Hi, mr_go,

What a great birthday present, I hope you have a wonderful time.

If you do use the walking tour I put together, let me know what you think and if there are additions or corrections to be made. I have some pictures that roughly correspond to the walk:
https://picasaweb.google.com/laurie.reynolds/Lisbon08

You've gotten a lot of great advice here, and I would second the recommendations of Fronteira Palace and the Tile Museum, but you might not have enough time for those places.

There are a lot of good restaurant recommendations on other threads here. I don't know what your tastes are, but if you like seafood, I would highly recommend the Adega Sao Roque for a seafood cataplana (they have a fish cataplana, but the seafood cataplana is worth the few extra euros). Adega Sao Roque is in the Bairro Alto, right across from the Sao Roque church. There will be a lot of tourists, but the food is really good. Nothing fancy -- the waiters have been wearing the same blue checked shirts since my first visit in 2004.

The fresh fish in Portugal is unbelievable, and a good place to try some in Lisbon is O Mercado. It's a restaurant right at the base of one of the pylons of the April 25 bridge. You pick out a fish, they grill it with salt and it is heaven.

Can't wait to hear how you like it, hope the weather cooperates (if you can believe weather.com, it looks great for you)! Boa viagem! Laurie

Your guidebook is the best choice for maps and photos but I must say it overlooks some major attractions and the restaurants list is quite poor. However, you can find plenty of info online.

Yes do get the 72-hour card not just for the transport but also because it offers free admission or discounts at most attractions. You can buy it in advance online: http://www.golisbon.com/Lisboa-Card/

Yes of course don't miss Sintra but I'd say skip Queluz Palace. It's quite a nice place especially for the gardens but it's in a dull suburb and not so easy to reach by public transportation. The weather in January may also not be the best for it, since part of the experience is the gardens. You'll find plenty to see and do in Sintra and Lisbon itself.

Others have recommended the Gulbenkian museum and that is indeed the best museum in town, but if you enjoy art or the more recent/modern art, go to the Berardo Museum in the Belem district. It's free and quite a surprise. Also free is the Design and Fashion Museum downtown.

I also enjoyed the Tile Museum but it may not be of everyone's interest. For more ideas of the main attractions in Lisbon see this list: http://www.lisbonlux.com/lisbon/

As for walking around, you may want to follow this itinerary which includes walking up from not far from where you're staying: http://www.lisbonlux.com/lisbon/itinerary.html

As for eating, skip the touristy restaurants of the Baixa district. Close to your apartment in Bairro Alto is a restaurant that exceeded my expectations called "As Salgadeiras." Another nice place is "Lisboa a Noite". They're on this list along with many others you may want to check out: http://www.lisbonlux.com/lisbon-restaurants/

Have a wonderful time!

We visited Lisbon in December two years ago and enjoyed Queluz Palace. It was not difficult to go there. We visited it when we returned from Sintra by train(we made a stop in Queluz to visit the palace). I think that there are 15 minutes from train station, and you can take a taxi if you want. Even in december, the statues in the garden are spectacular.

We visited Lisbon in December two years ago and enjoyed Queluz Palace. It was not difficult to go there. We visited it when we returned from Sintra by train(we made a stop in Queluz to visit the palace). I think that there are 15 minutes from train station, and you can take a taxi if you want. Even in december, the statues in the garden are spectacular.

Once again, Fodors does not disappoint. You guys are the best!

The Tile (Azulejo) Museum is already on our list of probables, especially for ms_go.

I appreciate the restaurant recommendations... and it's good to know that As Salgadeiras comes recommended, since it's on the same little street where we're staying. And I just did a Google image search for seafood cataplana, and... oh my. That looks amazing.

Laurie & ulysses... I'll have to check out your links later this morning, as I have a client meeting in about 20 minutes. But thanks so much!

Queluz looked like a sort of convenient stop on the way back from Sintra, but we'll probably make it a game-day decision.

