Lisbon airport, and not to be missed in Lisbon?

[SilentNight]

I haven’t seen a question on this, so if I missed it, sorry. I’m sure a pilgrim or two have experienced this. I scheduled a private van pickup of my group of 3 from the Lisbon Airport to our lodging. The driver messaged that he will wait for one hour after the plane’s arrival. I figure that I can offer a tip to have him wait longer. How much time should I realistically plan for the deplaning, luggage pickup, sports luggage pickup, and Customs?

With our airline changing our flight dates, we now will have only one partial day to see Lisbon, albeit with jet lag. What is not to be missed in Lisbon for a first timer — beautiful Catholic Church, Phoenician ruins, Roman ruins, medieval architecture, history tour, food and drink, magnificent vistas, anything Cristiano Ronaldo, unique must see, or ?

 

[gerardcarey]

Sintra. Don't miss it. Sights and accessibility well explained in the link.

Sintra, Portugal; an independent tourism guide for 2024

www.sintra-portugal.com

Post edited due to the stupidity of the poster.

Regards and Bom Camino
Gerard

 

[jungleboy]

I lived in Lisbon from 2017-23. Here is an article I wrote with my highlights, so you could start there:

Lisbon Highlights - Spirit of the Camino

Lisbon is one of the most fascinating cities in Europe. Here are the highlights of Lisbon according to a local resident.

spiritofthecamino.com

With our airline changing our flight dates, we now will have only one partial day to see Lisbon, albeit with jet lag.

Sintra. Don't miss it. Sights and accessibility well explained in the link.

With one partial day and jet lag, I certainly wouldn't recommend Sintra. Let's be more realistic.

What is not to be missed in Lisbon for a first timer — beautiful Catholic Church, Phoenician ruins, Roman ruins, medieval architecture, history tour, food and drink, magnificent vistas, anything Cristiano Ronaldo, unique must see, or ?

Love your optimism about Phoenician ruins but there aren't any of any significance in Lisbon, even though the city was founded by the Phoenicians. But fortunately a lot of the rest of what you asked for can be visited within a short area around Alfama. The cathedral is a Romanesque-Gothic hybrid; a short distance away are the ruins of a Roman theater, and also a short distance away are two adjacent viewpoints, which are probably the two most famous in the city: Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol.

As for medieval architecture, there are only really three medieval buildings in Lisbon as the rest were destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. They are the aforementioned cathedral, the nearby castle (although hugely reconstructed in the 1940s) and the Convento do Carmo, which is on the 'other' hill from the cathedral, in the Chiado/Bairro Alto area. The Convento do Carmo is the 'symbol' of the earthquake in that the roof collapsed while a service was in progress and it was never rebuilt, giving the church an eerie atmosphere.

In general, I would concentrate on the Alfama-Baixa-Chiado zones, which offer more than enough for a partial day of relaxed sightseeing and getting a bit of a feel for Lisbon. Boa viagem!

 

[peregrina2000]

Here’s a walking tour of Lisbon I put together when I lived there for a year. Though it was written up many years ago, the monuments have not moved in that time and I have friends who have followed it recently. If you just walk it, it’s a good 2 hour brisk walk, or maybe a little more. If you stop and do some touring, it’ll take a lot longer!

 

[Corned Beef]

After walking and if you have run out of energy, why not jump on one of the many vintage trams that ply the narrow streets of the city. Electro 28 (E28) seems to be the one that covers most of the key stopping points.

This was the weather in late January this year.

As Lisbon is also a cruise ship port, you may find the place overwhelmed or quiet depending on whether the ship has disgorged its contents. There are an overwhelming number of tuk-tuks plying for trade when the ship is in which leads to more congestion - so walking may be faster.

 

[henrythedog]

I haven’t seen a question on this, so if I missed it, sorry. I’m sure a pilgrim or two have experienced this. I scheduled a private van pickup of my group of 3 from the Lisbon Airport to our lodging. The driver messaged that he will wait for one hour after the plane’s arrival. I figure that I can offer a tip to have him wait longer. How much time should I realistically plan for the deplaning, luggage pickup, sports luggage pickup, and Customs?

