TravelToLisbon

Lisbon Accommodations: Hospitality Beckons

The capital of Portugal, Lisbon, is a city, which has been rediscovered and now has become a hot favorite with vacationers and history enthusiasts. With numerous museums, monuments and other places of historical importance, Lisbon offers great scope for exploration. You can begin your exploration of the charming city by basing yourself out of the hospitable Lisbon accommodations, which are there to suit every pocket. Ranging from five stars to Lisbon budget hotels you can easily find one matching your needs and pocket. If hotels are not your idea of a vacation then Lisbon vacation rentals are ready and waiting for you to make you completely feel at home on your vacation. Good accommodations make you enjoy the vacation even more.

Know Lisbon’s History Better!
Lisbon has a lot to explore, and offers many opportunities to get closer to its culture. Many restaurants have people playing the Fado on their guitars and mandolins. Fado is the heart rendering song that sailor women sing when they wait for their men to return. The seven hills of Lisbon are world famous and so is the castle of St George. This is perched atop the highest of the seven hills and the tram 28 which leads up to it offers you a sweeping view of the city and the coastline. Torre Vasco da Gama is the tallest building in Lisbon and a must see, and has an observation platform and a restaurant as well.

Spring Time in Lisbon is Beautiful
Numerous beautiful gardens line the city and they are quite something, so if you are planning a spring Lisbon vacation then you will have the benefit of visiting all these gardens in bloom. Lisbon is a beautiful combination of the old and the new. The romantic walkways will remind you of Paris and ferry rides will remind you of the gondola rides of Venice. Walking through the oldest sections of the city will give you an insight into the 2000 year old history of the city and will bring it alive for you. Cheap flights to Lisbon are easily available so planning a Lisbon vacation won’t be tough at all.

Lisbon restaurants offer a wide variety of gourmet food, and you can easily satisfy your taste buds over here. This vacation will turn into something special, as you probably won’t be able to stop yourself from binging on the yummy food. Lisbon is a memorable experience, be it any time of the year and Lisbon vacation planning makes it all the more so.

Let Your Taste Buds Tingle With Fine Lisbon Dining

On your Lisbon vacation, one of the most pleasurable things will be your experience of Portuguese food and drink. The locals love their food and enjoy variety in food. While the specialty is seafood prepared in different ways to produce various kinds of dishes, vegetable sand fruits are also used in plenty.  Soups are a must, especially caldo verde or soup made of cabbage and potatoes. The Lisboates have a sweet tooth and a lot of wine flows during meal times.

Lisbon Cuisine
When you are out to enjoy some fine Lisbon dining, almost all Lisbon restaurants will offer you bread, butter and some cheese. The exciting thing is, you pay just for what you eat. If you don’t touch it, don’t pay. The best option is to go in for the daily specials at the restaurant. You will also pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of euros will make your waiter happy.

You might even think that the food in Lisbon restaurants is similar to Spanish food, but it is really very different. Portuguese food uses simple ingredients very creatively to come up with several dishes. Depending on what is available in the area, you will be served a combination of seafood, tomato, spices and very tasty soups, home made bread, cheese, etc., all of which make for a sumptuous meal.  Cascais has the largest fish market in the country. Sausages and cheese are also widely used in Lisbon cuisine. You will also enjoy a variety of sweets made predominantly of almonds and figs, thanks to the Moorish influence. You will find several influences to the Lisbon food. Plenty of spices are used with the influence of Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India in the 16th century. A spice called Peri Peri was transplanted from Brazil is widely used in the preparation of seafood. Consequently, Portuguese food is full of flavor and quite distinct from the rest of the Mediterranean. Oporto specializes in recipes made of Cod.      

During your Lisbon travel, sample huge range of desserts, cakes and pastries. Most Lisbon restaurants will serve you rich chocolate mousse and arroz doce or rice pudding flavored with lemon and cinnamon.  What you must not miss is the variety of cakes.  The Antiga Confeitaria de Belém serves the legendary custard tarts or the pastéis de nata, which is a big Lisbon attraction.  Sintra near Lisbon offers its traditional cheese tart, which you can buy, beautifully packed.   

In the course of your Lisbon sightseeing trip, you will see both informal and stylish eateries catering to all kinds of budgets that you can stop by.

