If you want to know what’s happening in Lisbon while you’re visiting the city, all you need to do is look at the walls around Bairro Alto’s bars. They’re wallpapered with posters advertising the city’s upcoming concerts, festivals, and special events, and if you want ticket information, a friendly local will help you out with that…

Of course they’re always GoLisbon’s Calendar of Events as well, which lists the city’s upcoming attractions and provides ticket information. At the moment for example, tickets for Madonna’s concert in Lisbon are sold out everywhere, but not if you follow the link in our Calendar of Events… Do you love a good football (soccer) match? We got ticket information for the upcoming season there too. Enjoy the shows!

It’s August. That means Europe has packed its sunscreens, shorts and bikinis, and gone down the shore. You will find many shops in Rome, Paris, and here in Lisbon with a sign “Closed for Vacation,” and Lisbon is even more fortunate than those other cities because not only does it usually have better weather, but the beaches are closer (see our Lisbon Beaches guide).But for those wishing to stay in the city, there are places where you can still get that tan and have a refreshing drink while you’re at it. First, we suggest you go lay on the terrace: “O Terraço” (The Terrace) is the name of a café on a street not far from the Castle of St. George overlooking all of downtown Lisbon (Calçada do Marquês de Tancos, 3). Order your drink at the counter, then choose one of its sofas or lounge chairs and wait for your waitress to bring it to you. Then enjoy the view over the city’s cathedral and Comercio Square as the sun hits your face. That’s the closer you’ll get to the beach experience in the city, although with no ocean included.

But if you still like to see water as you catch some rays, head to Meninos do Rio (Rua da Cintura do Porto de Lisboa by Cais do Sodré Station). You won’t have the Atlantic in front of you, but the Tagus River looks just as nice. It serves light meals (and there’s a separate sushi bar too), as you sit on long chairs facing the river. As far as summer cafes in Lisbon go, this has been a favorite every year. It’s also open throughout the year, so even when you catch good sunny weather during the colder months, this is always an option.

Our final suggestion is closer to the center of the city, somewhere between Bairro Alto and Principe Real. That’s Fabrico Infinito (Rua Dom Pedro V, 74), an interior design shop with a café in its backyard. You can recline on a chair by the perfectly cut lawn or sit at a stylish table while you drink or have one of its delicious cakes. There’s no more peaceful café in which to end your afternoon in the city and breathe in some fresh air. Too bad it closes at 7PM, or else it would also be a great spot at night.

Yes, there are many other outdoor cafes in Lisbon. But these are arguably the most relaxing and with enough space to allow an experience closer to beach sunbathing –- and you don’t even have to put up with screaming children throwing sand around you!

Portugal ranks 18th worldwide in the EPI (Environmental Performance Index). It’s the highest ranking country in Southern Europe (Spain is 30, Italy 24, and Greece 44 for example), with the best performers being Switzerland at number one, followed by Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The United States’ high oil consumption brought it down to number 39, while in very last place, at number 149 is Niger due to its low water and sanitation quality. (Source: Newsweek).

But Portugal could do much better. Downtown Lisbon for example often seems more friendly to the automobile than to the pedestrian, and unlike many other European cities, there is still no limit or tolls for cars entering the very center of the capital. As a result, your eyes will see plenty of trees emitting O2 in Avenida da Liberdade, but your nose will most likely be receiving CO2 from the cars speeding down the avenue as they would down a highway. Yesterday a plan was announced that would soon charge a higher toll to cars carrying only one person entering Lisbon from the highways.  That would not solve the problem, but it’s a sign of a good start.

Then if you decide to go on a daytrip to the Arrabida Natural Park, try to overlook one of Portugal’s biggest environmental crimes, a cement factory in the middle of the vegetation of that beautiful park.

Despite that, the country seems to be on the right track, and if you happen to go up North through the A8 highway you’ll see plenty of power being produced by the wind on the hills surrounding it. Add the huge solar energy power station being created in the Alentejo province (the world’s biggest, said to be seen from space, covering about 250 hectares and capable of sustaining 130,000 households), and it seems Portugal’s got a very green future ahead of it.