With our airline changing our flight dates, we now will have only one partial day to see Lisbon, albeit with jet lag. What is not to be missed in Lisbon for a first timer — beautiful Catholic Church, Phoenician ruins, Roman ruins, medieval architecture, history tour, food and drink, magnificent vistas, anything Cristiano Ronaldo, unique must see, or ?

Get the driver to turn up at least half an hour after the flight lands.

 

[jungleboy]

How much time should I realistically plan for the deplaning, luggage pickup, sports luggage pickup, and Customs?

No one can properly answer this, all people can do is give you their own experiences which may or may not match your own, as there are many variables. (e.g. How long you wait at immigration depends on how long the line is, which depends on which other flights land around the same time as yours, etc.)

In general, the airport is small and therefore things are usually fairly quick, and that's as precise as anyone can be. Assuming you are flying long haul, you will land at T1 and go straight from the plane to the terminal (budget airlines land at T2 and there's a bus from the plane to T1, which takes longer). I have never picked up sports luggage so I don't know how long this may take, and getting through customs may take longer if you have sports luggage (whereas in general there is no wait at customs if you have nothing to declare, you just walk straight through).

 

[JoEllen]

Monuments and cathedrals are great, but we did a wallking food tour and I would - "hands down" - recommend that if you only have one extra day. You can sample the pasteis de nata, the bufana, some of the eastern and african foods, and the wines and drinks that you won't get anywhere else. We did a half-day tour.....I'm sorry, but I don't remember the name of the company, but I do know it was a recommendation from a Rick Steves guidebook. We had so many tastings and drinks that we skipped dinner. Try one - you won't regret it.

 

[Rita Flower]

Lots of great ideas.
I had a day and just happily wandered around the streets and byways, eating great food, taking lots of photos and giving myself rest and breathing space before I started my Camino.
Lisbon is lovely so whatever you do will be a delight.

 

[Johnnyjenga]

I haven’t seen a question on this, so if I missed it, sorry. I’m sure a pilgrim or two have experienced this. I scheduled a private van pickup of my group of 3 from the Lisbon Airport to our lodging. The driver messaged that he will wait for one hour after the plane’s arrival. I figure that I can offer a tip to have him wait longer. How much time should I realistically plan for the deplaning, luggage pickup, sports luggage pickup, and Customs?

With our airline changing our flight dates, we now will have only one partial day to see Lisbon, albeit with jet lag. What is not to be missed in Lisbon for a first timer — beautiful Catholic Church, Phoenician ruins, Roman ruins, medieval architecture, history tour, food and drink, magnificent vistas, anything Cristiano Ronaldo, unique must see, or ?

As regards your driver, get his phone number and set it up in What's App. If you are nervous about getting out of customs in an hour, set the pick up time for later. He'll wait for an hour, but from the time you set. So you can push it back 30 minutes or more. If you're lucky and the flight arrives early, send him a text and change the time.

 

[SilentNight]

Thank you all for the wealth of suggestions and information! I’m so grateful and glad to be a part of this pilgrim community.

Jungleboy, your terrific article educated me on Lisbon history, besides making me want to do as much as possible in your article. I was truly hoping that Phoenician ruins might still be evident, like the Mycaen ruins (1750-1200 BCE) that I visited on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, which predated the origin of the Greek civilization about 800 BCE. I was ignorant of the 1506 massacre. I wonder if there are any countries without a massacre? I will check out the tram as well, which sounds as good as the hop on/hop off buses in Berlin and Paris. I particularly appreciate that my limited energy will not be taxed by the touring via tram. And who woulda thought that a country has multiple statues of poets, like Portugal?! Mine, the USA, has zero. I must read a poem or two by these great poets, abd thank God for google translate.

Peregrina2000, thanks so much for the walking tour! Sounds like another excellent must do. For me, a rapid pace will be challenging, so I may need to select a portion of the walk.

I enjoy watching and learning from Rick Steves’ videos, and thanks for the reminder!

Like the food tour, too! I will want to try a bifana (I looked it up), though sans the bread roll. Gluten causes inflammation, throat closing, wheezing in me.

So many more to thank, but then my post will drag on, so THANK YOU KINDLY for your generous spirit to help this newbie!