2 posts tagged “lisboa”
Basic Car Rentals are expensive as are add-ons like GPS and Child seats (We paid about 30 Euros a day at AVIS for just these two add-ons!), Tolls are high (About 7 Euros for 120 km from Porto to Conimbriga) and gas is expensive (We paid Euro 1.40 for diesel per liter - That's in the vicinity $7 a gallon). Also, you get a smaller car on average in each category than you would in the US. Given that we had 2 big bags and a stroller - not to mention the car seat - an Ibiza or an Opel Corsa hatchback was going to be a very tight squeeze. We opted for an upgrade (A VW Golf wagon) - a further 25 Euros a day. Given that buses and trains seem to be plentiful and relatively cheap (The CP Website lists the Porto to Viana Do Castelo train fare at 6.85 Euros), you had better have good reasons for renting a car. We had two - a baby and the fact that we were staying at the Pousadas which are typically away from the city centre on mountains and castles and other not-so-public-transport-friendly places.
On the other hand, we found the roads to be excellent - as good as in the US in terms of road surface, road furniture, provision of service areas etc. We had no cause for complaint on the motorways or the smaller roads.
I could still use a crash course on the protocols to be followed in a roundabout - of which there are way too many. If you are in a roundabout, cars entering the roundabout yield to you - that much I could gather after observation and getting honked at once. But there's clearly more to it, which I didn't necessarily catch even after a week of negotiating them. The speed limit on motorways is 120 km / hr (75 miles / hr) and driving is, for the most part, disciplined. Only in and around Lisbon did I encounter a few aggressive drivers and some disorderliness - not unlike what you get in the New York area.
Lisbon – or Lisboa as it is known locally – has a pretty downtown with a grand square (praca comercio) and several smaller but elegant ones (praca figueira and praca Dom Pedro being other nearby ones).
Trams, metro, funiculars, suburban trains, buses and taxis offer plenty of public transport options. There is a cobblestone avenue – Rua Augusta - that runs from the Victoria arch on praca do comercio to praca Dom pedro (about 1 km) which is pedestrian only and is lined with souvenir shops, sidewalk artists and sidewalk cafes besides other commercial establishments. The water color paintings of Lisbon downtown featruring yellow trams prominently are pretty tempting buys on this avenue.
The buildings on 3 sides around praca comercio are pretty yellow buildings and the Rio (River) Tejo is on the fourth side. Trams and funiculars of the old sort clatter up and down in and around the praca (square).
There is a modern tram no 15E that – for the sum of E1.40 – will take you to the Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos (Monastery of the monks of the order of St Jerome) in nearby Belem which is arguably the blockbuster attraction of Lisbon. Built to commemorate the safe arrival of Vasco Da Gama from India, it is indeed both massive and elegant – with a huge chapel (with lovely painted glass windows) and a “golden stone” cloister with elaborate carvings.
The Rossio train station is opposite the Praca Dom Pedro and is also quite pretty inside and out. Trains on the Sintra line depart from here.
We didn’t venture very much beyond the downtown area of Lisbon and Belem. That, going by our reliable lonely planet guide, is just skimming the surface. The city is built on and around seven hills, which means that large parts of the urban sprawl of greater Lisbon come into view when in a train or driving on one of the motorways and – not particularly pretty sights when set against the elegant downtown.
Talking of guides, there are also a number of “Ask Me Lisboa” kiosks at various locations manned by English speaking staff who are usually helpful. We did also visit the “Colombo” mall located just off the 2nd Circular motorway. It is a very large mall with lots of middle to high end shopping and an elaborate food court – including a good Indian outlet called “Taste of India” where the paneer (cottage cheese marinated in tomato based gravy) and naan (Indian bread) was pretty good.
