***A number 28 tram climbs up-hill towards the Castle of Sao Jorge*** *(Marco Ng)*

The Itinerary

Trip Dates: 28-31 January 2022 (3 nights)
Destination Status: Non-Red List
Flights to/from UK: Club Europe, British Airways
Hotel: Deluxe Panoramic Room, Corinthia Lisbon
Flight + Hotel Package price: £345pp

How to get there (and back)

Ever since the demise of travel following the onset of the numerous waves of the coronavirus pandemic, airlines have used intermittent sales to drum up demand. I usually book my flights and hotels separately as this gives me greater flexibility and control over my travel plans. However, when I booked this deal with British Airways (www.ba.com) back in September 2021, it was a no brainer. At a cost of £345 per person, the package included return flights to Lisbon in Club Europe, British Airways’ business class cabin, and would earn my 80 Tier Points towards my ongoing quest for Gold status in British Airways’ Executive Club.

Entry requirements continue to change from time to time for a number of destinations and it’s important to check what those requirements are well in advance of travel so you can plan ahead. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (www.gov.uk) travel advice page is a good starting point for official information but be sure to check the consular or embassy website of the country you’re visiting too.

As expected, the flying schedule to Lisbon was curtailed as a result of COVID and led to our preferred flights times being changed to less convenient times. The outbound flight was scheduled to leave Heathrow for Lisbon at 19:05, arriving at 21:55 and returning from Lisbon at 12:55 and arriving into Heathrow at 15:55.

Online check-in wasn’t available until I’d uploaded all the required documentation onto British Airways’ travel documentation portal. For this particular trip, proof of vaccination and a negative COVID test needed to be uploaded. This was done with varying levels of success for the 4 people on our booking with one of us not being accepted for online check-in until 6 hours before departure owing to what I can only assume were technical issues as the same information was entered and uploaded onto the portal on each attempt before finally being accepted.

Heathrow continues to be quieter in the afternoons and evenings and this was evident as we breezed through an almost empty Fast Track Security. In the Galleries South Lounge we were able to find some prime real estate by the windows looking out onto the southern runway. As with recent visits to the lounges, British Airways now run a hybrid service with drinks being self-service and food remaining table-service. Whilst the quality of food can be hit-and-miss, the food on this visit was very good - especially the lemon drizzle cake that came with the afternoon tea. The flight was relatively full but boarding was completed in good time considering we were bussed to a remote stand over in T5C.

The onboard service was typical of an evening service with meal and drinks being served at the same time. My frustration with British Airways’ Club Europe catering continues as, yet again and for the fifth time on a non-breakfast flight, the menu consisted of a choice between Lamb Shepherd’s Pie or Spinach Gnocchi. I opted for the Spinach Gnocchi this time but this was rather bland. The dessert was a deconstructed Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis, which was delightful. Rumour has it that British Airways will start changing up their catering in March and it can’t come soon enough!

We arrived into Lisbon about 30 minutes ahead of schedule, which was fortuitous as we were faced with a 25 minute wait to clear Immigration. Health documentation checks were performed immediately before entering the Immigration Hall. Terminal 1, as a whole, appeared to be relatively modern with the most recent gates, including the one we arrived on, added in 2011. The walk from the non-Schengen gates to the exit was pretty long and we exited the building to our Uber around 40 minutes after landing. The Uber pick up point is in Departures, which is a short walk from Arrivals.

On the return leg, check-in didn't open for the flight until 2 hours and 30 minutes before departure, but once it opened, we were seen by a check-in agent straight away. Fast Track Security is available to Club Europe passengers in Lisbon and with new technology negating the need to remove any items from our hand baggage, we were in the Departure Lounge within minutes of finishing check-in. I have to say that whilst the terminal can be a bit of a maze, we moved easily and quickly through it. BA's Club Europe and elite status passengers are given lounge access at the airport's ANA Lounge, which offers views of the runway and a café area where food and drink can be ordered from. Whilst there is an impressive selection of items available to order, all food items were served cold even when you would’ve expected them to be served warm. Our flight was departing from the non-Schengen area, which meant we needed to take a 10 minute walk from the lounge to the gate via Immigration. Once there, we discovered that we would be bussed from the gate to the aircraft which was on the other side of the terminal. One thing I later learned was that Terminal 1 actually has more remote stands than pier-served stands so the likelihood of being bussed is far greater.

The return flight was 100% full but the crew did a great job of the service and were attentive in keeping drinks topped up throughout the flight. Catering was, again, the downfall, with the menu being exactly the same as before.

