I was in a countdown event in Lisbon to finish an amazing year of 2018.
Starting with free music live, fireworks that celebrate the new year’s coming and drinking, drinking, drinking.

I did enjoy so much this last day of 2018 with lot of laugh, and lot of beer and finally I spent less than 5 euros!

That would be awesome as well the countdown events in NY, Tokyo, Paris but sometimes it’s so stressful with lot of crowds that make it impossible to move. In the restaurants and bars, there’re more than full of people and it costs.

Lisbon’s New Year’s Eve was actually way more peaceful
You don’t need to stay in the place where the countdown event is held from many hours before, fighting with your need to go to WC.

Even after the countdown event, you can go out for your first nightlife of the year, with cheap price as always.
In this article, I’m going to show you how great Lisbon’s New Year’s Eve is!

19:00～ Last dinner of the year (at home)

People in Lisbon take their last dinner of the year earlier than they usually do at home, because many cheap local restaurants are closed and the restaurants for tourists which are generally opened are expensive and crowded.

When they are ready for going out for this long night, they head to Bairro Alto at first, not to Comercio Square where the countdown event will be held.

20:30～Start to drink in Bairro Alto, with cheap price.

In Bairro Alto, the heart of Lisbon’s nightlife, young people are already ready for the event. On the street, there are many people who got drunk from even that time!
You just pay €1～€1.50 for a pint of beer. They don’t change the price even though it’s the New Year’s Eve.

If you want to keep your budget for later, you can always do as local people do: take a 1 litter bottle of beer which costs less than €1 depending on brands though. I actually always take Cegal, and it’s not bad!

22:00～Music Live

After some beer, they are finally going to Comercio Square where the countdown event is held.
This historical center of Lisbon’s tourism has changed its figure for this night. There’s a stage in front of riverside, where some Portuguese artists are going to have music live from 2 hours before the New year.

To see this live, it’s free of charge!

They play some famous Portuguese hit songs and our mood there was getting more and more enthusiastic!

23:59～Countdown & Fireworks

So it’s finally time to say goodbye to this year!

The artists start to countdown in Portuguese 10 seconds before the new year, and at the moment of 0, beautiful fireworks show starts.
Everyone shouts “Feliz ano novo!” (Happy new year!) and it makes all the people in the place get together.

Colorful fireworks that illuminate the black sky…
I felt this coming year would be full of hope, joy and adventures.

0:15～Music Live

After fireworks finished, music live starts again.
The mood of Comercio square is getting more exciting than ever.

Although there are many people, it’s not as crowded as the subways of rush hour in Tokyo or NY.
You can see many people dancing with music. I liked much that mood!

2:00～After the music live, your nightlife isn’t finishing yet.

After the music live of 4 hours, people start to move from Comercio Square.
Until this moment, I used only €1.80 for 2 litters of beer that I bought in the supermarket.

From this time, some people are getting their way to home, some are staying in a Comercio Square with friends, and some are heading to Bairro Alto to continue their first going out of the year.
I was going to Bairro Alto with climbing steep slope, getting drunk. It was my first hard moment of the year.

The streets of Baixa district were filled with people.

In Bairro Alto, I enjoyed free clubs and €1 beers, I got somehow some shots of Tequilla for free.

I’m still young!

Some words to finish

In the end, I spent only €4.80 for 3.5 litters of beer during this night (If my memory was still good)

With this smallish price, I did enjoy 100% of this special night in Lisbon. (I don’t remember many things in the end of the night)

That’s also cool to go to NY, Tokyo for countdown event, but Lisbon’s one was definitely awesome as well.

In addition to that, the mild weather would also be a good reason to choose Lisbon for new year’s events.
It was not really cold even though I stayed outside for many hours. (Of course you can’t stay there with T-shirt and short pants though!)

I also appreciated the security of the place, there were many policemen who were checking the baggage of the people who were entering to the Commercio Square.

So, why don’t you think about passing next New Year’s Eve in Lisbon?

Fado is commonly played and sung in some areas of Lisbon and the “Fado house” (where you have Fado live) is not easy to be found in other cities in Portugal.

However, in Coimbra which is in the Central region of Portugal, it’s not the case.

There is a different Fado culture from Lisbon’s, called “Coimbra Fado”, which the people in Coimbra has succeeded since hundreds of years.
In this article, I’m going to talk about Coimbra’s beautiful Fado culture that I saw with my own eyes, as well as a place which has FREE FADO LIVE!

Fado, what about that?

Before talking about Coimbra Fado, maybe I would have to explain a bit about “What Fado exactly is”.

Fado music was born in Lisbon’s downtown, more specifically, in the Alfama district.

Now it’s turned to one of the famous tourists destinations in Lisbon, at that time, it was one of the poorest neighborhood where many immigrants from Portuguese colonies settled down, as well as many families of sailors who were gone to the ocean leaving their families.

In that life, which was not really easy and fun, they started singing their emotion of “Saudade” (melancholy, nostalgia, missing somebody they love) as Fado music. That is the origin of Fado.

Fado attracts people with its nostalgic sad melody and emotional voice.

Its melody comes from Portuguese guitar is really nostalgic and melancholic. The Fado singers put their passionate voice on it, and we, listeners can immediately get the mix of feeling: sadness, nostalgia, desperation but full of love.

If you already know the Flamenco, which is a traditional music and dance style of the South of Spain, you can easily realize the difference : the Flamenco is like the sun, which has bright hope even in its sad melody, and Fado is like the moon, which is always sung about negative feeling

I really recommend trying these two styles of musics which are completely different even though they are from the countries just next to each other, and you can see and compare the different cultures.

Coimbra Fado, a different style of Fado

About Coimbra Fado 1：the singers are always male

The biggest difference between Lisbon Fado and Coimbra Fado is that: All the singers are male in Coimbra.

In Lisbon, Fado singers are generally female.
That could be understood quite easily if you remember the origin of Fado music in Lisbon: They were waiting for their sailor husbands who had gone to the ocean.

That’s why  Fado in Lisbon is mostly sad and melancholic, but Coimbra Fado is a bit different.

Fado singers in Coimbra are mainly the students of Coimbra university, or the  graduated people.
Sometimes you will see they sing about their student life with kind of “Pop-styled” melody. (It’s still melancholic though)

About Coimbra Fado 2：Fado live for everybody on place

Second difference: In Coimbra Fado’s live, the listeners can sing together and can clap hands with the music.

