Lisbon "secret" shortcuts/elevators to make ascend easier
 

Greetings!

I am traveling with a group of older people. One of the concerns is how hilly Portuguese cities are (mostly concerned about Lisbon and Porto....espeicially Lisbon!). I am trying to work out an itinerary and now discussing this with an acquaintance in Lisbon. when I said that I'd like to add a visit to the Carmo Convent and San Jorge Castle, the answer was "No! Hard to walk up."

I do understand that they are high up and the walking is indeed hard, but I think there should be a way to make it easier. One option is taxis, but we'll need like 5 cars and I hear it's getting difficult to catch taxis in Lisbon. The other option is trams/funiculars...again, not easy when you are traveling as a group.

I did, however, see in some youtube video or online blog that there are "secret" elevators in places. For example instead of taking the Santa Justa elevator and standing in line or to get to San Jorge castle, it's possible to take public / free elevators.

I hope someone could share information that could make life and travel to Portugal easier for elderly people! Please let me know if you know of any great ways of reaching these hard to reach destinations!

Thanks,
Anna

There are some shops with lifts and escalators, but it is not polite a huge group of old people using those facilities - unless they buy there a lot of things! So I think the best you can use are the metro stairs. They will lead you from Rossio (downhill) to Chiado (uphill). And it's free. They will not lead you as good as "elevador de Santa Justa" does, but they are ok.

Concerning what the previous poster said, yes be very carefull with those beautifull but stupid stones of Lisbon (named "calçada portuguesa"). They are tricky.

Enjoy your trip!

We had our hotel call us a cab when we went to the Sao Jorge Castle. I realize you are a big group, but you could have the hotel call cabs for all of you. And we never had problems hailing a cab during our trip in April 2018.

The "secret elevator" to circumvent the steep fare of the Santa Justa elevator is inside the Armazens do Chiado shopping center.
It does not cover the full elevation of the Santa Justa, but 1/2 or 2/3 maybe. Or the equivalent of 4-5 stories of a regular building.

You are free to use it as it's not a feature of a specific shop but for whole building (as long as the shopping center is open).
When you're "upstairs" in Chiado, you literally hit it when you walk down R. Garrett from Pr. Camoes.
From Baixa, you find it a few steps right to the lower Baixa-Chiado metro entrance at R. da Vitoria @ R. do Crucifixo (where you see flags "Shopping Center").

Taking the metro escalators at Baixa-Chiado will let you gain a bit more elevation than the "secret elevator", but you have to rely on all escalators running. Which does not necessarily have to be the case. Last time we were in Lisbon, only those running up had been working.

But when in doubt, you will find taxis "everywhere" in Lisbon.

Yes, the hills are estimable in both Lisbon and Porto. With a group you'll need to either hire a minvan large enough to accommodate everyone or resign yourself to hailing multiple cabs or uber rides. We had no problem at all using uber extensively in both cities. I'd suggest you make sure several group members have the uber app on their phone and know how to use it, and have the destination written on a little card to show to taxi drivers (though most of the cabbies we saw understood at least rudimentary English.)

When you consider the likely cost of hailing multiple taxis for each site it might be better to just have a chartered van available. It may be worth your while to connect with a local who might be able to put together an itinerary for your group, including arranging transport. I was thrilled with the service provided by Maureen Ferguson at grapeolivepig.com and bet she could help arrange something for your group, or refer you to someone who can.

Note that even when cabbing it up to the entrance to San Jorge castle there is still a good bit of walking to get to the castle itself as well as lots of steps once inside, so allow some extra time for periodic rests. At the Carmo Convent archeological museum there is a lovely plaza just in front where you can sit and enjoy a refreshing libation - it's where we discovered the joys of white port and tonic.

thanks, Cowboy!

One of those things that worries me the most about this trip *_*

I'll definitely keep this in mind!

Yes, I think i'll try to do that. Also, I did see information online that there are jumbo-large taxis for 6-7 people, so maybe we could ask the hotel to pre-arrange three of these.

A lot of useful information!!! I hope the elevators and escalators do work when we are there :))

If I am not mistaken the Carmo Convent museum is directly connected to the top of Santa Justa elevator via an overpass walkway. So if we have enough energy, in theory, we could visit the Carmo convent and walk over to the top of the Santa Justa elevator for the views. How crowded is that viewing platform? I understand that there are huge lines for the elevator itself, but I can't figure out if the same number of people climbs all the way up.