Keep Safe & Stay Vigilant When Visiting Lisbon, Portugal (2018) - Part 3

So, now I've seen the best of Portugal's second largest capital, Porto and wondering what will Lisbon be? Will this capital city of Portugal as charming and beautiful as Porto, or it's just another overrated city to visit?

Let's find it out now.



FROM PORTO TO LISBON WITH HIGH-SPEED TRAIN

In my previous post, I shared that we took high-speed train from Porto (São Bento or Campanha) to Lisbon. The journey takes approximately 3 hours and it costs €18.50 for a second-class category. I prebooked my ticket via online and you may check the timetable and fare here. Normally, the booking opens for reservation two months in advance and I found the website is pretty simple (English language is available) and it's not that difficult to book from. The train from Porto to Lisbon-Santa Apolonia runs every hour and if you are lucky, you might get as low as €9.50. 

PICKPOCKETING IN LISBON

We're welcomed in Lisbon with an awful and bad incident - we're almost being victim for pickpockets. While on our way from Lisbon Main Train Station heading to our hotel, we took lift at the metro station since we have quite number of huge luggages with us. Just when we're about to enter the lift, two young guys were so rush to get in. They even jumped over our luggage and at that point of time, I started to smell something fishy. I was right - by the time we got out from the lift, both of my cousin and my backpack's front zip were opened. Luckily, nothing went missing cause we placed those our important handbags where we stored our cash and passport in front of us. These thieves are commonly targeting on tourists especially those with plenty and huge luggages - cause that's the time where you are busy carrying and dragging your luggage bags and you will be less focus on your other bag which store valuable items. Another shocking story shared by a friend of mine is that her wallet stolen inside church. Unbelievable! A holy place which you never thought of but it did happen. So be extra vigilant when you're vising Lisbon. 

WHAT WE DO & SEE IN LISBON FOR 2 DAYS

1) Tram 28 - This is the ultimate thing you shouldn't miss when in Lisbon. Take a ride on this nostalgic yellow tram and it will takes you up and down through most of the historic parts of the city. Unfortunately like we expected, it's one long queue by the time we arrived and it seems like not worth the wait. It's best to arrive early in the morning to beat the crowds. You can use Viva Viagem card (I will share it more later) or pay the ticket on board. Again another strong reminder: Beware of pickpockets here! Tram 28 is increasingly popular with pickpockets.

Nearest Station: Baixa-Chiado Metro Station

2) Alfama - It's the oldest neighbourhood of Lisbon and home to many of the city's best attractions; such as Lisbon Cathedral, National Pantheon and National Tile Museum. Walking through Alfama's narrow cobbled streets and steep staircases will unexpectedly lead you to a delightful and colourful ancient houses - this is truly a perfect spot for photo opportunity especially for the Insta-hungry travellers. 

3) Time Out Market - Not in my list initially but somehow we accidentally bumped into this. I ever came across Time Out Magazine but I never thought there's a real Time Out Market. Time Out Market is the first ever market in the world where everything has been chosen, tasted and tested by an independent panel of city experts. This is where you can find all the Lisbon's best and finest food under one roof. We managed to savour a piece of blueberry cheesecake here and it's amazingly delicious. 

Nearest Station: Cais Do Sodre Metro Station
Opening Hours: 10am - 12am

4) Praça do Comércio - Sitting on the northern bank of Tagus River and surrounded by classical 18th century building, Praça do Comércio is to consider to be the largest public square in Lisbon. Once known as "Gateaway to Lisbon", it is currently dotted with countless of cafes, restaurants and shopping venue. If you are looking for typical souvenirs like magnets, keychains and so on, you can find plenty of souvenir stores here. However, I personally think the souvenir stores along the pathway to Alfama offer better deal than here. 

5) Santa Justa Lift - Also known as "Carmo Elevator", this is the city's best-loved landmark and it offers spectacular viewpoint overlooking the city. This extraordinary structure where the elevator built inside a unique Gothic tower was built to transport the passengers from the lower streets of the Baixa district to the higher higher Largo do Carmo. 

Nearest Station: Baixa-Chiado Metro Station
Opening Hours: 9am - 11pm

Entrance Fee: €5.30 for a return ride. Free entry if you bought the 24-hour Carris metro ticket (€6 per person for 24 hour ticket includes unlimited rides on metro, trams, buses, funniculars and the Santa Justa Lift)

TRAVEL AROUND LISBON

Talking about public transport in Lisbon, it's actually pretty easy to navigate around the city with its extensive and efficient public transport network such as metro, tram, bus, funicular, urban train and even ferries. You can ever reach the airport (Aeroporto) under the red line and railway station under blue line with metro (you can refer the Metro map below). Although the metro announcement are made only in Portuguese, signs and ticketing machines are generally in bilingual in Portuguese and English.

[Photo credit to here]

Before starting your journey around Lisbon, it's wise to get a Viva Viagem card. It's the easiest and faster way to pay the journeys on public transport in Lisbon. A card itself costs €0.50 and it's non-refundable. To load it, there are three options available:

Single Trip		€1.50
Day Pass (Valid for 24h after first use)	Metro & buses	€6.40
	Metro, buses & ferries	€9.50
	Metro, buses & trains	€10.55
Zapping (Stored Value)		€3.00 - €40.00

To know about Viva Viagem Card, read more here.

OUR STAY IS LISBON

If money wasn't an issue, I would choose to stay somewhere near Baixa-Chiado metro station cause this is where most of the major attractions located. But because there are three of us and not many options available for a room of three, I booked our stay nearby Intendente metro station. Still not bad considering it's just three stations away from Baixa-Chiado and there's a shared kitchen within the property. 

LX Center Guesthouse, Lisbon

Date Stayed: 11 October - 13 October 2018 (2 nights)

Room Rate: €60 per night for a triple room with private bathroom. There's an additional surcharge of €1 per person per night for city tax. Booked from Booking.com

TOTAL EXPENSES WE SPENT IN LISBON - PER PAX

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	€	RM
Accommodation LX Center Guesthouse (2 nights) Add: City Tax (Per head per night) Transportation Metro around Lisbon Food and drinks Groceries for lunch and dinner Others Postcards and stamps Magnets Lisboa tote bag Coaster	€40.00 €2.00 €7.75 €7.65 €7.60 €7.50 €4.00 €2.50	196 10 38 37 37 36 19 12
	TOTAL	385

Note: Exchange rate&nbsp €1 = RM4.86 as at October 2018

The official currency in Portugal is the Euro (€).

Magnets in Lisbon is relatively cheap. I found six for €5 in Alfama. 

PORTO VS LISBON

My verdict on Lisbon - I still think Porto is more better than Lisbon. Even both my mom and cousin seconded this too. One of the main reasons is due to the pickpocket incident. Though it was unsuccessful attempt, but this causing us to wander around with a worry heart. Secondly, it was overcrowded with tourists almost everywhere. I found Porto offers plenty of things to see than Lisbon. Even tram in Porto is more attractive than Lisbon's tram 28, to be honest.


Tram in Porto with blue tiles on it

My upcoming post, Sintra! One of the most beautiful palaces in Europe I ever visited - Pena Palace.