In the Fado houses in Lisbon, it would never happen. Before the live, the singer will say “Keep quiet during Fado”
Fado in Lisbon, is to be enjoyed listening and seeing.

On the other hand, in Coimbra, it’s totally different.
The people sing together (they sing as if they were a singer), or they are talking while the live, they clap their hands when the singer asks… Kind of freedom.
Fado in Coimbra is to be enjoyed with everybody.

Free Fado live in Coimbra

I went to this place, “Café Santa Cruz”.

A restaurant-cafeteria which is in a renovated old church, located on 8 of May Square which is the heart of Coimbra’s downtown.

Before the Fado live starts, I was already excited to be able to listen to Fado in such a traditional atmosphere.

You don’t need to care if you are alone. I was alone but it was really comfortable.
The price of food and drinks are still okay even though it was slightly more expensive than normal price. (1 pint of beer cost €3.5)

If you don’t drink, you can still be there with just one coffee. After that, you want nothing to pay. Awesome.

The Fado live had been supposed to start from 18h, but the people started to take their seat from that time.

Nobody expects the time would be strictly respected in Portugal, so the live finally started 20 minutes later than the scheduled time.

Melody of Portuguese guitar, the voice of singer with nostalgia but passion, the people singing together…

It was magnificent. The best experience in Coimbra for me.

As I said, the melody was not as sad as lisbon’s Fado, and they have some tunes which had medium-fast tempo.

After 30 minutes beautiful time, the live finished.

Could I really be here for free?
That’s what I thought firstly.

There were few tourists but many local families and couples, which was great for me as well, because in Lisbon, the Fado lives are often filled with tourists.
If you want to taste a authentic Portuguese music culture like locals, just go to Coimbra!

If it isn’t really your cup of tea to eat goat meat (like me), you could try another special dish called “Leitão à Bairrada”, which is famous as “Typical Portuguese Food” today, but its origin is exactly from this Central region.

What is “Leitão à Bairrada”?

“Leitão” means “Baby pork” or “Piglet”
“à Bairrada” is the regional style of cooking.

In short, this is spit-roasted whole piglet!

More correctly, this is the specialty of a small town called Mealhada near Coimbra. But it’s also common in Coimbra.

It’s quite hard to eat whole pork by the way, and if you try it in a restaurant which accepts the order as a main dish which you can choose which portion of pork you want, it would cost pretty much.
If you a solo traveler, it’d be more complicated, but why not give a try?

I’m going to show you the way to take this great traditional dish for a cheap price without feeling lonely in the restaurant.

Eating “Leitão à Bairrada” in sandwich

Simple and clear solution for any solo travelers!
You don’t need to hesitate to enter to the classy restaurant and you can save money.
Actually, the taste is the same and in my opinion, you won’t need a big portion of it because it’s normally so oily and fatty.

My recommendation is ”Porta Larga”!

Located in Baixinha district which is kind of downtown of Coimbra, Porta Larga is a small, local-atmosphere restaurant. (In Portugal this type of restaurant is called “Tasca”)

How to use Portuguese local restaurants “Tasca”? you will see in this article.

How to use local restaurant well in Portugal? Here’s some tips.

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Sandwich of roasted pork (Sandes de Leitão) costs only €3.5！
If you want to try other parts of pork, you can order for kilogram depending on which part like legs, intestine, or even head(!)

How it tastes like

Only 5 mins after my order, I got my sandwich! It actually looks like “Bifana” which is a popular Portuguese style hamburger.

One bite…

OINK OINK!
Juicy!
The pork skin is so crispy!

Really good. I have never tried the pork skin but I loved its crispy texture.
Putting some special sauce (made from pig fat, garlic, some spices) which comes with the sandwich, that’s way more tasty with salty-oily flavor.

It took me only a minute to finish because it was so good.
Thanks, piglet!

In this restaurant, the bread they use for sandwich is bought in a bakery in Mealhada, a small town which has the origin of this formidable dish.
The quality and price are both amazing. This is “the must go” eatery when you stay in Coimbra.

Some says “As Portugal is a European country, so meat dish covered with sauce and some bread.”

If you have that kind of image, it will be changed after reading this article!

Portugal has good weather, that means there’s enough sunshine to cultivate tasty vegetable. And its geography surrounded by the sea, you can easily taste fresh seafood.

Their cooking style is unique as well: simple seasoning with garlic and olive oil is the base, and they put different spices that they used to import from their old colonies in Africa, Asia, and South America. So for me, Portuguese cuisine is kind of ethnic food in Europe.

So, I’m going to show you 15 favorite dishes of mine that I ate and found really awesome. You must try as many as possible when you come to Portugal!

Snacks (Petiscos)

Pasteis de Bacalhau

All Portuguese people adore “Bacalhau” (cod fish)
They don’t eat it as raw though, it’s always dried cod fish that they use. They let this dried cod fish soaked in the water to cook, and this process is the key of good Bacalhau dish.

Pasteis de Bacalhau is Croquettes of codfish, which is made from mashed potatoes and of course, cod fish!
You will find them in any kind of restaurants and bars in Portugal.

When you put it into your mouth, you will be surprised at crispy-chewy texture, and you will taste salty codfish inside, which put a good accent on it.

Pica Pau

Stir fried pork or beef with garlic, pickles and coriander.
Juicy meat and pickles’ texture are a good combination.

Take it with some beer!

You can often find it in a snack-bar, rather than in a restaurant.

Bifana

This is absolutely the Portuguese national fast-food!

Bifana is Portuguese style hamburger, which is found anywhere in Portugal even in a snack-bar in a small village.
You must try it once when you come to Portugal!

Inside Portuguese style bread which is hard outside and soft inside, sliced marinated pork meat is put. (In Portugal, the meat means pork meat in general. The beef is rare.)

The seasoning of pork meat is really good, salty but a bit sweet, difficult to explain.

Don’t make it light even though it is a fast food. In Portuguese cuisine, the meat is seasoned and marinated before cooking so this Bifana isn’t exception.
This seasoning changes totally the taste of the Bifana, so each place has different taste.

Let’s try it some in different places, and find your best Bifana!

Meat dishes (Carne)

Carne de porco a Alentejana

I just want to say “You could never talk about Portuguese food without eating this!”
This is everything of Portuguese food.

To explain it simply, “Pork and clams”

Can’t imagine the taste?
Actually, this is the best combination. I really think Portuguese people are awesome because they found this amazing combination.

