We will be there this year in November so I have found this quite interesting. My husband and I have traveled in Europe Italy, Rome Hungary, Vienna, Prague, all the Greek Islands. I should start another topic but does anyone have any nice hotels to recommend? Within walking distance to restaurants etc. Thanks,

Try posting a new topic. It works better.

Thanks Robert yes I agree that would be best.

I'll be there in November and thinking of seeing primarily Lisbon with a day trip to Sintra. I too got a great airfare (I wonder if we snagged the same deal).

Portugal wasn't ever in the top ten of must visits, but now that I'm doing my research, I'm really excited about this trip.

We are in Paris now but flew in last Saturday from Lisbon. We did a circle tour of northern Portugal by car and loved it all. This was my husbands pic to go to Lisbon but I really didn't want to go. We hit Sintra first and loved it. In fact loved all of Portugal.

diann, we loved the Hotel Avenida Palace, in Lisbon, next to Rossio square and train station. Lovely hotel. Great service. Amazing breakfast buffet.

I'm sorry but to say Lisbon, one of the oldest cities in the world (3,200 years inhabited), doesn't have a rich history, is a bit ignorant...specially coming from someone who supposedly studied european history. Plus you have archeological finds way more ancient than that.
Modern day Lisbon was built on top of ancient Lisbon. Constantly they're finding more and more ruins everywhere. They're actually trying to rebuild some ancient monuments they've uncovered.
There are so many ruins beneath the current historical center and a lot that you can actually see and visit. Just do your research to know where to go.
Also, the Belém is an extremely important area of Lisbon, historically speaking...not just for Portugal or Europe but for the world. It's where what we now call globalization began.

Lisbon, or any other city for that matter, doesn't have to look like Paris, London or Rome. It has its own beauty. While Paris is all about the grandeur of the cityscape, Lisbon is about the details, the little things that make it charming. And you don't get to feel that in 3 or 4 days. You have to immerse yourself in the city and its atmosphere.
But this is not for everyone.

Lisbon was very neglected by the government, even when the economy was in good shape. Only in the last 3/4 years they started taking better care of the city. They're renovating tons of areas in the historical center, they've recuperated hundreds of buildings in the old run down areas, they're investing more in preserving and discovering archeological sites.
They've done an amazing job so far but big changes don't happen overnight. Lisbon's already much better than it was 5 years ago, despite the economy downturn.
But there's still much to do and it'll take time.

Also don't understand the concerns about safety in Lisbon. There's a reason why it's actually one of the safest cities in Europe. It's not me who says it, it's the statistics so all that drama about the so-called "african refugees" (will not even comment further on how racist and ignorant that was) is unnecessary.
The only problem are the pickpockets on some of the trams (tram 28 is where it happens the most).

PS We LOVED Lisbon, and would go back in a heartbeat. Friendly people, good value, wonderful restaurants, great walkable city with easy access by train to Cascais, Sintra, etc.

More beautiful to some, less to others.

For kind of neutral info, I checked Euromonitor ranking in terms of number of visitors. Lisbon is 23rd in Europe. I have been once. It is différent from other Western Europe cities as You Can feel it is poorer. It is nice however but I will prefer to visit again many other places before Lisbon

I'm just trying to put this in context. Lisbon really appeals to me, and we are considering Portugal for next September's vacation.

Some members are describing Lisbon as gritty. We have been to Palermo, Catania, Naples,and these are cities I would describe as gritty. All very interesting cities, but a little poorer, dirtier, noisier perhaps you could say.
Any comments on Lisbon versus these cities that I could relate to? I am aware that the history of the place is very different and the architecture will be also.

I really like Pedro's comment. Well balanced.
Now what is my opinion ?
Let me say this : who is the most beautiful woman in Europe ?
Answer : my wife.
But you may have a different answer.

Ps : I had a great time in Lisbon last june. Ready to go back anytime. And I didn't find it a poor city.

I have been to all those cities. I would say Lisbon was the least "gritty" of the four.

Don't overthink it. Just go.

Thank you thursdaysd.

Glad to read this and thanks for posting pictures above! Bookmarking as I am booked to go to Lisbon next September!

We loved Lisbon, as I've said. I wouldn't call it "gritty", but there were lots and lots of beautiful, historic buildings, all boarded up. At the time, I thought, what a great investment those would make.

Now, I think, hmmmmmm: Maybe we should buy one, and move there.

Lisbon is a very interesting city -- I don't know if "beautiful" is the right word, but it has great charm with lots to see.

I will say, however, that it is obviously much smaller (~half-million) than cities like London, Paris or Rome, so there won't be nearly as many "sites" to see as in those A-list cities. We were just there last month for five days and did not run out of things to do.

Be sure to take a day-trip to Sintra.

ssander

In response to the poster who said the Lisbon is out of the way in the sense that it needs to be made the target of a separate trip, I'd like to point out that easyJet has nonstop flights to/from BSL - that's about as smack dab in the middle of all of Europe as you can get if you look at a map.
My upcoming roundtrip flight coast CHF88 and take less than three hours each way. I fly into Switzerland for a bit, then on to Lisbon - it's no more of a "detour" than, say, flying into L.A. and visiting Denver on the same trip.