Lisbon Travel – Explore The Elegance

Lisbon, the heart and capital of Portugal transports you back in time. The authentic ancient architecture, the calm life, the no-hurried pace… people here seem not to have changed over time. As you plan a Lisbon Vacation, it is good to know of the various Lisbon attractions that are a must see and which, if included in your trip, make your vacation a truly memorable one.

Lisbon Sightseeing – A Flashback of The Days Gone By
When you visit Lisbon it would be a good idea to begin from the center of the city which is called the Plaza do Comercio, then travel right along the peaceful river Tajo, and either travel along the port promenade or visit the city itself to have a glimpse of the outstanding architecture, the numerous churches and the wonderful monuments.

It would be a good idea to rent a Lisbon vacation rental and travel to the surrounding fishing towns and lovely sandy beaches. After some relaxation one can venture to the countryside and visit a place called Evora. This town boasts of an old monument of 2nd or 3d century which is the temple of goddess Diana, and is regarded as an architectural masterpiece. Whether religious person or not, do not either forget to visit the city Fatima for the calm, peace and spiritual aura that invades the area. If intellect and knowledge attract you, do not miss visiting the grand old university city of Coimbra. Visiting the university grounds is a trip in itself. Besides, you can see the fertile vineyards in Mino river valley and also visit the vine cellars and taste different types of wine. Truly Lisbon sights are a treat for the eyes with many architectural landmarks, so always be on the watch out for some spectacular work of art.

Lisbon Dining – Tasty Portuguese Cuisine
As a vacationer to this beautiful place make sure to visit some of the fine Lisbon restaurants and do not miss out on the special dishes of Lisbon. If you are a seafood lover, Lisbon has various local and internationally acclaimed dishes to offer. During the popular saints’ celebration, normally in summer, grilled sardine is the favorite dish and you can’t avoid its aroma in regions like Alfama, Bairo Alto etc. Even though Portugal is known for its variety of fresh fish, the dried salted codfish known as “balcahau” is the national dish. Portugal is also famous for its wide variety of wine. If you are a “sweet” person, definitely try the world famous pasties de belem custard tarts in Belem.

As you embark on your Lisbon vacation, be sure to carry sufficient amount of euros with you. This currency is acceptable anywhere in Europe.

Lisbon Dining – A Gastronomic Journey

Lisbon cuisine is famous all over the world, with its influence stretching as far away as Goa and Macau. Despite this fact, is very poorly represented outside the country. A lot of people tend to confuse Spanish cooking with Portuguese cuisine, but this is not the case. Portuguese cooking has fresh and simple ingredients, delicately prepared with a distinct flavour. In Lisbon dining is truly a gastronomical delight. Food here is generally prepared with home-cooked bread, delicate soups and cheeses which come together to produce a brilliant and tasty combination. Spices are used sparingly, thereby adding a very subtle flavour to the dishes.

When you travel to Lisbon for a vacation or some work, you will be stunned by the variety of restaurants that Lisbon offers you. Lisbon is famous for seafood. Cascais, which is just outside the capital is one of the largest markets here. In Lisbon vacations are more fun, especially if you love sausages and cheeses, which add a whole new dimension to cooking here. Even smaller Lisbon hotels will have at least a small in-house restaurant offering the local fare. If you think you've got a good deal on a cheap flight or cheap accommodation to Lisbon, wait till you get the local restaurants! You won't believe the economy they offer here! You will find it difficult to believe that Lisbon restaurants can have so much variety and yet offer food at such reasonable prices.

Typically, Lisbon dining will tantalise your taste buds with a subtle flavour of curry spices from Goa in India or a dash of Brazilian peri-peri sauce, which add depth and uniqueness to the dishes here. Lisbon restaurants will traditionally serve you a  wide variety of dishes. There is a large variety of fish to be found here, like Swordfish, Salmon, Bass, Sea bream, and Sole. Even a fish burger bought on the street has lots of flavour. Bacalhou or salted cod, is rumoured to have 365 recipes for every day of the year!

When sightseeing in Lisbon, be sure to stop at Brazilian style juice bars it for fresh juices and ice cream made from exotic fruits. You can also try the traditional almond and fig sweets which are a contribution from the Algarve region of Portugal.

Lisbon – Eat, Drink And Be Merry!