How to make this dish is respectfully followed to the basic of Portuguese cuisine.
Cut pork meat in dice and marinate it with white wine, garlic, lemon juice, paprika paste and olive oil and put it on the fridge for a night. Then put it on fire with some clams and finally put some coriander and fried potatoes.

Tasty pork meat meets clam’s taste…This is the best.

Though it’s called “Alentejo style (a Alentejana)”, the origin of this dish is in Algarve region which is located in south. They have fresh clams and they are more tasty than imported ones.

If it’s possible, you’d better to take this dish in a seaside restaurant in Algarve.

Arroz de Pato

Just think about this food, I can’t help myself watering in my mouth…

This is kind of “Duck rice” but not like Chinese one which consists of roasted duck meat and white rice.

Portuguese duck rice is like Risotto with duck meat and its bouillon. That’s sounds nice, isn’t it?

They cook rice with duck meat and put it into the oven to grill the surface. Sometimes cheese, bacon or sausages on it.

Taste of duck meat and duck flavored rice are a good harmony.

Churrasco

Maybe you know it, this is a famous Brazilian food.  And in Portugal, it’s popular as well.

Churrasco is Brazilien style BBQ, marinated pork or beef grilled on charcoal.

It’s kind of familial party meal which the people do on holiday with friends.

Bitoque

Bitoque is Portuguese style beef steak, and you can find it in many restaurants.
Most of the cases it is served with the sunny-side egg on the top.

If you order simply “Bitoque”, you will get a beef steak. There are some variations as pork steak (Bitoque de porco) or chicken steak (Bitoque de frango).

Fish dishes (Peixe)

Bacalhau a Bras

I already talked about “Bacalhau (cod fish)”in the beginning, and this is one of the most popular Bacalhau dish.

It’s easy to make: Cod fish with onions, potatoes cut in fine strips, sauteed with eggs.

All Portuguese people know it as home cooking dish and each family has different recipe.

Sardinha Assada

Maybe you have an image for Portugal “the people like sardines” because you can find many sardines-designed souvenirs in shops. And that’s true. They love sardines!

The sardines in Portugal are really fat and delicious, especially in the beginning of summer. They grow up in Atlantic Ocean where the water flow and waves are really strong.

The best way to eat them is this Sardinhas Assadas (Grilled Sardines on charcoal).

In June, July, the people grill sardines on the balcony of their house with using small grill pot, and this is something that makes the people feel the beginning of summer.

How to season sardines is simple: put sea salt and that’s it!
But you will be surprised how tasty Portuguese sardines are, thanks to the freshness.

I recommend eating this dish in the restaurant which has charcoal grill outside.
They put sardines on grill just after your order.

Caldilada

Caldilada is so-called Portuguese style Bouillabaisse.
Bouillabaisse is a French origin seafood soup.

Portuguese bouillabaisse is dynamic: you will get a big casserole where you find a whole fish inside.

The red color of the soup comes from paprika paste, which is essential for Portuguese cuisine.
Many vegetables and fish make it really tasty.

Ideal way to taste Caldilada : On the terrace of a seaside restaurant feeling sea breeze. You will often have a Caldilada with fresh local seafood, and you will really feel that you are in Portugal!

It is normally searved for 2 persons and the portion is really gigantic so share it  with your friend!

Arroz de Polvo

Have you ever tried octopus?
It’s a famous food in Portugal. There are many ways to cook octopus as simply grill, put it in salads, marinate it and so on.
My recommendation for Portuguese octopus dish is this one, “Octopus Risotto”

Like other Portuguese dishes, seasoning is simple: garlic, white wine, olive oil, salt and pepper, that’s all. But that makes us enjoy the taste of octopus.

Bife de Atum

Different from Japanese cuisine, Portuguese people don’t often eat raw tuna. But I found grilled tuna was as delicious as raw.

Bife de Atum means “Tuna steak”
Thickly sliced tuna is cooked midium-rare. So outside is well grilled and inside is tender.

If you think Portuguese tuna steak doesn’t taste so much, go to Azores islands which is located in the middle of Atlantic Ocean.  Their tuna is completely different from continental Portugal’s one. Really tasty.

When I ate it in a restaurant in São Miguel Island, I was really impressed and I understood that the tuna steaks that I had eaten weren’t the real one.

If you have chance to go to Azores, you must try it!

Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato

Clams cooked with white wine and duck bouillon.
Tastes really good with garlic, lemon juice and coriander.

Portuguese clams are big and tasty, mostly with brown shell.
If you see clams with white shell, they are imported ones called “Amêijoa Vietnamita” and as they are frozen, the taste is not the same.

In Lisbon or in Porto, it’s quite rare to have local clams, but in Algarve which is in the south, you would often have fresh tasty clams which are collected by local people in the morning when the tide is low, and sold by them directly to restaurants.

Arroz de Marisco

This is Seafood Risotto, that you must try when you come to Portugal. 

The risotto contains variety of seafood like octopus, calamari, crab, shrimp, shell fishes. Once you taste it, you will feel Atlantic Ocean inside your mouth, that’s not a joke!

The seasoning is perfect. Don’t put many things but take each ingredient’s taste as maximum.

You often find this dish as daily menu in seaside town.

Dessert (Sobremesa)

Pasteis de Nata

A pastry which represents Portuguese culinary culture is famous as the name of “Egg tart”

The crispy dough and melting sweet cream inside will fascinate you!

Especially, freshly baked egg tarts are something that you will never forget.

If you are a tourist, Pasteis de Belém, the most famous pastry shop of town may be already on your “To do list in Lisbon. Actually it’s not only tourists who like it but also local people.
The locals take it in a coffee shop with an espresso, putting some additional sugar or some cinnamon on it.

Some words to finish

In Portugal, you eat well with a reasonnable price.

The 15 dishes that I showed you was just a part of Portuguese dishes. And they have many reagional dishes so it’s impossible try everything.

I actually like local restaurants more than touristy restaurants, because they have authentic Portuguese dishes that the people est every day life.

If you’re interested in trying some local restaurants in Portugal, I have another article about it.

How to use local restaurant well in Portugal? Here’s some tips.

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Writing this article made me hungry and I want to eat a Portuguese dish that I haven’t tried yet!

How it works in this kind of restaurants are so similar to our countries’ so there won’t be any surprise.