Yes, just like in all cities, you’ll find plenty of unusual and strange things and characters in Lisbon, as seen in part one of our Weird Lisbon report. Here are some more:

Mr. Hello
Pass by Saldanha Square in uptown Lisbon at around 11PM and you’ll likely see a well-dressed gentleman with grey hair waving at everyone found inside the cars speeding by. That’s Mr. João Paulo Serra, who says hello and good-bye with his hands in an attempt to brighten people’s night or end of day. He’s been doing it for years, and he says it brings him joy. Call him crazy and weird, but you’ll certainly feel the same when you wave back at him.

The Doll Hospital
If your favorite doll suffers any damage or is broken when you’re in Lisbon (surely there have to be a few tourists out there who carry dolls with them whenever they travel, so let’s not judge), take it to the doll hospital in Figueira Square. It’s been taking care of dolls since 1830, complete with emergency and operating rooms. It seems business is still going strong, but one day when that’s no longer the case, the dolls with no cure, those abandoned, or their forgotten accessories will be turned into a museum collection.

Reading Between the Walls
For some reason the most rebellious Lisbon youth seems to think every building in the city is their canvas. So you’ll find graffiti everywhere in the city’s oldest central districts, especially in Bairro Alto and Alfama. That’s apparently going to come to an end (or so says City Hall), when a clean-up starts this upcoming September. But in the meantime, read the amusing propaganda found on the walls of the city center. You’ll be reminded that “Living kills” or that “advertising makes us stupid,” among some thought-provoking questions such as “Do you believe in everything you see on TV?” For other examples of Lisbon’s amusing graffiti, see our Photo Gallery - Street Art(?).

If you’re looking for a shirt with the words “My brother went to Lisbon and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” to take as a gift from Lisbon, forget it. If you want to buy the same-old Lisbon souvenir such as a colorful ceramic tile or the famous Barcelos rooster for good luck, you’ll find plenty of those in every single tourist shop in the city. But for the right Lisbon souvenir, you have to look in the wrong shop – literally. The Wrong Shop, found on an uphill street connecting Chiado’s main street Rua Garrett with the charming Carmo Square and the ruined Carmo Convent, has all the Portuguese symbols and the typical tourist favorites, but with a twist.

You’d expect to see t-shirts in Paris to display the Eiffel Tower, or you’d look for a t-shirt in London showing Big Ben, so of course in Lisbon you’d perhaps expect to find one with the Belem Tower, or the Discoveries Monument. Those do exist in several shops, but how about a t-shirt with the Eiffel Tower and the words “This is not Lisbon” below it instead?

Portugal’s iconic Barcelos cockerel is also given a makeover, trading its usual red and black colors for the British flag, the American, the Spanish, or the rainbow flag.

The more cultured tourist may want to check out the national authors, so in Lisbon they may look for the genius Fernando Pessoa or the Nobel-winning Saramago. At The Wrong Shop, you’ll find the books they never wrote.

You’ll see more of these funny Lisbon gifts at the The Wrong Shop website.

 

All cities have their number of oddities and weirdness, so of course Lisbon is no exception. Here are just some examples of strange things in the Portuguese capital:

The Garden of Limp Dicks
A small terrace halfway down an Alfama street has for decades been a meeting place for old men to spend their entire days watching life go by or play some cards. This simple place didn’t have a name until young kids started referring to it as “The Garden of Limp Dicks”… The name obviously caught on, and unbelievably, it’s been made official with a street sign that even uses the more vulgar word for the male anatomy. The picture on the right shows it in all its splendor. The old men standing below it every day see the humor in it and don’t seem to mind.

The Man with no Face
Is it a mask? Is that really a face? People stare to make sure it’s real – A man with huge tumors all over his face sits in a corner of Rossio Square looking like something out of “Ripley’s Believe it or Not.” The poor man has become known as “the man with no face” and there is no treatment for his rare condition. He’s become something of a celebrity, having even been featured in The Discovery Channel’s “My Shocking Story” series.

