada across the river Tagus. 10 minute crossing (3 miles). Runs every 20 minutes or so & only costs about £1. Go west on departing the ferry to get to Ponto Final restaurant. We had a table on the jetty with great views over to Lisbon.
    https://scontent.fgla3-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/279015656_400938768705207_7558565446853771405_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=GkcyMbMoMk0AX96Pp2a&_nc_ht=scontent.fgla3-2.fna&oh=00_AfDL4TfVOo-OH1_EgzWWnZKLvNpN3moHecAm2YagKitk2w&oe=63B78584

    https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1022768-d713330-Reviews-Ponto_Final-Almada_Setubal_District_Alentejo.html

    Also agree with dwightstrut above re Sintra. Easy to get to from main Lisbon train station.

    • Yes, and of course, if you take the ferry to Almada, you can also visit the statue of Cristo Rei, which is a bit like the even more famous Cristo Redentor statue in Rio de Janeiro.

  8. I did a city break to Lisbon recently and it really is a brilliant place. Some top tips:

    1. TimeOut market has been recommended above and is simply awesome. Walk in, walk around, drink it in, make your choices, enjoy…… prepare to want to go back another day/night

    2. Watch the Lisbon episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix before you go

    3. Day out at Sintra is good but for my money, a day out in Belem is more fun, less hassle

    4. Learn to ride street scooters before you go so you’re prepped for Lisbon – they are everywhere

    5. Trams everywhere too but catch the historic Tram 28 from Martim Moniz for a dirt cheap ride through the narrow streets that matter – it’s a tram for the locals like any other but it’s such a beautiful trip, the tourists are on it too – manageable numbers though

    6. If you’re into that sort of thing, the Aquarium in Lisbon is simply spellbinding, particularly the Forests Underwater exhibition that’s on right now

    I could go on. You will love the place. Enjoy…..

    • 3. I agree that a day out in Belém is a good idea – particularly the Jerónimos Monastery there. Beautiful place.

      https://www.lisbon.net/jeronimos-monastery

      Note 1: “Belém” is the Portuguese for “Bethlehem”.

      Note 2: you don’t (usually?) pronounce the m at the end of Portuguese words, so “Belém” is pronounced a bit like “Bell-Eye”.

      I’m sure if there are any proper fluent speakers of Portuguese on the Afterword, they’ll be able to add some more handy hints.

      • Strange language, Portuguese. I’m reasonably fluid in the Spanish so my first time landing in Porto I thought “Ah, I recognise these signs, all those words look familiar”. Then the locals started speaking – sounded more Eastern European to me than anything remotely Latin.
        Friendliest people in Europe, mind: tolerant of tourists -“How nice of you to come here and spend money. Would you like another pastel de nata”?

      • Galician Mrs F says “the Portugese speak funny”. Most of Spain thinks Galicians speak funny, and that Galego sounds like Portugese.

        When I’m in Galicia, Mrs F’s family tell me off for using the local dialect Galego and insist I speak Castilian (“International Spanish”) like they do in Madrid.

        I find it all very confusing.

  10. It’s a great city for strolling around. There are also some cool museums – the MAAT had a patchy modern exhibition but the old power station part was great fun.

    We really enjoyed the castle, too.

    Pastel de nata are wonderful, and very more-ish.

  11. You must sample the original nata, custard cakes, from Pasteis De Belem.

    Mrs T may well be impressed with Luvaria Ulisses, an ancient glove shop. The gloves are amazing.

    Plus, A Ginjinha is quite an experience, essentially a hole in the wall selling cherry liqueur and nothing else.

    The central square is amazing and the walk to the harbour is very beautiful. The famous team takes you through a less salubrious part of town and the queue prohibitive.

    • I see that the pack-the-suitcases lady recommends the Museum of Contemporary Art (part of the Centro Cultural de Belém). I can certainly second that recommendation. Good place.

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