However, not many websites or guidebook don’t tell you clearly how it works in more local-like restaurants in Portugal.
Generally speaking, the employees in local restaurants only speak Portuguese, not English or any other languages (they maybe understand you if you speak Spanish, but they don’t SPEAK it)

So, it makes you hesitate to give it a try because you don’t know the system of these restaurants and you don’t speak Portuguese?
I really understand your feeling. When I had just arrived to Lisbon, I didn’t know any Portuguese, and I was a bit nervous about going eat in a local restaurant. So in the beginning I always went to touristy restaurants in downtown expecting to communicate in English with employees, or went to Fast food restaurant!

But you are going to Portugal! There are many local restaurants and cafeterias where you can taste authentic Portuguese cuisine with cheap price, so why not?

Still, that’s cool to eat in a 5 stars restaurant where you can have an excellent service, modernized dishes which are really well decorated and…a surprise when you ask for bill.
I personally recommend local restaurants to have a great portuguese culinary experience, which is so simple and modest, and you will not have any surprise of your bill!

In this article, I’m going to talk to you about the restaurant culture in Portugal, including some useful tips about what you need to know before going there, and what you must do when you are at the place.

How it works in local restaurant in Portugal

Enter to the restaurant

Of course, you have to enter the restaurant to taste their great food!
However, not likely to our countries, you don’t need to wait the waiter to ask him if you can take a seat.
Nobody comes to you to say “Hello how are you?”

When you enter inside, you can directly choose a table and take seat.
Don’t forget to say “Bom dia” (in the morning) or “Boa tarde” (in the afternoon) to the employees, though!

Choose your dish
“today’s special” board. For me, it needs a big effort to read!

So you took a seat and the waiter brings you the menu after 5-10 mins (Tips: in Portugal, you need to wait for everything, all the time)

In the menu, everything’s written in order of

・Sopa (Soup)
・Entrada (Starter)
・Carne (Main dish of meat)
・Peixe (Main dish of fish)
・Sobremesa (dessert)
・Bebida (drinks)

Like many European countries, you should order drink, soup or starter, and main dish at this moment.
The waiter will come back when you will have finished your main dish, to ask you about dessert and coffee.

When you are in a local restaurant, worth trying daily menu : Prato do dia.

As this name says, you will have a main dish that changes every day, and almost all the cases this menu includes soup, dessert, drink and coffee!
Sometimes you have choices of main dish of this “Prato do dia”.

What they have as Prato do dia, you can see on a hand-written paper in the menu or on the wall. They do that like this because it changes every day.
In general, this special menu is written only in Portuguese even if they have an English menu.
If you want to ask about the ingredient or anything, you can ask the waiter but you may need some body language skill!

Starter and bread which aren’t free of charge (Entrada e pão )

After ordering, the waiter brings you some bread and small starter. (Always olives, sometimes some cheese as well)

Attention! It is not like in France or Spain where the bread is always served for free: you will have to pay later.
Though it costs just 1 or 2 euros so don’t be too stressed!

If you’re really sure not taking them, you can just say no thanks at this moment.

You could even put them aside on the table as well and later could decide if you take. If you don’t eat them, you won’t need to pay for them when you leave the place.

Drinks (Bebida)

For lunch, for dinner or no matter when, the people in Portugal enjoy alcohol. Many of them take some wine or some beer even when they are just in a small lunch pause of work. (What a beautiful life!)

Here you can try Vinho da casa, which means a glass wine (or even in pitcher). Of course, you can choose  red (tinto)or white (branco).
Obviously, that’s not the best wine in the world, but for its price (only 0.5 euro for a glass), the taste is good enough.

If you take the “Prato do dia”, which includes a drink, you can choose among Copo de vinho (glass wine), Imperial (glass beer) and soft drinks. Anything else or larger size will be charged extra.

Not like in Canada, there’s no restaurant where you can get free tap water so if you want some water with your meal, you have to order a bottle of water. (I think in many european countries that’s the same stuff )

Soup (Sopa)

If you ordered a soup, it comes after a short waiting time because they made their soup in a big casserole in the morning.
In Portugal, It’s so rare to order a starter besides main dish. Many people just take a soup before their meal.

There are many varieties of the soup in Portugal depending on the region, in my opinion, any soups are really delicious and differently made from our countries: you won’t have any chance to eat kind of pottage made from milk and cream. Portuguese soups are generally made with meat bouillon and vegetables. Simple is the best!

Main dish ＋ side menu (Prato e acompanhamento)

After the soup, it’s time of main dish!

Portuguese cuisine is relatively simple and not so salty. Garlic, coriander, olive oil and just a little bit of Piri Piri (hot sauce or powder) are the only basic seasoning.
They don’t have ketchup-and-mayonnaise culture so don’t ask for them!

Main dish always comes with a side dish of your choice.

・Arroz (Rice)
・Batata frita (Fried potatoes)
・Batata cozida (Baked potatoes)
・feijão (White or black beans cooked with garlic)
・Salada (Salad)

When you order, you choose one of these side dish but you can ask if you could have 2 or 3 of them with a small portion of each.
“Half rice and half fried potatoes”, “half potatoes and some salad,and also some beans”… They are generally opened to listen to you.

Dessert (Sobremesa)

↑Cheese cake covered with honey and a sweet prum on it
Portuguese desserts are generally so sweet and the portuon is big.
If you don’t want, you can skip it and take a coffee.

Even though Portuguese desserts are not really well decorated, you will love the simple and authentic taste of them. And the desserts are often home made!

Coffee (Café)

In Portugal, culturally, it’s not so commun to take coffee with a dessert: many people take coffee after finishing their dessert. So a cup of coffee means the end of your meal.

If you order simply “One coffee”, you will have an espresso. Local people put much sugar into it and drink it.

Some Portuguese people consider that other types of coffee than this espresso are not coffee, but if you prefer less strong one, don’t be shy to ask what you like.

“Galão”, Portuguese style Café Latte is made of single espresso and much hot milk. Always in a tall glass↓

You will also like “Abatanado”,an American coffee
is espresso with some hot water so it’s less strong.

P.S. In Portugal, “filtered coffee” doesn’t existe in the restaurants!

Bill (Conta)

For tourists who don’t speak local language and who don’t know so much about the system, paying the bill is always complicated.
In Portugal, actually, how to pay is different, depending on each restaurant.

In many restaurants, you can ask a waiter for your bill without leaving the table, and you will get your bill.
But maybe you already know, it takes so much time because it’s Portugal!

The simple and easy way to pay your bill is to go directly to the cashier.

If you didn’t take bread and olives, make sure that these things aren’t written on your bill.
In Portugal, Tax is always included. That means the total price of what you have taken is exactly the price that you pay.

