Lisboa night and day |
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Lisboa is a beautiful place where all types of architecture exist next to each other. And it's the same with Portuguese culture in general. It might be said about many places, but it's particularly true for Lisboa : you have an incredible mixture of old traditions (like tuna, groups of students who sing together serenades and traditional songs, each university has at least one) and of looking-to-the-futur-e attitudes. Commercial centers have invaded the city, and it's a real leisure activity to go shopping on Saturday afternoon in those huge buildings. Young girls are fashion-addicts, whereas grandmas always dress in black cloths, like 50 years ago. You will certainly be striked by the contrasts when you go there. But the kindness of people is real, no matter the age. And the metro is the cleanest I've seen, each station has a different artistic decoration.
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I was talking about metro: don't miss Oriente, the station of Expo 98, you have a nice piece from Hundertwasser. The Jardim de Agua, at the Expo, is a refreshing place during the summer, when the sun is striking everywhere else. Bars : Artiz (for those who like jazz and smooth atmosphere), Di Vino (for the wine). You have to experience Ginginha, the national drink, made of a kind of cherry. Moscatel is pretty good as well.
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| What's really great: |
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the beauty of the light, the see that you can always see, and if you don't see it, you feel it. The politeness of the Portuguese people. The weather (but don't go between end of November and March, except if you really really like rain!)
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| Sights: |
Take the tram 28, it will give you a nice trip around the old town, and it's really pittoresque.
Take the ferry to go on the other side of the river Tejo, you can catch it at Cais do Sodre (and the station itself is worth the trip). The ferries are most of the times boats with open board, so you can really feel the water and the wind!
From the Castelo Sao Jorge, you can see the whole city, and sometimes (not during the summer), you can even get the impression the place is yours :-)).
A great place as well is the Centro Cultural de Belem. The architecture of the building itself is fascinating (huge, made of stone, it could be a castle in the desert and it is designed as a kind of labyrinth, where you sometimes find small gardens, terraces, bars, and... exhibitions), and the Centro is very active. Music, Contemporary Art, animations, national celebrations, ... And you sometimes have free concerts at night, just look at the Lisboa program (in tourist info centers)
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Sorry... no tips for that!
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| Nightlife: |
Lux (very hype)
Fragil (homsexual nightclub, but I think everyone's welcome)
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| Hangouts: |
Artiz
Di Vino
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Take care : banks close at 3PM, and you always have to wait!
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Published on Tuesday October 29th, 2002 by marie-ange
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