If you’ve just arrived in Lisbon for a vacation, you are in for the time of your life! Whether you travel first class or traveled on one of the cheap flights, you are in for one big party! Lisbon is famous for its nightlife, but even more famous for its people’s love of good food and drink over here. If you are in Lisbon in season, accommodation can be a bit of a problem, especially if you are looking for cheap accommodation. It’s a real party scene, with crowds everywhere till the wee hours of the morning!

In Lisbon dining is a pleasure, with a variety of restaurants all over the place! Most Lisbon hotels have restaurants with a bar, and some even have in-house entertainment.  Many of the Lisbon restaurants offer excellent Portuguese cuisine consisting in good measure of seafood cooked in olive oil with subtle flavoring of freshly ground spices. Codfish cooked in innumerable ways is very popular here. These dishes are best complemented by the beautiful selection of wines found here. There are many wine yards in the vicinity – this is wine country after all! As wine drinking is a tradition here, it accompanies all meals and is consumed in large quantities by the population here. Just like accommodation in Lisbon, there is a selection of wines here to suit every pocket.

If you are dining, you can start with some Alentejana Soup made from bread, garlic, coriander herbs, and egg. It’s simply delicious. You can also try Cacao soup made from fresh fish.

If you are lucky, you will have local help to guide you about which restaurants, bars and pubs to visit. If you have also visited Spain, you will be able to make out the differences between the cuisines of the two neighbors. Portugal food relies largely on fresh spices ground in-house which are derived from two sources – India and Brazil. Indian spices were incorporated in cooking here after Vasco Da Gama found them, whereas Brazil contributed by showering the cuisine with its now famous Peri-Peri spice used to flavor chicken and shrimp. The selection of mouthwatering cheeses and sausages will leave you begging for more! And what can we say about the variety of seafood? Only that it rocks! Even the dessert here looks yum! Chocolate mousse, Arroz Doce which is a rice pudding, and Pudim Flan made from eggs are the favored sinful sensations here.

If you are out sightseeing in Lisbon, or have been partying at the nightclubs all night, you might want to get a wake up with some freshly brewed coffee at your local café. Be warned though, it’s potent stuff served in shot glasses brewed black from freshly ground beans. Bound to wake you up good.

All in all, wining and dining in Lisbon is a treat which when combined with the bustling nightlife here, simply blows your mind away!

Seafood and Lisbon Cuisine

If you travel to Lisbon, and are a fish lover, you must stop and sample some of the dining Lisbon has to offer.  Many of the dishes here have fish as the primary ingredient. You will have a large variety of fish to choose from!

To get a better idea about the places you should try out, just enquire at the tourist information counter at your hotel in Lisbon or a person responsible for your place of accommodation in Lisbon to guide you where you can get some of the best dishes in the city. Bacalhou or Salted Cod is said to have 365 recipes – one for every day of the year!  So if you're planning a vacation in Lisbon, make sure it's a really long one if you want the sample all the dishes available here! If you're on a budget, Lisbon hotels, and the food here will suit your pocket quite easily.  Just like the Lisbon hotels, which are many in number, you will find a huge number of Lisbon restaurants lining the streets here.

Shellfish, clams, mussels, crab and squid are part of the staple diet due to its proximity to the sea.  Two recipes stand out - Bacalhou a à Gomes de Sá, made of casserole of cod, potatoes and onion, an Oporto specialty and from Estremadura comes Bacalhou á bràs, made from scrambled eggs with salted cod, potatoes and onions. You will be surprised with the flavor found in street-side fish burgers! In Lisbon, dining without having seafood is almost sacrilegious, and you will almost always be told what the fresh catch of the day is. You get excellent stuffed squid and crab preceded by some of the most scrumptious soups you can get. Soups and broths form an integral portion of the Portugal meal, with delicious preparations of fish and Madeira style squid adding fuel to your gastronomic fire.

If you've got a good deal on a cheap flight to Lisbon and cheap accommodation in Lisbon as well, I would suggest that you leave as soon as possible! Portuguese food is not to be missed for the world! The chance of sampling the cuisine is enough to tempt you to relocate! Their delicate, imaginative style works wonders for your palate. In fact, if you are on a  sightseeing tour in Lisbon, you will notice that socializing and eating rich food in restaurants form an integral part of daily Portuguese culture and tradition. For them, it is a part of their rich culture and heritage.

Lisbon – Food and Beyond!