How to get around

Once you’re in Lisbon, getting around is relatively easy on public transport with buses, metros, trains and trams running throughout the city. Tickets vary in price from €1 per single trip on the metro (plus €0.5 for a reusable ticket if you don’t already have one) to €3 per single trip on some trams. One thing to note though is that services, especially on the metro, are less frequent than what you might be used to on the tube. Whilst trams are great for getting around the centre of Lisbon, they are also great for sightseeing. A must-ride is the 28 line, which is operated using wooden, Romodelado trams and runs across popular tourist destinations.

Pro Tip!
A Lisboa Card (www.lisboacard.org) offers free transportation across all of Lisbon’s public transport, as well as free or discounted entry to Lisbon’s attractions, and is great value for money if you’re going to be moving around. It’s available for 24, 48 or 72 hours and we got ours for €32.30 per person for 48 hours.

On a short weekend break where you are “time poor”, it could be worth using Uber (www.uber.com) on certain journeys. For example, the journey from the airport to our hotel was reduced from 45 minutes on public transport to just 17 minutes via Uber. This, of course, makes more sense when there’s more people travelling as the value for money is greater.

Where to stay

Our stay at the Corinthia Lisbon (www.corinthia.com) was included in our flights + hotels package via British Airways. Located about 15-minutes away from Lisbon Airport and a short walk to the nearest metro station, Jardim Zoológico, the hotel is about a 15-minute ride from the centre of Lisbon.

We arrived at our hotel a little after 22:30 and entered a deserted lobby area. The lobby remained quiet throughout our stay here, something that's representative of the lack of demand due to the ongoing travel restrictions coupled with January being part of Portugal tourism’s low season. The hotel was a perfect combination of luxury and contemporary design and is probably the most luxurious of stays I’ve had on my travels. Our connecting rooms were well equipped with a seating area, impressive widescreen TV and a fully stocked mini-bar, whilst the bathrooms boasted built-in bluetooth speakers and rainfall showers.

Other facilities at the hotel include a very well equipped gym and pool. The pool was unfortunately closed due to a maintenance issue when we wanted to use it but we were offered complimentary access to their award-winning Spa’s facilities, which usually sets you back €38 per hour. What made this even better was that we had this area to ourselves during our one-hour slot, adding to the wow-factor of our stay.

A deluxe panoramic view room will cost around £280 a night and isn’t something that’s normally within reach of my travel budget. That said, when bundled into the package that we paid for, we’d definitely lucked out!

Places to eat and drink

Erva
International, Contemporary | Address: Avenida Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro 105B, Lisbon, Portugal | Pricing: ££££

Erva (www.corinthia.com) is the Corinthia Lisbon’s cozy and warm restaurant serving breakfast, which is what we had here on Day 1. A place at the table will cost you around €25 and a la carte items are also available at an additional cost. The breakfast buffet boasts an impressive sweet treats section and a manned egg station for eggs, pancakes and waffles.

Nova Peixaria
Seafood, Mediterranean | Address: Alameda dos Oceanos 2.11.01, Lisbon, Portugal | Pricing: £££

We stopped at Nova Peixaria (www.novapeixaria.pt) for a late lunch and were not disappointed. Whilst service was a bit slow, the food and drink was a bit slow. Try the mixed seafood paella and passion fruit sangria!

Maria Peixeira
Seafood, Mediterranean | Address: Avenida Miguel Bombarda 133b, Lisbon, Portugal | Pricing: £££

I don’t give this accolade out regularly but Maria Peixeira is an amazing restaurant. Geared towards locals rather than tourists, the food and drink served here is exquisite. The staff were super attentive and did everything they could to give us the best possible experience, including going out to purchase ingredients for something we’d asked for. If you’re ever in Lisbon, you have to try this place!

Pastéis de Belém
Bakeries, Café | Address: Rua de Belem 84-92, Lisbon, Portugal | Pricing: £

Pastéis de Belém (www.pasteisdebelem.pt) - the birthplace of the Pastel de Nata. I had worried that people had hyped this place up and that it would be a disappointment and, boy, was I wrong! Everything from the Ham and Cheese Toastie to the Pastel de Nata was amazing. And best of all, we hardly had to queue!