About payment method, it’s better you have some amount of cash especially in small local restaurant. Because there’re few restaurants which accept international credit card for the payment. Even if they have a machine, it’s sometimes just for Multibanco card, kind of debit card which is used only in Portugal

When you pay, tipping is always the problem, isn’t it?

In Portugal, there’s no tipping culture!

If you are in a high class restaurant, or if you had a amazing service, that’s not the case. But in general, you don’t need to leave tips in casual restaurants.

If you want, of course, you can leave some tips even in a local restaurant though. Nobody will refuse and it’ll be appreciated. Even in this case, it’s not at all necessary to tip with 5 euros’ bill or more : just one or two euros small money will be enough.

To finish the discussion about the bill and payment, you need to know in some small local restaurants, you need to tell what you ate when you pay.
They have confidence in their customers and this is traditional Portuguese style. I found that so nice.

If you find this type of restaurants which still keep this billing system, you are really lucky. But be honnest!

To know more about Portuguese restauration culture

Better to book in advance?

In Portugal, it’s not necessary to book a table before, except high grade ones or touristic ones.
Many local restaurants don’t even accept booking.

Sometimes, you see popular restaurants for local people are full, in this case, you won’t have any choice other than to wait for your turn. Welcome to Portugal!

Around what time Portuguese people take meal?

Compare to the dearest neighbor, Spain which is known for taking their meal so late (called “Spanish Time”), in Portugal, the people take meal a bit earlier.

However, as the sun goes down later in Portugal than other countries in Europe, meal time is relatively later than these countries.

Here’s the general mealtime for each meal:

・Breakfast (Pequeno almoço) ～10h

・Lunch (Almoço) 13h～15h

・Dinner (Jantar) 20h～22h

Between lunch and dinner, many people take their “Lanche (Snacks)” with small sandwich or some sweet pastries and cofee.

If you don’t want to wait for your meal long time in the restaurant, avoid these hours and try to eat earlier than local people do!

The quantity of the dish is enough?

YES! It’s more than enough!

Sometimes, you will want to ask “Is it really for one person?”

If you are not alone, you can order a main dish and share it.

If you are alone, dependiong on places, you could ask a “Meia dose” ,which means a half size. But it’s also depend on which meal you want to order.

Even though it’s called a half size, the price isn’t half : only 20% – 30% cheaper than a full size of the meal.

Some words to finish

Many tourists think to go eat in a local restaurant will be a challenge, because in this type of restaurants, not many people speak English, and you can’t imagine what you are going to eat because on the menu there’s no photo.

Even though you don’t know Portuguese and the employee don’t speak English, they will generously try to understand you.

Now, you probably have an idea about how it works in local restaurants in Portugal, so it’s time to try!
That opportunity will make you discover a different and authentic culinary culture.

So, what is Alcatra？

Generally, Portuguese people eat more often pork than beef or chicken, but in the Azores, beef is pretty popular as well.
You will see many many cows in the farms in the Azores and that’s why their milk, butter and beef are popular all over in Portugal : these azorean products are kind of good brand for Portuguese. Azorean butter, azorean meat…mmm sounds good!

Alcatra is a local dish of Terceira, which is made of this famous azorean beef : they cook beef ribs with lot of olive oil, garlic, paprika paste and white wine. It’s like Terceira-style beef stew.
If you are a meat lover, you will surely be crazy for it!

Where to eat Alcatra? A place “Must go”

As Alcatra is pretty famous local dish of Terceira, many of the restaurants there have it on their menu, and the taste and style is quite different from one to another.

In Angra do Heroísmo, which is the center of tourism, or in Praia de Victória, a beach side resort town in east part of the island, you will find many restaurants, but they are relatively touristic, so sometimes your Alcatra in these places is not really good as it should be because some of them make big portion of Alcatra in the morning and put it into the microwave and serve it…

If you want to taste authentic traditionally-cooked Alcatra, go to a small town of Biscoitos, located north part of the island. A bit far but it’s worth!

I really recommend this snack-bar-like local restaurant : Casa de pasto o Pedro.
Their Alcatra is really “The must” and appreciated by locals as well as tourists.

Here, Alcatra is served in a heated traditional pottery. They start to heat the pottery and cook just after taking the order so it takes time, but you will have a really hot one and the food inside will be still warm when you will have finished.

When I was there and at the moment my dish came, I was really surprised because in the pottery, the oil-based soup was boiling like it was on eruption!
This soup which contains juicy meat broth is really oily and you won’t be able to finish but not too salty. The beef inside is carefully cooked and when you put it in your mouth, it melts!

I was alone there and for me the portion was much enough or too much, so that’s better you share it with others if you’re not alone. Anyway, it costs only 9 euros. Really cheap.
What do you drink with this meaty dish? I think Biscoitos local wine is really a good option. This small town is known for its good quality of wine. They even have a small wine museum!

What to do in Biscoitos

↑Peaceful town of Biscoitos, where you can see the Atlantic Ocean in front

As I said, Alcatra has a big portion and so heavy that could make you lazy after the meal.
If you are not a busy traveler, it would be nice to walk around this small town and take some rest.

You can find in this town the most famous natural pool in Terceira island, which is often featured in guidebooks or tourism web sites, and that is a perfect choice to have a relaxing afternoon after your meal.

Although the waves are generally high in other natural pools in Terceira, this natural pool of Biscoitos is geographically well protected by natural rocks so the waves don’t come into the pool so much.
There are even children who enjoy in this shallow swimming pool.

If you still have time, why don’t you try Biscoitos wine museum?
This is a small local winery-museum which have interesting collections of equipment for wine production, and this place lets you learn about traditional way of wine brewing and of course you can taste their local wine

In the end

If you are traveling, tasting original local food is a great way to know the place and its culinary culture.
Alcatra is not a light meal and maybe it’s not the healthiest dish of the world, but once you taste it, you won’t forget its original flavor and you will certainly want to taste it again.
When you go to Terceira for traveling, don’t forget to put it on your bucket list!

We can enjoy this city with many ways: walking around, tasting great food, drinking, having a party… but do you know we can find many viewpoints throughout the city? When you go up, you will arrive to a view point!

Almost all the viewpoints in Lisbon are outside so generally they are free of charge. Of course, there are many tourists, but also local people come there to take an “imperial” (small glass beer) on the terrace of Kiosk, or just to be relaxed with magnificent view of the city.