Use your hands only!
If you want to take photos of Lisbon, be sure to hold your camera with your hands only! That’s because a recent (ridiculous) law has prohibited the use of tripods to take pictures in the city’s public spaces, unless you get a permit first. If caught taking a photo using a tripod without a permit, be prepared to pay a fine.

The Cemetery of Pleasures
There is a neighborhood in Lisbon called Prazeres which means Pleasures in English. The city’s largest cemetery was built there, so naturally it became known as “Cemiterio dos Prazeres” or “The Cemetery of Pleasures”. It’s the last stop of the famous tram 28, which displays “Prazeres” in the front, so if you ride it until the end of its journey, don’t be fooled that you’ll end up in some fun theme park or in a naughty red light district…

The Little Lettuces
If New York is called “The Big Apple,” Lisbon could be called “The Big Lettuce.” That’s because at one time there was a significant migration from rural areas into the big capital city and those new residents brought their country habits with them. They were known to plant crops in their backyards, especially large spaces of lettuce. Lisboans then became known as “alfacinhas” which translates to “little lettuces,” today an endearing term used to refer to anyone born in the Portuguese capital.

Lisbon went through one of the most radical makeovers in the world’s recorded history following the 1755 earthquake that left it almost completely in ruins. That led to the rebirth of the Baixa district, and in more recent times in 1988, most of the Chiado quarter went down in flames in a major fire, only to be revived into an even more cosmopolitan and vibrant center in the city today. Also, in the late 1990s, all of the eastern section of the city was reconverted from an ugly industrial area into an ultra-modern residential and leisure district to host the World Fair Expo 98, which then became what is now known as Parque das Nações.

Therefore, being no stranger to major makeovers, and with its riverfront and entire historical center in desperate need of an extensive intervention, Lisbon is now ready for another major cosmetic surgery. In recent years there have been controversial discussions on how to renovate the Baixa district for an upcoming evaluation by UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site, and just this week an ambitious plan was unveiled to convert the entire riverfront from Parque das Nações all the way to Belem into a mostly leisure zone.

Two major projects will serve as catalysts for their surroundings. One is the upcoming Design and Fashion Museum which will be located in a building taking up an entire block in the Baixa district, and the other is a new building in Belem by Pritzker-winning architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha for the new and expanded Coaches Museum.

For the Baixa, plans include pedestrianizing two of Comercio Square’s sides and opening shops, galleries, and cafes under its arcades, while for Belem pedestrians will also be given more space, with the plan to sink the train tracks underground so that it is possible to walk from Jeronimos Monastery to the riverfront without being blocked by the rail service to Cascais.

Many of these projects have a deadline of two years, so a rejuvenated Lisbon will already be seen by late 2010, with other plans being long-term and completed over the next two decades. That includes a third new bridge across the Tagus that will connect the city to its new international airport that will be located across the river.

Simpler but no less important works in the city includes covering up all graffiti that has infested the entire Bairro Alto neighborhood in recent years, as well as renovating the pretty Santa Luzia viewpoint that currently stands in a moribund state with most of its attractive tiles now broken or missing, as well as creating a new viewpoint next to the ruins of Carmo Convent.

Maintaining, renovating, and making an ancient city evolve is not an uncomplicated task, but despite all the hardships and controversies, Lisbon eventually overcomes its obstacles. And nowhere else in the world will you find a city so melancholically linked to its past and traditions, while at the same time looking to adapt to the challenges of modern and future life. There are plenty of reasons to go to Lisbon today, and there will certainly be many more to return in the future.

