24 Hours in… Lisbon

By Sarah Neads - 04/10/2017

Although we’d all like our holidays to last a lifetime, this sadly cannot be the case, and many of us are now finding short trips to cities the best way to get a taste of a country on a short timescale. On my last holiday to Portugal, I found myself with a 24 hour stop in Lisbon. How did I spend such a short period of time in one of the most vibrant cities in Europe, and how can you make the most of your next short trip?

Get to know your area

With only one day in a city, it can seem daunting trying to find your feet. Without having extra time to get your bearings, you’re forced to spend most of your day aimlessly traipsing around, losing sunlight and ending up flustered, right?

This doesn’t have to be the case! When you know you’ll only have a short time in a city, you should always plan ahead. This stops you feeling overwhelmed, and helps maximise your time relaxing and enjoying your day. The evening before I left for Lisbon, I picked up a map of the city and marked off my ‘base’ of the apartment I was staying at, then followed the metro and funicular routes to see what was nearby (and doable in a short period of time!). Then, rather than feeling flustered, I felt excited for the day ahead and prepared to explore the city!

Buy a day pass

While it’s great to stroll around to take in new sites, public transport becomes your best friend when you’re travelling with a time limit. Tourist information booths scattered around big cities are a great way to ensure you’ll be getting around like the locals – and at a good price! It’s always helpful to find the best value for money in terms of travelling to and from your desired tourist sites, but this is even more important when you only have 24 hours to get a feel for your location.

Lisbon has an array of methods of transport, from buses to the metro, boats to trams, making it easy to travel far and wide. The traditional funicular trams were my preferred method of seeing the sites, providing amazing views of the city by weaving in and out, up and down its steep streets. One of the first things I did when I arrived in Lisbon was buy a €6 day pass, which allows unlimited travel for 24 hours on the entire transport network, making my journeys extremely cost effective. Another good tip is to use this day pass for as long as possible – I took a round-trip on one of the tram services as it came to sunset, offering a perfect end to the day by taking in all of the highlights and atmosphere of the city.

Sample the local cuisine

Tempting as it may be to have all of your meals in a familiar McDonalds (you can adjust their touchscreen menus to English!) or even to hit up the local Hard Rock Café simply for ease of access, there really is nothing like testing local delicacies of in an authentic setting.

I took a short trip to Belem, just outside the centre of Lisbon, to do just that. Not only is Belem home to an astonishing monastery, it also houses the original ‘Pasteis de Nata’ (Portuguese custard tarts) bakery, Pasteis de Belem. Established in 1837, this bakery is bustling with tourists, but retains its Portuguese charm through a beautifully decorated, tiled interior. For a quick taste of Portugal, this place did not disappoint!

As some ‘authentic’ eating areas have been overtaken by tourists, it can be a good idea to move off the beaten track when finding places to relax and enjoy a meal. Perhaps leave your meals off a set agenda for the day, and instead find yourself in a small pestico (Portuguese tapas) bar surrounded by locals. There truly is no greater way to immerse yourself in the vibrancy of a city within 24 hours than to engage with the local food customs.

Tick off everything on your list... almost!

After only 24 hours in any city, you’re bound to feel slightly disappointed that you haven’t seen every sight, eaten every delicacy or taken every photo. I know I was yearning to have visited the colourful Pena Palace Sintra Palacio, but unfortunately it was out of reach in such a short space of time. However, this is not such a bad thing! When your 24 hours are over, you can tick off your initial list of places, but you’ll also be able to write up any extras that you might have missed. Your short experience of a city will always leave you hungry for more, and ready for the next adventure, but isn’t that the beauty of holidays not lasting a lifetime?

Accessibility Information for Lisbon

Lisbon is notoriously known as the ‘City of Seven Mountains’. Most of its pavement curbs are lowered, yet many streets are cobbled and rather steep, which can pose difficulties for those in manual wheelchairs. However, this does not mean that the city is completely inaccessible for wheelchair users. Whilst the old-style trams are rather dated and inaccessible, the newer trams are accessible from most stops. It is advised to check with staff beforehand to ensure that the stops where you start and end your journeys are accessible.

A map showing the accessibility of Lisbon’s metro stations can be found here: http://www.metrolisboa.pt/eng/customer-info/diagrams-and-maps/network-diagram/. Currently, the newer stations are equipped with mechanical mobility facilitators, such as escalators or travellators, and lifts, whilst some control gates are widened for wheelchair access. Information whilst on the metro is both audible and visual, whilst the stations’ automatic ticket vending machines have been adapted to meet the needs of the blind and the visually impaired. It is advised to check this information at the time of departure, as Lisbon’s transport services are currently undergoing redevelopments to make all of their metro stations fully accessible.

If you would rather take a full-day tour of Lisbon, Adapted Tours Portugal provide a fully accessible road trip around the city from €45, beginning at your accommodation. With flexible schedules and itineraries, you can personalize your trip to ensure you get the most out of your time in the city, while these tours can last between 4-8 hours. For more information, please visit: https://www.adaptedtoursportugal.com/tours/lisbon/.

The monastery ‘Mosteiro dos Jeronimos’, mentioned in this post, is wheelchair accessible and free for people with disabilities to enter. There is also a disabled toilet on site.

This post was written by Sarah Neads, who can be found on Instagram at: _thisislikejersey_

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