When you travel to Lisbon, do so on an empty stomach and an open mind! In Lisbon, dining is treated like a fine art. An art to be appreciated and enjoyed thoroughly in the best of Lisbon restaurants. Once you have found yourself some cheap accommodation in Lisbon, drop your bags and head to the nearest bistro or corner restaurant. Here you will find a fine selection of cheese, seafood, ham, sausages and poultry. The Portuguese thrive on variety, and some say codfish has over 300 varieties and styles they cook it in. Let’s see what we would do if we were to visit a typical Lisbon hotel restaurant.

If you are dining, you can start with some Alentejana Soup made from bread, garlic, coriander herbs, and egg. It’s simply delicious, and creamy. You can also try Cacao soup made from fresh fish. These are the local favorites. If you want to try your hand at having spicy food, then look to order a dish called Pork a la Alentejana, made with pork dipped overnight in wine, coriander herbs, onions and minced almonds. Rabbit, hare or partridge with white beans is also consumed with great relish here in the cooler months. Cheese forms an essential part of the diet here, with a choice of sheep cheese and hard cheese from Evora had along with some olive oil. Codfish is a must eat on the menu, and you can even ask for the catch of the day and choose what you want to eat. It tastes delightful with tomatoes, onions, potatoes and garlic.

Oh yes – no meal is complete here without wine, and it is found in abundance.  When in Lisbon, ask your local accommodation management to guide you about the local wines here. Vinho verde is hugely popular here along with Dao, which is grown on the slopes of the Dao Valley, and Bairrada, which is a sturdy and aromatic red wine. The Portuguese love port wine, and it simply flows while you are eating.

End with a flourish with almond pastries, mousse (chocolate, of course!), sugar cakes, and pastries. Head straight to a confeitaria or pasteleria for the best variety in desserts. In Lisbon, one can ill afford to miss the Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, home to the legendary pasteis de nata, along with custard tarts and bolinhas de Bacalhou.

Portuguese food is imaginative yet traditional. It brings out the essence of a very old, rich culture deeply drawn to gastronomy. Eating out and enjoying food everyday is a part of social etiquette here in Lisbon. If you can, pack your bags, and catch the first cheap flight to Lisbon – you won’t regret it one bit – especially in full season!

Gastronomy Of Lisbon

If you are in Lisbon on a vacation or  a business trip, you will notice that in Lisbon, dining forms a part of social culture where people meet and greet each other.

Gastronomy being such a vital part of their heritage, the people here are proud of their love for food. They love to eat, drink and make merry. Meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits, and sometimes even quail and rabbit form the main ingredients of the food here. There is a special place reserved for mention of seafood, as the Portuguese love their seafood dearly. Sardinhas Assadas (char-grilled sardines), Cardo Verde (cabbage and potato soup) and Pasteis de Bacalhao (cod fishcakes) are some of the local specialties. The standard fare here consists largely of cod fish which can be prepared in several ways. In fact, they say that it can be prepared in a different way every day of the year! Portuguese people have a sweet tooth, and wine with every meal is a norm. Portugal is a big producer of fine wines, and has a range wide enough to suit almost any palate. ‘Vinho Verde’ is a national specialty, and the name ‘green wine’ points to a young and fresh sparkling wine fermented short – very popular in these parts. Oh yes, there are very few vegetarians here, and getting just vegetarian food is not too easy, so keep that in mind.

In Lisbon, hotels and accommodation are reasonable priced, as is their food. You will be surprised at the sheer variety here. Restaurants line the streets of Lisbon, and you will notice that they are doing brisk business throughout the day. When you visit one of these places, waiters will often bring you fresh, homemade bread, butter and cheeses to snack on while you wait for your food. Its always a great idea to try the daily specials, and more often than not, the waiter will also inform you what the fresh choice of fish for the day is. The tips are reasonable low – just a couple of Euros. Don’t forget to end your meal with a nice cup of freshly brewed strong filter coffee which is generally served in small shots after you’ve had your fill of the sweets here. ‘Arroz Doce’ or sweet rice, ‘Leite Crème’ made from milk, eggs and sugar, and the all-time favorite ‘Mousse de chocolate’ are popular picks in this category.

Bottom line is - If you can manage a good deal on a cheap flight to Lisbon and cheap accommodation in Lisbon as well, it is a good idea to get here as soon as you can!