In Lisbon, the viewpoints are the place for everybody, not only for tourists: musicians playing guitar and singing, young people talking, an old man sitting on the bench and looking the scenic without doing anything else…

In this article, I’m going to show you the view spots I like very much in Lisbon, from those of really popular to those which are hidden. Each spot has a unique view and different vibe, so you can choose which ones to go and discover Lisbon from different angles. (However, it’s hard to do many view spots for just one day because of the steep hills)

*In the end of this article, you will get some useful tips to get around the viewpoints, the map, and a model route!

1  São Pedro de Alcântara view point

2  Santa Justa Lift

Just from next to the entrance for the top part, there’s a staircase to go down. In the middle of this it, you will see this small place (photo above) which is relatively quiet. You can feel the lively atmosphere on the street below, as well as enjoy a view of old houses in front and the old lift above. When you get tired after a walk, this is a great place to take a rest. (There are many people who sleep deeply on the deck chairs)

3  Santa Catarina view point

So, the next one is a bit more local than the other view point I have shown you above: Santa Catarina view point. You will get a beautiful panorama view of the Tagus river and Lisbon’s symbolic red bridge: April 25th Bridge.

Even though this amazing view point is situated at the end of the full touristic Chiado district, you won’t see as many as tourists that you find the other hyper popular view spots. The people coming to this place are mostly young locals, so the vibe is a bit different from other places but it’s always lively with musicians, performers. There are also hippies and artists gathering so you will feel a free vibe there.

On the viewpoint, there’s a kiosk where you can get some snacks and drinks for a reasonable price, considering it’s in Lisbon’s city center (a small glass beer for 2.5€), so why not a small break here with beautiful view?

You can enjoy its panoramic view whenever you go, but the sunset is really worth seeing.

4  Santa Luzia view point

The next viewpoint is small but famous one: Santa Luzia view point, situated in the heart of Alfama. This is the oldest district in Lisbon, which didn’t suffer so much from the earthquake in 1755, so we can find the old houses decorated with Arabic motifs because of the Islamic occupation period in Portugal about 800 years ago.

Today, Alfama attracts more and more visitors and this small view point as well.

You can see whole Alfama district from the top, with the medieval streets and traditional houses. This is one of the landscapes which represent Portugal, with the atmosphere nostalgic and tranquil.

There’s not only this beautiful view that you must see on this viewpoint, but also the “Azulejos” (Portuguese tile art with motifs) aren’t to be missed!

That’s a pity most of the tourists come to this spot only to take photos of its panoramic view and go away. If you turn your head back, you will realize there are some hidden Azulejos there and you will be impressed with their beauty.

5  Portas do Sol view point

Just a 2 minutes walk from Santa Lucia view point takes you to this bigger view point: Portas do Sol, which means “The gates of the sun”. From this place, you can also admire a panorama view of the Alfama district.

Let’s take your beer or Mojito from the kiosk and take a seat on the terrace. A beautiful landscape is just under your foot!

The famous tramway no. 28 and TukTuks for tourists pass by right next to the viewpoint. I think this is a typical landscape of Lisbon as well, with old houses around.

6  Graça viewpoint (Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen)

7  Nossa Senhora do Monte viewpoint

When we’re facing such a beautiful view, we cannot find a word but just a sigh. They say “See Naples and die” but I want to replace this phrase to “Go the Nossa Senhora do Monte viewpoint, and die” (in fact, you could be dead after you reached this viewpoint because the slope is really killing)

8 Penha de França viewpoint

9  Eduardo 6 Park’s viewpoint

To finish

When we live abroad for a long time, we should completely change our habit, our mentality and our attitude for the culture of the country where you are, and sometimes it surprises us how our mind or our way of thinking has been changed, without recognizing by ourselves.

In this article, I’m going to tell you the 10 things that I quit after my 8 months of stay in Portugal. Maybe you could get some ideas about how in reality it is to live in Portugal. (I’m from Japan, which has very different culture from Western countries, so the difference that I found could be bigger than yours.)

1.  Being frustrated while I’m waiting

First thing to know, we have to wait for ANYTHING in Portugal. Doesn’t matter what we want to do, we have to wait. At the immigration office for paperwork, at the restaurants, at the cash desks in the supermarket, at the bus stops, etc… It takes ten times much time than normal for everything, and nobody knows why.

In the restaurant, it’s pretty usual to wait 5 mins to get the menu, another 10 mins to place the order, and 20 mins again to finally have the dishes… Sometimes the waiter comes back to the table to ask the order again because he forgot it. Oh my God.

At the supermarket, nobody knows how to be efficient. Neither customers nor workers. It takes a thousand years to just buy a bottle of water. I’d like to know why it takes crazily long time just to put the stuff into a bag.

Which is really incredible about this situation, is that nobody complains about waiting such a long time. They are used to it. We never hear somebody sighs deeply while we are waiting for our turn in the long queue at the cash desk.

The employees in the supermarket in Japan, you are really awesome. Your quick and efficient service is almost that of the robots.

But yes, here it’s Portugal. we must accept that people have Portuguese rhythm. I changed my mentality at the certain moment and it does’t bother me too much anymore to wait for. Thanks Portugal.

There’s one thing I want to say concerning this : when we turn our head towards the beloved neighbor, Spain, we would be surprised at how rapidly and efficiently Spanish people work, so we don’t have opportunity to wait longtime. This difference between these two countries just next to each other is remarkable.

But for me personally, this Spanish-style efficiency ended up making me a bit tired. Because I felt kind of obligation to be prepared for getting rapid service, especially at the moment of ordering in the restaurants. (I had to know what I wanted to eat before I took a seat because the waiter came 2 seconds later.)

When I finally came back to Portugal, I found my peace of mind.

2.  Checking timetable of public transport

It’s a bit similar to the Portuguese rhythm that I’ve talked about above, the public transport in Portugal doesn’t make any sense. Never arrives in time, yeah especially the buses!

With 20 mins’ late, we can finally see the bus that you want to take, arriving with the next bus behind. What could we use the timetable for if this happens really often? I even saw once 3 buses coming at the same time.

However, Portuguese wait for the bus without complaining. They are professionals for waiting.

So that’s why I quit checking timetable of transport and now I don’t even take the bus : I walk. Obviously it’s faster in most of the cases.

3. Obsession for eating Ramen

Today we can eat good sushis anywhere in the world. As Portugal is surrounded by the sea, the quality of sushis here is really good and the price is really cheap. (like 4 euros in a take-away box, 7 euros for All you can eat) But if we talk about Ramen – Japanese noodles that we Japanese are crazy about, is not the case.