Lisbon is ready to rock this summer.  This weekend is the first part of the 5-day festival Rock in Rio-Lisboa.  The notorious singer Amy Winehouse was the first international star to reach the stage (although one hour late), and after that was Lenny Kravitz’s turn to get the Lisbon crowd rocking.  On the electronic side of the festival, the highlight of the day was Paul Van Dyk.
The following days will bring Alanis Morissette and Bon Jovi, and the famous DJ Carl Cox, along with Tokio Hotel, Joss Stone, Rod Stewart, and DJs David Morales and Dimitri from Paris.
On June 5^th it’s Metallica’s turn, which will be on stage after Machine Head.  The following day will bring Muse, The Offspring, and Linkin Park, which will offer their harder sounds while Sasha & Digweed entertain dance music fans.
If you can’t make it to this festival, there is an opportunity to go to another one in July.  The annual Super Bock Super Rock takes place on July 9^th and 10^th, this year welcoming Iron Maiden, Slayer, Beck, Mika, Duran Duran, and DJ Tiesto.
On the same day will be the first of three days of the Optimus Alive festival, presenting Rage Against the Machine, The Hives, Bob Dylan, Within Temptation, Neil Young, Ben Harper, among others.
But before that on July 4^th, James Blunt’s concert takes place in the Campo Pequeno arena, also the stage for Lou Reed on July 19^th.
Finally, at the end of the season, Madonna returns to Lisbon after her 2-night concert four years ago and her world-premiere performance of “Hung Up” in 2006’s MTV Music Awards that took place in the Portuguese capital.  This time her concert will be open-air, in Parque da Bela Vista on September 14.  

Lisbon’s cheaper prices (as mentioned in the previous post) enable visitors to experience the pleasures of luxury that most could not afford to do in other capital cities such as Paris or London. Checking the prices for Palacio Belmonte or Pestana Palace (two of the most luxurious hotels in Lisbon), you will see that they cost as little as one-third of their equivalents in those other European capitals. Other top-end hotels include Avenida Palace, Sheraton Lisboa and Spa, Le Meridien Park Atlantic, Tivoli Lisboa, Corinthia Lisboa, and Dom Pedro. See Go Lisbon’s hotels section for more.

The money you save in accommodation may then be spent dining in refined and acclaimed restaurants such as Eleven and Bica do Sapato. The prices there are closer to what you’d find throughout Europe, but still tend to be slightly lower. Other high-end restaurants to consider include Tavares Rico, Terreiro do Paço, Casa da Comida, Alcantara Café, and Pragma. You may read more about them in Go Lisbon’s restaurants section.

Why not combine that with an extra splurge at a spa that matches the quality found anywhere else, but at more reasonable prices? Go Lisbon has a newly-created page listing Lisbon’s best spas, as well as recommendations on where to do yoga or pilates.

If you prefer a day on the golf course, Lisbon offers world-class golf in high-quality courses, many of which designed by Robert Trent Jones. Penha Longa in Sintra is the best option, but there are plenty more, as you will find in Go Lisbon’s golf page.

End your day with a world-class concert at the Gulbenkian Foundation, at the CCB, or at the opera in São Carlos Theater.

If you still have money to burn, walk down Avenida da Liberdade and up Rua Garrett for some exclusive shopping. You will see the Louis Vuitton, Hermés, Cartier, Mont Blanc, and most of the other luxury names you have back home, but with a few bargains here and there.

Lisbon is therefore the capital of bargains for both the budget traveller as well as the more hedonistic visitor looking for a luxurious experience.

If you’re considering a trip to Lisbon, you probably already know that it is one of the cheapest capitals in Europe. You’ll find that while prices in restaurants and supermarkets are at the level of the rest of Western Europe, Lisbon’s accommodation, transport, and sightseeing can be as much as 50% lower than elsewhere in the continent. And to top all of that, you can actually enjoy most of the city for free!:

Most monuments and museums (including Belem Tower, Jeronimos, Ancient Art Museum, and the Gulbenkian) offer free admission every Sunday until 2PM. Other privately-owned collections opt for other days such as the Medeiros e Almeida Museum, which has its free entrance day on Saturdays until 1PM.
An exception to this rule is the Berardo Museum, which is free everyday until the end of the year as a way of promoting its fantastic collection of modern art.Best of all, this being one of the most scenic European cities, one of Lisbon’s major attractions are its viewpoints, and those are always free. Add the free entrance to the churches (with the exceptions of their cloisters in some cases such as the cathedral and Saint Vincent’s Monastery), and you can save your budget surplus for a slightly more expensive restaurant or hotel – which all combined make a visit to Lisbon even more rewarding.