Time Out Market
Market | Address: Mercado da Ribeira, Avenida 24 de Julho, Lisbon, Portugal | Pricing: ££-£££

The best of Lisbon’s food is curated here at the Time Out Market (www.timeoutmarket.com). The stalls we tried were Pasteis de Bacalhau, Croqueteria, Monte Mar, O Bar da Odete and Manteigaria.

Lagar do Xisto
Seafood, Mediterranean | Address: Avenida Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro 103, Lisbon, Portugal | Pricing: £££

A cosy restaurant, Lagar do Xisto is located next door to the Corinthia Lisbon and serves delicious, traditional Portuguese dishes at very reasonable prices. Be warned though, the portion sizes are enormous!

Day 1

Having fuelled up for the day, we made our way via metro to Praça do Comércio where we would start Day 1 by picking up our Lisboa Cards from a shop in the square. The 36,000 metre square faces south onto the River Tagus and north towards the Arco da Rua Augusta, which was built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the earthquake of 1755. From there, we took a brief walk up to Lisbon Cathedral, a building which dates back to the 12th Century. The 28 tram stops just outside of the cathedral, which we hopped on for the brief ride towards the Castle of São Jorge (www.castelodesaojorge.pt), which offers panoramic views of the city. The 28 tram stops a few hundred metres after the statue of St. Vincente and from there it’s around a 5 minute walk up-hill towards the castle. Entry to the castle and its grounds costs £8.30/€10. After our visit to the castle, we made our way down the winding streets of Alfama, a historical fishing suburb of Lisbon famous for it’s traditional Fado music. There is a Fado museum dedicated to the music’s history, however, we didn’t have time to explore this.

Taking the 728 bus from in front of the Cruise Terminal, we took the 30-minute journey to Lisbon’s Park of the Nations, an area created for the 1998 Lisbon World Expo. We started our visit to this area in the Lisbon Oceanarium (www.oceanario.pt), the second largest aquarium in Europe housing over 450 species of marine life. Entry is £13.86/€16.15 (discounted Lisboa Card price) per adult. Adjacent to the Oceanarium is in lower station for the Telecabine (www.telecabinelisboa.pt) that travels past the water gardens, above the River Tagus. Tickets cost £4.90/€5.85 (discounted Lisboa Card price) one way and offers some amazing aerial views of the Park of Nations. Aside from these attractions, there are also a large number of restaurants and bars located around the park.

Day 2

Day 2 started with brunch in Pastéis de Belém (www.pasteisdebelem.pt), the birthplace of the Portuguese treat, the Pastel de Nata. From there, we headed down to the riverbank to see the various sights including the 25 de Abril Bridge, Monument to the Discoveries and the Belém Tower. The 25 de Abril Bridge is the longest suspension bridge in Europe and was built by the same company that built the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which is why they look so similar. The Monument to the Discoveries is a 52 metre tall monument designed to commemorate the Age of the Discoveries in Portugal. The Belém Tower was a tower constructed in the 16th Century to defend the city and has played various roles in the city’s history. Entry is free with the Lisboa Card but you need to pick up a ticket from the ticket office opposite the tower. From the Belém Tower, we headed back up towards Jerónimos Monastery (www.patrimoniocultural.gov.pt), an architectural masterpiece and an UNESCO declared World Heritage Site. Entry is free with the Lisboa Card. The adjacent Church of Santa Maria is equally as beautiful and is only open for free admissions at specific times of the day.

After a full morning in the Belém area, we took the 15E tram towards Lisbon centre, getting off at Cais Sodré for the Mercado da Ribeira, which is home the Lisbon’s Time Out Market (www.timeoutmarket.com). The market houses some of the very best food and drink that Lisbon has to offer and is a perfect place to sample as many as you can in one go. After a relaxing stop, we headed east towards Lisbon centre via Rua Nova do Carvalho, Lisbon’s Pink Street, before heading up Rua Augusta towards Rossio Square to burn off the calories that we had put on. The slightly more chilled Day 2 afternoon itinerary gave us a bit of extra time to shop along Rua Augusta and also get some time in the Spa back at the hotel.

Bottom Line

Lisbon is an amazing place to visit if you’re considering a weekend break in Europe. Whilst the we got lucky with the weather with highs of 18C whilst we were there, it is generally a lot warmer than other parts of continental Europe all year round. Coupled with architectural and historical sights and amazing food and drink, there’s lots to feast your eyes on and feast on. Visiting in the low season means that you can avoid the crowds and be more effective with your time. The convenience and value of the Lisboa Card makes it all that more attractive for a 24-72 hour trip.

Lisbon in 48 hours