For Portuguese, “noodles” signify “Chinese woks” and nobody knows Ramen.

Actually I found Ramen in a “Asian” restaurant after my hard research on Google, but it wasn’t at all which I had expected to have. It cost me 14 euros just for a bowl of chicken-based soup with white noodles which I barely had any idea about what they were made from. I don’t say the name of the restaurant but please stop doing bad imitation.

After these kinds of experience, I finally have no desire to eat Ramen and I’ve started forgetting what it was.

4. Checking weather forecast

In Portugal, it never rains in summer. That’s not a joke, NEVER. There isn’t even summer thunderstorm which we have often in other countries and which is difficult to give accurate prevision. So we don’t need to check the weather every morning, that’s really cool.

On the other hand, the weather is really unstable in winter time. It doesn’t snow in Portugal but it doesn’t help to give an accurate weather forecast because there’s cold rain shower and warm sunshine coming alternately on a same day. That’s nothing if we check the weather forecast, we just have to bring always a folding umbrella with us.

5. Tipping

@photo by VIKTOR HANACEK

when I started living in Portugal, it was really surprising for me that they didn’t really have tip culture. The low salary and absence of tips… Here the life is hard.

And I had been in the middle of the tip culture in Canada (15% of tips almost mandatory) so in the beginning, I couldn’t get what I had to do and sometimes I left some tips but finally I get used not to do it. Cheaper is better.

you could maybe imagine my feeling when I saw an American tourist in a bar who left 1 euro’s tips for his glass beer which cost 1 euro. That’s not a good idea, you can take another beer with it, men!

In fact, we can’t expect good service which would deserve to get tips in Portugal, especially in local restaurants.  Even though the waiters do their job, they are not really welcoming, putting your dishes on the table almost throwing them without any communication and we have to wait long time to have our dish.

If we find a restaurant which is not like this, it is for tourists. Nobody expects having great service in the restaurant but just having a good meal.

6. Waiting for someone to take a seat in the restaurant

As I grew up in the country where the communication at the entrance of restaurant is considered very important, and where I couldn’t take a seat without saying hello (I think in many countries it’s more or less like that), restaurant culture in Portugal is really surprising for me.

Even if we wait for somebody coming to us in the entrance of the restaurant, nobody will come to ask us “Hi how are you? How many persons?”.

Even though we enter directly inside and we say “Hello, its to eat!”, the waiter will say “What are you doing there? Take your seat wherever you want” without any smile.

When you go to a local restaurant in Portugal, you just need to enter directly inside and take a seat. That’s normal style here, but remember that it will take time to have a menu, your drinks and your meal…

7. Trying being well dressed.

@Photo by: Matthew Henry

In general, Portuguese people dress very simply and modestly. If you’re in a chic dress of Parisian style, you will get attention of the people.

When I traveled to Spain from Portugal, I was shocked that the people on the street are dressed so beautifully. I could tell immediately which one is Portuguese even when I’m in Madrid because of the way of dressing.

And I found in Portugal there’s many people who wear yellow clothes. Is it maybe the mode?

8. Using hair dryer and dryer for clothes

@Photo by: Shopify Partners

I realized that using hair dryer is waste of electricity and time.

As the air is dry in Portugal, our hair dries so briefly and clothes as well. Welcome to an eco-life!

Here in Portugal, the people using hair dryer are the minority because of its hot weather, and I wonder the dryer for clothes doesn’t even exist. That’s why we can see a beautiful contrast of Lisbon’s historical narrow street and panties of old woman which is waving above.

9. Going to Lisbon’s downtown

Many tourists imagine steep and narrow streets and old tramways running on them, when it comes to Lisbon. For the people who live in this city, however, these things are something to avoid. It’s a torture to go up and down every day these steep streets where the cars pass by just next to you, and also to take the famous tramway which is always full of tourists.

That’s why I never went to Lisbon downtown after some months of my life in Lisbon. Out of the downtown, there’s not so many slopes and it’s easier to find supermarkets, to go to shopping center, etc. In addition to that, the room rent is much cheaper there.

10. Looking for Japanese expats’ community

Photo by: Matthew Henry

Even if we are in a foreign country to have an another life from our country’s, we miss sometime speaking our language, and eating our food with the people who share the same culture.

That’s the same thing for me but… there’are really few Japanese in Lisbon. I don’t even see often the famous Japanese tourists in a big group, who follow quietly their tour guide with a flag in his hand. Can you imagine how few the Japanese expatriates are?

There’s so few restaurants which are managed by Japanese as well, for example. When it comes to Japanese communities in Lisbon, it’s impossible to find them even on Meetup or Facebook.

In Portugal, we could have a very different life from that of in Canada or Australia, where we can easily meet Japanese guys and can easily find their communities. It’s an awesome thing that we could have a total immersion in an another culture as well as learning the language, but sometimes it’s a bit difficult…

In addition to that, It seems to me that Portuguese are not so interested in the foreign cultures. They live their lives. It’s rare to meet the people who are crazy about Mangas or Animes, like who we often meet in abroad.

To finish

To live in a foreign country, it’s very important to understand the culture of the country where we are, and to accept the difference. I think it is the change of our mentality or the way of thinking that will make our life richer, rather than the language skills that we acquire.

Living in Portugal for a long term is a bit hard in my opinion. It would take time to accept the culture differences, but Portugal is a perfect place to have a stress-free life with its mild climate and its relaxing rhythm of life.

I would like that more Japanese people are interested in this beautiful country and come to live here.

Narrow steep streets with old houses, Portuguese cuisine that is simple but also very tasty and its atmosphere of “saudade” (nostalgia, sadness or a feeling of lack of something in one’s past, untranslatable in other languages). ..
People who have ever visited this beautiful city would say, “Oh my God, Lisbon is simply magic!”

Yet, Lisbon’s charms aren’t only in its touristic city center. You can enjoy beautiful beaches just nearby.
In fact, there are many people coming to Lisbon to spend their “beach holidays”, as you maybe already know.
For me as well that’s the case. I often get out of Lisbon to the beach to enjoy my “Beach day” and I think this easy access to the beach is really a good advantage of living in Lisbon, because not many big cities in the world allow us to spend the morning in the office and the relaxing evening on the beach, on the same day!

In addition to that, here in Lisbon, the public transport to the beaches is cheap, I don’t have stable job so I have much free-time, and it’s HOT! So, beach every day! Why not?

In this article, I’m going to show you 7 beautiful beaches near Lisbon, so you can choose which beach to go by getting away from the crowds of the city, and especially, from the heat.

