If you are looking to move to a city where the weather is nice, the views are amazing and the people are super friendly, Lisbon is the place to be! Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal with a warm Mediterranean climate and over 300 days of sun throughout the year. Located at the west coast of Portugal, Lisbon is one of the most popular destinations in Europe. After reading this blog you will know more about Lisbon’s environment, nightlife, culture, public transport, housing, health care and some words to get you started!
Fun Facts about Lisbon:
Lisbon has nine neighborhoods, or Bairros de Lisboa, that divide the capital city: Alcântara, Alfama, Mouraria, Bairro Alto, Baixa, Beato, Belém, Chiado and Parque das Nações. Each district is known for their own characteristics. Alfama, for example, is the oldest district in Lisbon and Parque das Nações is the newest district. Parque das Nações is also the transport hub of Lisbon. Bairro Alto, or upper quartar, is known for its buzzing nightlife with various music subcultures. Baixa is the city centre of Lisbon, where you can find the Pombaline Baixa, one of the first earthquake-resistant constructions. When you go to the Belém district, you should visit the Belém palace. It was a former royal residence and is now occupied by the president of Portugal. For shopping, café’s, museums and theaters you can go to the Chiado district.
Next to being the capital of Portugal, Lisbon is also the largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851. It is a large area of 100.05 km2 and has been occupied by people since the 8th to 6th centuries BC.
Lisbon has a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers. The average annual temperature is 17.4 °C, 21.3 °C during the day and 13.5 °C at night. In the coldest month – January – the most elevated temperature during the day commonly goes from 11 to 19 °C, the lowest temperature around evening time goes from 3 to 13 °C and the usual ocean temperature is 16 °C. In the hottest month – August – with regular highs during the day of 25 to 32 °C, and lows of 14 to 20 °C and the normal ocean temperature is around 20 °C.
The city has approximately 2,806 hours of sunshine each year, usually 4.6 hours of sunshine per day in December and 11.4 hours of sunshine per day in July. August is actually the sunniest month of the year, with more than 80% chance of direct sunlight hitting the ground.
Lisbon has around 750 mm of rainfall per year. The wettest months are November and December, accounting for 33% of the total annual rainfall. July and August are the least wet months.
Many people visit Lisbon for the good food, cheap living and rich architecture. When moving to Lisbon, you should definitely try pastéis de Belém, which is one of the most famous sweet pastries from the Portuguese cuisine. Other popular Portuguese dishes are Polvo à Lagareiro, Porco preto, Arroz de pato and Sardinhas assadas. The people of Lisbon are very laid back. In contrast to Countries like the UK, Germany and The Netherlands, people are not rushing around all the time. Therefore, eating out in Lisbon can take a much longer time than you might be used to. However, if you go to the local restaurants in Lisbon (not the tourist ones) the food is much cheaper.
There is much more to do in Lisbon than eating out. Lisbon has shopping areas, museums, theaters, nightlife and beautiful sights to see. For shopping you can go to the Baixa and Chiado district. Chiado is also where you can find most museums and theaters. Next to the beautiful Miradouros (viewpoints) that are scattered around the city, there are lot’s of other sights to see. Below you can find some of the places you should see in Lisbon:
Lisbon is well known for its nightlife. It is home to many discos, Bars, Fado houses, and nightclubs, all catering to different tastes and interests and located throughout the city. Going out in Lisbon is very cheap, although you do have to pay for the entrance in most clubs. The Bairro Alto district (upper quarter) is the center of Lisbon’s nightlife with more than 100 bars and restaurants.
Some of the best clubs in the city are MusicBox, Lux and Lounge. MusicBox is one of the clubs that stays open the lastest and it has international DJ’s to cater all kinds of music. Lux is the most famous club in Lisbon. Most nights they play electro music and it usually gets really good around 2:30. One of the best clubs in Lisbon is Lounge. It caters all kinds of music and, best of all, it has free entry!
There are many public transport options in Lisbon, so there is absolutely no need to rent a car to move around in the city. The public transport network of Lisbon consists of metro lines, trams, trains and buses. Additionally, there are also several taxi service providers and you can rent electric bikes (although this is quite a challenge in the steep streets of Lisbon
).
