Lisbon User Guide

North end of Carnide Location HERE . Those politics junkies who want to know why a Mayor representing a right-leaning party got re-elected recently might usefully start here. Carlos Moedas wasn’t so environmentally minded before he got elected the first time, but that was then, and all that. Now, we’ve had the new cycle bridge up near the Airport and its implicit endorsement of “ soft travel ”, and in 2025 came a new park at Carnide, on the north-west side of the Metro depot. Not such a promising location, maybe, but a real oasis away from crowded and noisy suburbs. It’s on the edge of Zone L, so your day ticket covers the getting there part. Take a Linha Azul Metro, but to Pontinha, not Carnide. This station has up escalators that mostly work - exit the station at its northern side, look over to your right, and there is the park entrance. There is the obligatory water feature by the entrance, but the best part is the network of tracks for walking, jogging or cycling, along with the pl...

6.1.11 Patisserie Versailles Avenida da República 15A Location HERE . What were coffee shops like in days gone by? Maybe like Versailles, where you can stand at the counter, and many punters stopping by for a swift Bica and maybe a cake do just that, or take a table and enjoy the cachet of being waited upon by one of the polite (though often busy) staff. Many tourists put this on their bucket list, and it’s not difficult to see why, but most of the lunchtime clientele are locals, and mainly office workers. Not so many companies have offices in the Old Downtown nowadays - the area from around Marquês de Pombal up to Saldanha and on towards Entrecampos is more likely to feature, as is the corridor west from Entrecampos to Sete Rios. As with any good Pastelaria, Versailles does a comprehensive breakfast and lunch menu, but don’t expect the breakfast offerings to align with what you would expect in more northern European settings. The Duchesse pastry is a speciality, as in the winter sea...

Avenida da República 14 Location HERE . Open every day from 0730 hours until 0300 the next morning. A Lisbon institution, and with an unusual twist: the inside seating is not around tables, but sitting up to the bar counter. So not ideal if you go as a group, but if the weather’s good, you can always sit out on the terrace. For those visiting late at night, there is a more expensive menu. Even so, it’s not bad for value. Portuguese cuisine, although they also do a good line in those inevitable burgers. Portion sizes are good, service is too, and the house wine, which comes in real bottles, is not so expensive. Very conveniently located for transport: Saldanha Metro station, on both the Linha Amarela and Linha Vermelha, is more or less outside the door, and it’s a short walk to Praça Saldanha for buses. A short bus trip up the Avenida da República to Entrecampos for rail services towards Sintra and Oriente. Not busy if you arrive at 1900 hours: an hour later, and you have to queue. Good...

Gare do Oriente G218 Location HERE . Open every day from 1030 to 2100 hours. For those who can’t find a good value meal outlet at Oriente, this one is for you. The barbecued chicken is on the go from opening time, it’s not expensive, and it’s just excellent. The outlet claims to have served more than 100,000 meals, and that number is totally believable. Many punters get food to take away, otherwise you have to find a place at the outside tables, which usually means having to share. October 2025 prices: half chicken (with spicy sauce), rice and chips came to a mere €7,40. Add a can of drink to that, and you’re still talking about less than €9. Drawbacks? The area under the station at Oriente is a bit untidy and chaotic. The restaurant has been known to run out of chicken just before 2100 hours. So get there well before that, and be prepared to get stuck in. You may have to resort to using hands to get all the meat off the bone. Yay! Rail services and buses in and around Gare Oriente. [ ...

Rua Dr José Alberto de Faria Location HERE . Open daily from 0700 to 1900 hours. The grand entrance Another counter to those who talk down the Benfica area as being a bit rough and grotty; it isn’t. If you get there by suburban train, the walk along Rua Garridas and Alameda Padre Álvaro Proença, past all those generously proportioned and seriously upmarket houses, will put you straight. The tree cover ... Well within Zone L, and one of the neighbourhood’s best kept secrets, is this small and secluded park with its extensive tree cover and roaming birdlife, claimed to include peacocks, though I didn’t see any when I visited. The park is laid out across a hillside, so a little climbing from the entrance. A measured circuit of 550 metres is marked in red, there is plenty of shade in the summer months, and plenty of places to sit and chill. There is also a children’s park. ... and the wildlife Those seeking refreshment after their visit will find a café inside the park; anyone needing to f...

Fallout from the Glória funicular accident continues, with the Desfile dos Classicos (Carris’ annual tram parade) cancelled for this year, and all other funiculars, plus the Santa Justa lift, suspended, probably until after the report into the Glória accident is published. Alternative means of getting up those hills have now been provided: Minibus service 51E starts and terminates at Restauradores, close to the lower station of the Glória funicular. It stops in Rossio and on Rua Áurea, then climbs up to Largo do Carmo (restoring public transport provision to this square), and also stops at Largo Trindade Coelho, just across the road from the Bairro Alto. Ends service earlier than the funicular did. Bairrobus 19B has had its route changed to provide an alternative to the Lavra funicular. Bairrobus 22B gives an alternative to the Bica funicular. CAUTION The minibuses have a limited seating capacity - you may have to stand at busy times. REMINDER Torre de Belém is closed until next yea...

Centro Vasco da Gama, Avenida Dom João II 40 Location HERE . Open Every Day It’s in the VdG commercial centre! In Parque das Nações’ main shopping centre, opposite Gare do Oriente, and on Level 3 (the entrance opposite Oriente is Level 1), and at the north-east corner of the floor in an area marketed as the River Deck, because there is outside seating overlooking the river. Opposite this place As you walk in from that Level 1 entrance, either use the escalators at the east side of the building, or lifts which are just behind the main mall - turn right at the Weeel Fro-Yo stand, then left. Just 12 taps, which include the usual Brouwerij van Steenberge high octane stuff, plus the less strong Baptist IPA and Wit, and, if all else fails, Stella Artois. If they don’t have it on tap, there are always bottles, and plenty of them. Food is mainly burgers, supplied from a little kitchen behind the bar. Some punters just get a beer and go out on to the terrace; there is a small eating area exclus...