I won’t list beautiful beaches which need 3 hours’ car ride from Lisbon. Only those that can be reached less than 1 hour from the capital, by public transport.

Here’s my preferences for the beach :

· Not many people (very important)
· Easy to reach from Lisbon by public transport (connections are very exhausting and I don’t have a car.)
· I go to the beach to relax and to swim. (not for surfing, party…)
· Quiet (not with lots of bars on the beach and British guys totally drunk)

It was very difficult to choose only 7,  but now, it’s done!

7.   Praia de Ribeira, Cascais

This beach is found in the very middle of the city of Cascais, which is 40 minutes away by suburban train (CP) from Cais do Sodré station located in Lisbon downtown. To get there, you just take the train and get off at the terminal station, and walk 10 minutes through lovely Cascais downtown.

Although the beach is so small, it’s quite busy all year. Especially in summer, it’s completely filled with Portuguese and also with foreigners.

The famous Cascais city attracts many young tourists and retired people as well, they expect beautiful seaside holiday. That means it’s relatively touristy. The restaurants and bars there are more expensive compared to other local places.

I don’t recommend you going to this beach just for passing a nice beach day because you will surely meet a lot of tourists taking a thousand of pictures on the street next to the beach. On the other hand, just to give yourself a little break during your day trip to Cascais, this is a great place.

6.  Praia de Carcavelos, Carcavelos

Between Lisbon and Cascais, a small residential town of Carcavelos has a long beach.

It used to be a very local and quiet place couple of years ago, but today it became one of the most popular touristic and surfing destination for foreigners, especially. The vibe here is young and lively, with many restaurants and bars which don’t cost very much.

It may not be a perfect beach for swimming but if you want to enjoy its open-minded young vibe with a glass of beer and the sun, that’s the place.

5.  Praia deTamariz, Estoril

Just two stations before the terminal station of Cascais line, this beautiful beach is situated in a famous vacation city, Estoril. If you find the beaches in Cascais or Carcavelos are touristy and too much young vibe, this beach is maybe for you because of its elegant atmosphere.

In Estoril, many old and rich-looking retired people staying in luxury hotels, go to the Casino and stay on the beach, so maybe it’s them who make the atmosphere of this beach original and a bit different from other beaches.

You will find there many restaurants and bars that are opened all year round, but attention to their price! It’s always “the price for foreigners”.

4.  Praia das Avancas

Always on the Cascais train line, a 10 mins’ walk from Parede station takes you to this beautiful small beach surrounded by cliffs. While the beaches that I showed you above are quite touristy, this one has much more local atmosphere.
For example on weekends, there are many “Lisboetas” (Lisbon’s local people) come here to pass their peaceful beach afternoon.

On the beach, there’s only one restaurant-bar where you can admire a great sea view from above. It’s a perfect place to take an imperial (glass beer) with their good petiscos (snacks) sitting on outside terrace.

I really like this beach because there’s always the sun in front of me, from the morning till the sunset, as it is exposed south-west. If sun bathing or tanning is your stuff, you will be really happy here. (But also you will feel really hot)

Some minus points about this beach are, there are many slippy rocks everywhere in the sea so it’s a bit dangerous for children. And the tidal movement is so extreme that you can’t even go in the water to swim when the tide is low.

Would it be boring? Don’t worry, there’s a natural swimming pool next to the beach so you can swim even during low tide.

On the other hand, when it comes to high tide, you have another problem : almost all of this beach sinks under the water. If you stay near the water, you and your belongings will be totally wet. When the water is coming up, everybody starts to hurry up to avoid getting wet and it’s like a war.

To get rid of this kind of stress, it’s better to take your place far from the sea water at the beginning of your beach day, so that you can see the others staying just next to the water and taking their selfies, and give them a smile. Oh, like that you’ll be a real Lisboeta!

3.  Praia de Caxias

Near. Quiet. Beautiful. This beach is a perfect place for me.

The first beach that you see after only 15 mins’ train ride from Lisbon, is so near from the train station as well : 10 seconds!

Local families and local couples come here because of its great accessibility, while tourists tend to go further.
There’s no restaurant or bar on the beach so you can simply have a quiet moment. But you mustn’t expect too much the quality of water, because this beach is situated on the spot where the Tagus River flows into ocean… But ten times better than the Tokyo Bay!

You would need to buy your drinks and foods in advance because there’s no restaurant or small shops nearby.

Nevertheless, its accessibility is a big advantage. For example, when you get tired after your long walking in Lisbon, you can just catch a train and 15 mins later, you will be taking rest on the beach!
In fact, the locals start their day at their office or their school and they finish their day on the beach. Life is beautiful!

2.  Costa da Caparica

Costa da Caparica, one of the most popular beaches for surfers of all over the world never stops attracting them. This is actually the only beach in this article which isn’t on Cascais train line.

To get there, you need to pass the beautiful red bridge – Ponte de 25 Avril, and get to the south shore. Generally, the beaches near Lisbon are more or less small, but not this beach.

If it is your first time to come to Costa da Caparica, you will surely impressed with its long beach like Miami and of course with the beautiful contrast of its white sand and deep blue Atlantic Ocean.

They say you would need a car to get there because there’s no subway line which connects north shore and south shore, when in reality the access is not as bad : there’s a bus company TST which runs regular bus service from Lisbon every 30 mins, and the journey takes just 40 mins.

The beach keeps its tranquility even though there are many restaurants and bars on it, because they are quite far from each other.

You could even see local fishermen sell the fishes that they’ve just fished there, and many birds flying above to snatch some of them… It’s really a cliche of Portugal, isn’t it?

If you want to enjoy a full beach day, this is really a place to go!

1.  Praia São Pedro de Estoril, Estoril

For me, this is by far the best beach near Lisbon, It lets us admire a panoramic view and good quality of water.
The access is simple and easy : always on Cascais Line, 30 mins from Cais de Sodré.

Surrounded by tall cliffs, you would feel as if you were on a hidden beach. You will also realize how quiet it is and how beautiful the water is thanks to its distance from Lisbon.

There are 2 restaurant-bars on the beach and they both offer relax atmosphere and good price. I also like the point that a small grocery shop is easily found just next to the station, to get some food and beers.

When I was there, local kids were playing football on the beach. They couldn’t do the same thing on busier beaches, That made me feel like I was on countryside beach, far from big city. I liked as well that there were fewer families and young guys than the other beaches but there were many people who were alone enjoying their own time.