Question 1

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

The metro's Blue Line stops at Santa Apolónia and Terreiro do Paço, the two stations nearest the cruise terminal. A single Carris/Metro ticket is listed at €1.90 and a 24-hour ticket at €7.25, and you can also pay with a contactless bank card. Check fares before you travel. Tram 15 runs from Praça da Figueira to Belém. From the airport, take the Red Line toward São Sebastião and change there to the Blue Line toward Santa Apolónia. By taxi the 8 km takes 15 to 20 minutes. Book a licensed taxi at the Taxi Link kiosks in the main terminal, and note the car's license plate.

Question 2

Tipping and Currency

Accepted Answer

Portugal uses the euro, and tipping is customary but not required. In restaurants and taxis, the usual practice is to round up the bill or leave small change. Carry some cash. Card payments are common, but some smaller shops and restaurants take cash only. Travelers who live outside the EU can claim a tax refund at the cruise terminal only if Lisbon is their last EU port before leaving the EU.

Question 3

What to Eat

Accepted Answer

The pastel de nata, an egg custard tart often dusted with cinnamon, goes back to a recipe from the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém. Bacalhau is dried, salted cod, and the saying is that Portugal has a different recipe for every day of the year. Ginjinha is a sour cherry liqueur. The first bar in Lisbon to sell it was in Praça de São Domingos. Time Out Market Lisboa, a food hall in the Mercado da Ribeira at Cais do Sodré, has around 36 restaurants and kiosks. Be skeptical of restaurants in the Baixa that advertise themselves as "typical Portuguese." Not all of them are.

Question 4

Alfama, Belém, and Fado

Accepted Answer

Alfama, the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon, is a maze of narrow streets and small squares on the slope between São Jorge Castle and the river. São Jorge Castle, on the hill above Alfama, was taken from the Moors in the siege of 1147. In Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower have been a World Heritage Site since 1983. Vasco da Gama's tomb is in the monastery church. Check that the tower is open before you go. Fado, the city's song tradition, can be traced to the 1820s and joined UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2011. Alfama is full of fado houses. The National Tile Museum, in a convent founded in 1509, follows the azulejo from the 15th century to the present.

Question 5

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

The Lisbon Oceanarium, in the Parque das Nações district built for Expo '98, is one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe, with sharks, rays, penguins and sea otters. In summer, bring hats for babies and children and plan breaks out of the sun. Tram 28 runs between Martim Moniz, Graça, Estrela and Campo de Ourique. Keep bags closed and in front of you: UK government travel advice for Portugal warns that thieves work crowded tram stops in teams. In Alfama a baby carrier is easier than a stroller, because the lanes are narrow and many are stepped.

Question 6

Shopping in Lisbon

Accepted Answer

Portugal is the world's largest producer of cork, and cork wallets, bags and postcards are sold all over Lisbon. Azulejos, the patterned ceramic tiles seen on buildings across the city, are sold singly, either hand-painted or factory-made. The Feira da Ladra flea market is held on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9 am to 6 pm at Campo de Santa Clara. Many shops close on Sundays, though some in the tourist areas stay open.

Question 7

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Lisbon sits on a river, and its ocean beaches are along the rail line that runs from Cais do Sodré station to Cascais. Cascais, at the end of the line, has 17 beaches along its coast. A 24-hour Carris/Metro/CP ticket, listed at €11.40, covers the Cascais trains as well as the city's metro, buses and trams. UK government travel advice for Portugal explains the flags on supervised beaches: red means stay out of the water, and yellow means paddle at the edge only. UK government travel advice for Portugal also warns against swimming where a river runs into the sea, because of strong currents.

Question 8

History

Accepted Answer

Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in Europe, yet most of its center was built after an earthquake in 1755. The Romans knew the town as Olisipo. The Moors took Lisbon in the 8th century. Afonso Henriques captured it in 1147 with the help of crusader knights, and it became Portugal's capital in 1255. Vasco da Gama's voyage to India left from Lisbon in 1497, and for the next century the city was Europe's trading hub for Africa, India and the Far East. On November 1, 1755, an earthquake destroyed 85 percent of the city's buildings and killed an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 residents. The Marquis of Pombal had the lower town, the Baixa, rebuilt to a new plan. On April 25, 1974, a military coup known as the Carnation Revolution ended the Estado Novo regime.

Question 9

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

Lisbon is built on hills, and nearly all of its sidewalks are paved in small mosaic stones that can be slippery. At the cruise terminal, wheelchair assistance is available on request from the security staff at the entrance. Ask your ship whether the gangway will be step-free in Lisbon. Taxis and ride-hailing cars have their own pick-up points at the terminal, so a door-to-door ride can skip the climbs. Say what your wheelchair needs when you book. Ask the metro operator which stations have working elevators before you plan a day around the train.

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