About restaurant As Salgadeiras, I'd just like to add that its prices are a little higher than of most others in the neighborhood, but quite worth it. I don't remember seeing the seafood cataplana on the menu but I assume the menu may change from time to time. I did enjoy the "Bacalhau a Salgadeiras", one of the several cod dishes that were quite well presented and with quite sizable portions. The chocolate cake "Chiffon de Chocolate" is probably in the top 2 I've had in my life.

On the same street is a very nice café (especially in winter) that specializes in teas, scones and cakes. It's called "Cultura do Chá."
And just a few steps from there is one of the city's best and most original shops worth a look even if you don't buy anything. It's "Cork & Co" with everything made of cork, one of Portugal's top products: http://www.corkandcompany.pt/

ulysses: I checked out As Salgadeiras on TripAdvisor, and it gets great reviews. And of course, there's a couple dozen photos of food porn to drool over.

My longstanding rule of thumb in restaurants I've never visited before is to order the item that has the name of the restaurant in it. So Bacalhau a Salgadeiras may well be my first choice!

What a great gift--Happy Birthday! Been years since I was in Lisbon, so can't help. want to return to Portugal so look forward to one of your great TRs. Have fun!

Thanks, yt. Happy New Year to you and your DH!

Wow---good info for the Go family.
I can put my stuff away for now--this is good.

Bob: Yeah, I think this weekend is going to be more about unbridled gluttony and college football. And whatever else Granny Susan has planned.

Weekender: Somehow, I missed your post yesterday. Glad I noticed it now, because the Pavilhão Chines looks very interesting!

mr_go:

Happy Birthday and hope you enjoy Lisbon as much as I did.

Look for this tiny shop while wandering. Bought some beautiful gloves and it is a one of a kind place:

http://www.luvariaulisses.com/uk/pagina/2/historia/

The Pavilhao Chines is a good recommendation. It's arguably Lisbon's most beautiful bar: http://www.lisbonlux.com/magazine/th...ars-in-lisbon/

The Luvaria Ulisses shop is also one of the nicest in Lisbon or anywhere!: http://www.lisbonlux.com/magazine/li...autiful-shops/

Have a wonderful birthday!

Happy Birthday! I'm another fan of Lisbon - see http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ing-lisbon.cfm

In addition to the suggestions above I'd highly recommend the Solar do Vinho do Porto, Rua Sao Pedro de Alcantara 45, where you can try many different ports by the glass. And do go to Bom Jardim!

Rather than lugging the DK book along, I used Lonely Planet's Lisbon Encounter on my last visit. You might also find this site useful: http://www.golisbon.com/

A good grocery chain to shop for provisions for your apartment is Pingo Doce. Just remember that you need to pay cash if your bill comes to less than €20. Also, if you don't speak Portuguese, what the cashier is asking you is if you want a plastic bag (you'll pay a few cents extra) :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

This restaurant was so good, I went twice. Even had the same meal.

http://www.restaurante-olivier.com/restaurant.html

The chef has a few of them, I went to the old/original one. This above might be a different outlet of the same chef. There was a really good NYT review of the one I visited in 2007, I can't find it online now for some reason.

ps. ditto on slippery tile sidewalks.

The above resto I reco'd to some local friends and they said it was one of the best meals they have ever had, so I really urge you to check it out (and report back).

I did a walking tour of Spies of Lisbon, which was very interesting.

I read "A small death in Lisbon" while I was there, which was an excellent crime-mystery novel.

Do NOT forget the Pasteis de Belem. Also called Pasteis de Nata. Get them from the source in Belem.

mr_go...

In case you are interested in tiles, a friend of mine has written a guide to a variety of tilework that can be seen throughout Lisbon.

Below is a link to the page where you can read more about the guide, it's available for purchase in a PDF version.

http://endlessmile.com/lisbon-azulejos/

I was considering bringing tiles home to do backsplash on my house in South Carolina. I might yet do that one day. Thanks LowCountryIslander!

Mr-go: Happy Birthday from another Lisbon (and Portugal) lover.

I think you are getting excellent advice here. Our four trips to Lisbon happened in the 80's and early 90's, so I don't have any restaurant recommendations. However, if you like classical music, we once went to a lovely concert at the Gulbenkian, during the Christmas holiday period. You might nwant to check the schedule.