Experience in Lisbon, Portugal by Cláudia Rita

What is it like to live in Lisbon? Would you recommend it? What is the city like?

I would totally recommend to live in Lisbon.
The city is very friendly and with a nice scale: It's a metropole, although it's a small one and that gives you a comfortable feeling of being part of it.
There is a charm in the city that came from the river, the sun, the monuments, the buildings (some of them unfortunately not well preserved), the history, the food, the night life.. it's unique

What is the student lifestyle like in Lisbon?

Students life it's active - there are a lot of academic "praxis" (which i personally find annoying) - and consists on the older students wearing school uniforms and making tricks to the new students - it's a mix of getting to know everyone and to show a certain power over the new students :P (which are called caloiros).
Besides this tradition there's a normal and nice way of getting to know people and feel integrated in school.

How much does it cost to live in Lisbon?

Lisbon is more expensive than the rest of Portugal, however, at this times i beleive that is much more cheap than most of all the cities in europe.
Electricity and eating in restaurants got really expensive at this point for us (portuguese) because the taxes over this are very high.

Is it difficult to find accommodation in Lisbon? Is there any advice you can give?

Its not difficult to find accommodation in Lisbon.
Please take your time to look for it, you'll find a nice place with a nice price.
Attention: we don't have central heating in our houses! and for us is normal. So be prepared to spend an extra money in electricity bills by using individual heaters.
In most of the houses, depending on the construction, orientation, the temperature might vary and it's often to find apartments almost the same temperature inside as outside.

What is the food like? What are your favourite dishes?

Food is great!
There are still some cheap places where one can eat nice fish or nice meat, simply grilled.
There are a lot of other places with nice and typical Portuguese cuisine that can be somehow more expensive but good.
There's also some yammmi gourmet places! although expensive.. (but that they deserve to be visited once in a while).

What places would you recommend visiting in Lisbon?

- Gulbenkian (Modern Art Museum, Ancient Art Museum, Library, Garden)
- Belém Area (Centro Cultural de Belém, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Planetarium, Torre de Belém and eat the great Pastéis de belém!)
- Alfama Area (just great to walk on that area and climb the hill until the Castle)
- Take the Tram 28 (in a saturday and have a nice trip in Lisbon, finishing in the Flee Market, the National Pantheon an Graça Area)
- Downtown and Chiado Areas (great to stroll)
- Oriente Area (The new Area of Lisbon, great post modern architecture, the oceanarium is beautifull, next to the river, beautifull - a little expensive also)
- Sintra - not in Lisbon, but it's easy to get there - World heritage - great palaces, castles, gardens, cakes :)

Is it good to eat out in Lisbon? Can you tell us your favourite spots?

Taberna Ideal
http://www.lifecooler.com/artigo/fazer/taberna-ideal/410707/
(portuguese food, very traditional but with a new spark, the place is very cousy - but normally you have to book with some days in advance.
It's in Santos area)

Pharmacia
http://www.lifecooler.com/artigo/comer/restaurante-pharmacia/423146/
(from the same owners but a different concept - reinventing food - if you go here i suggest that you have a lot of little starters instead of having a main dish)
It's in Bairro Alto/Santa Catarina - the building used to be the pharmacy museum, so it's posh - in a good way)

Sol e pesca
https://www.facebook.com/solepesca?rf=132471313529678
(It never happen to eat there, but my friends really like this place, it's food in a can - but with a nice concept and way of doing it -
this area is being improved now, you can find a lot of things in this street and area - Cais do Sodré)

Pleasant restaurants not so "yummi", but good options, concerning the ambient :

Casa Independente
http://casaindependente.com/

They have hamburguers, ceviche, and some other starters.
The food is not wonderfull, the service takes its own time,
but the place is very very nice and so pleasant that i always go back there
nice people around, also good for a drink.
It's in Intendente area (it used to be a dangerous area, but now they are improving it and a lot of nice stores are popping up there)

For the FADO more that the food:

Baiuca
(Fado House and restaurant - expensive)
In Alfama Area (fado only at some days a week - please check)

Tasca do Chico
(Fado house and restaurante - cheap)
Bairro Alto Area (fado only at some days a week - please check)

Is the nightlife good in Lisbon? Where is good to go?

to go out for a drink
Casa Independente (again)
(you can eat there and stay there, sometimes there are concert, check the agenda to see what's going on)

In Bica Neighbour, that's where i normally go out:

Vizinha
https://www.facebook.com/a.vizinha.bica
(Live jazz on Saturdays around 18h30 - and a nice bar/caffee - open until 2am)

Bicaense
You can dance, have a drink, they use to have nice DJs
http://www.lifecooler.com/artigo/fazer/bicaense-cafe/382976/


There are a lot of other places but you can find it by walking in Bairro Alto, Santos or Cais do Sodré areas

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To go out dancing, after these other places close.

I suggest that you go to cais do sodré area
there you have many:

Amsterdam
Indie Rock, Alternative music

Music Box
Cool concerts and nice DJs

Pensão Amor
(New place, a building with a ot of things going on - exhibitions, bar, dancing)
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Lux
(I don't like it so much, but it's an ex_libris of Lisbon Night)
It's a nice place, john malkovitch is one of the owners,
it's trendy, fashion, and there's a nice view to the river
They have nice concerts and djs.
it's expensive, need to return by cab (to go there's subway in Santa Apolónia)
(Also in Santa Apolónia you can find nice restaurants - gourmet, but a litte more expensive than the others i suggested)
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:)
hope you have fun!

What advice would you give future students heading to Lisbon?

Lisbon is great during the day and during the night!
Please don't forget to study!