In Lisbon and it’s … not all that?

[sellotape12]

Hmm am I missing all the hype about Lisbon? We’re here with a big family thing and whilst I was really looking forward to it I’m surprised how unimpressed we are. It’s dirty, polluted, congestion means it’s hard to walk or cross roads, we keep getting offered drugs and there’s so many identical tacky souvenir shops. Also it’s cloudy which isn’t helping as everything looks a bit grey and dead. Beautiful in the sun no doubt.
It feels like an upcoming city.

feel like I’m in the minority though!

Honestly the food at Time Out is amazing and it was buzzing at night with locals dancing and a band on. I wouldn’t miss this place. Mixture of traditional and high end snacks, dishes and nibbles and lots of bars. You can wander and get lots of different bits of food. The building is lovely too xx

My son had a four day trip to Porto in June. He and partner had a wonderful time. Lots of walking and hilly. He is doing architecture so lots of interesting buildings. The wineries across the river well worth a visit as were some gardens. Lovely food to. Not expensive either.

Yeah Lisbon wasn't my favourite either, apart from the seafood!
I think my favourite city has been Seville

Didn't you know Portugal has legalised all drugs?

Much better than the repressive drug laws in UK.

Welcome to a different country and culture that is different from home. Duh!

That's what you get when you go abroad.

Absolutely love Lisbon and Porto.
Taken my boys to both and they had a brilliant time

Everyone to their own

I also love timeout

@Button28384738 yes I get that!

I remember lots of lovely squares with bars and cafes, beautiful churches, outdoor markets, and hills... I mainly remember the hills as I was there to run the marathon, and was not keen on the hills the next day!!

I liked the fact that it's not 'pristine', but thought it was a really interesting city. We did a segway tour which was both good fun and a nice way to see some off the beaten track places, and get a potted history.

Belem was a nice day out, and Cascais is an easy train ride.

I felt the same was as you do about Paris, OP. I just didn't get why everyone raved about it. I hope things turn around for you.

There's problems with Airbnb type properties which have squeezed the locals out. I read the Portugal press and it's out of control in some areas.

I didn't love it either. Shabby and run down. Whereas we love Porto.

I've twice been to Lisbon and really enjoyed it - great weather both times so that makes a difference. All cities can seem dismal if the weather isn't good.

Yesterday in London the weather was awful, chilly, windy and driving rain in the afternoon - I felt sorry for the tourists!

I assume this is because it was sunny. The people raving about it rightly so, seem to have experienced Lisbon’s beauty in sunshine. Whereas now it’s foggy. So you can’t really see the tiles that well and everything looks grey and clogged. Reading the contrasting comments, it seems to be lack of sunshine that makes all the difference.

I was there at the end of June this year. Weather was terrible. Wet, misty and cold.

I packed in a UK heatwave (remember that? Blink and you missed it 😆) and flippin froze for 4 days. Only walked UP the cobbled streets and taxied it down. The streets are lethal downhill in the wet. We used Bolt app to call taxis.

Don’t remember the dog shit - maybe the torrential rain washed it away?

We stayed up the coast near Cascais near the coastal train line that runs from Cascais into Lisbon.

You still haven't said you're going to visit Sintra...but as others have said..."VISIT SINTRA"!

We went last year and loved it.
Have you been up to the top of the elevator yet? Stunning area up there overlooking Lisbon.
We did a tour of sintra.

Get a tuktuk and go around on a proper tour. The churches and buildings are fabulous.
We found is restaurant in Alfama with a Fado singer which was magical

In Lisbon, go up to the Marques de Pombal square. We stayed there and found it nicer. Also, praca Saldanha is a nice area with nice restaurants arounds (Try A parte)

Yes we are trying Cascais and Sintra today to escape the diesel fumes. Starting to feel quite down. And my sis slipped in dog poo outside the hotel just now. We just went to that pink street that’s on a few blogs. But it’s just a dirty side street with closed bars, wheelie bins, paint peeling off the road and chewing gum stains and litter everywhere. Sorry, not trying to be Debbie downer - I love cities and live in London. Just feel so surprised at the congestion and dirt.
in Time Out market now to break from the drizzle! ☕️

Dry and cloudy with sunny intervals yes but very windy.

No dirt or drugs though and i cant say i noticed the traffic to be unusual.

When it happened to us (about 20years ago), a bloke came up to DH in the street with a massive block of hash, the size of a video cassette - and weirdly, he wanted to sell us ALL of it. DH said “mate, we’re only here for the weekend!”

We’ve been to Lisbon a couple of times and really liked it, had a great time. Don’t recall any dogshit.

I loved Lisbon.
Go up the Pantheon for amazing views of the city, open air market around the castle, walk along the waterfront, take the tram or walk to Belem, always loads going on. Cascais is fine, Paula Rego museum is an interesting building and a place for a peaceful lunch in the gardens. Sintra is over hyped in my opinion and I might have liked Porto if it had ever stopped raining.
The airport experience on the way home is one of the worst I've experienced so you have that to look forward to!

We loved it and we were there in September when it was warm and sunny. Felt very safe even late at night and never saw any trace of drugs. You have made me think it’s probably not a winter destination though. Cascais is a nice day out and easy by train.

That pink street with the umbrellas was so ridiculous in real life that my daughter and I collapsed in fits of giggles. It’s a running joke in our family now. If anything is mediocre or doesn’t live up to expectations, we say Ah but is it as bad as Lisbon’s pink street?

Did you research it before you went at all? Just surprised you still went to pink street if so.

Noone cares if Portugal have legalised drugs. What I do care about is being approached by skeghead dealers in the street while I'm walking round with my baby in a pram which us what happened on a visit to Lisbon. Never happened to me anywhere else and I travel a lot. Not much of a cultural highlight to brag about is it

I’ve never taken to Lisbon, and I’ve been in all sorts of weather. I recall one trip where the highlight was using the outdoor gym by the river! Just use it as a jumping off point for interesting day trips, because much of Portugal is great.

On the ‘drugs’, aren’t they fake? Still annoying but as someone mentioned earlier, it’s like the pushy rose sellers elsewhere.