The metro is definitely the fastest way to get around the city. It is operated by Metropolitano de Lisboa and there are 4 metro lines connecting 56 metro stations across the 9 districts of Lisbon. These 4 lines can each be identified by their colors: blue, yellow, green and red. The blue metro line connects Amadora Este to Baixa Chiado. The yellow line connects Odivales to Rato. The green metro line connects the tourist areas around Baixa and the train station to Cascais. And finally, the red metro line connects the airport and the Parque das Nações district to the other lines.
Further information about these routes can be found on this website.
To use the metro lines around Lisbon you need to buy a Viva Viagem card. This card costs only €0,50 and is reloadable, so it is important you hold on to it. There are multiple kinds op tickets, but two examples are the normal Carris/Metro ticket and the Carris/Metro 1-day ticket. The normal ticket costs as little as €1,45 and allows you unlimited travel between buses and metro within 60 min following its first validation. The 1-day ticket allows you unlimited travel with the Carris bus network and the Metro for 24 hours after its first validation and it costs only €6,30.
Trams are a traditional form of public transportation in Lisbon. Since the trams were imported from the US back in 1901, they were previously called Americanos. Nowadays the tram network only consists of 6 lines and is operated by Carris. 5 lines ride in the hilly area: 12E, 18E, 24E, 25E and 28E, with 28E being the most popular among tourists. The last line, line 15E, rides along the bank of the Tagus. The trams that ride on this line are much more modern and have more of an important transport function for the inhabitants of Lisbon. A ticket for a tram ride costs only €3, which you can buy in the tram itself.
The train network is operated by CP (Comboios de Portugal), which has 4 lines and Fertagus, which only has 1 line. The sintra, Azambuja, Cascais, Sado lines and Setúbal all depart from Lisbon. The main train stations are Santa Apolónia, Rossio, Gare do Oriente, Entrecampos, and Cais do Sodré. Tickets are between €1-2 when you travel within Lisbon and maximum €30 outside of Lisbon.
The local bus service is also operated by Carris, like the trams. The other bus services connect other cities in Portugal to Lisbon. The main ones are Boa Viagem, Rodoviária de Lisboa, Barraqueiro, Vimeca and Transportes sul do Tejo. The ticket price depends on whether you buy the ticket on board or in advance. On board one trip with the bus costs €2 and when you buy it in advance (with your Viva Viagem card) it costs €1,50.
In Lisbon it is also common to take a taxi to go around the city, because it is very cheap. There are several taxi services in Lisbon such as Bolt, FREE NOW and Uber. All these taxi services have an app for Android and iOS where you can plan your ride. It is an easy way to go exactly when you want to go and a ride around Lisbon only costs around €4.
Lastly, if you prefer to go around the city by bike this is also possible. A popular bike rental service in Lisbon is Gira bike hire. Gira bike hire has expanded their system from 600 to 1,500 bikes after the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, since Lisbon is so hilly, there are normal bike’s as well as electric ones, to make things a little easier for you. The price options for renting these bike’s are €2 for a day, €15 per month or €25 per year. Gira bike rental also has an app for Android and iOS where you can subscribe a pass and choose your bike.
When you are searching for a living space in Lisbon, you should pay attention to the address of the apartment or room. The reason for this is because Lisbon is very hilly, and it gets really steep. So if you work on the flat area and you rent a room uphill, you have to keep in mind the steepness of your walk or bike ride to work. Of course, you can also use public transportation to avoid complete workouts when going to work
When you have lived in Portugal for over 6 months, you are entitled to free public healthcare. This system is known locally as the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS). Under the SNS most essential medical services are available free of charge, while non-essential services and treatments are available for a small co-payment.
Emergency treatment in Portugal is available to everyone regardless of your residence status or insurance. Once your condition has been stabilized, however, you need to show proof of your Portuguese residence status or health insurance to have the costs covered.
The main emergency number in Portugal is 112, which connects you to ambulance, police, and fire services.
Portuguese is the official language in Lisbon. Portuguese people also speak English, especially in the tourist industry. However if you are planning to stay for a longer period of time it would be nice to learn some Portuguese as well. Therefore, here are some words and sentences to get you started in Lisbon😊
English | Portuguese |
Public transport | Transporte público |
Restaurant | Restaurante |
Supermarket | Supermercado |
Store | Loja |
Hospital | Hospital |
Nightclub | Night clube |
What time is it? | Que horas são? |
How are you? | Tudo bem? |
Can you help me please? | Me podes ajudar se faz favor? |
Where can I find … ? | Onde posso encontrar … ? |
How much does this cost? | Quanto custa isso? |
Ymke Kadijk
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