Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BIKING THE TEJO
With its steep, winding hills and narrow, traffic-filled lanes, Lisbon may not seem like the ideal place to hop on a
bicycle. The city, however, is redefining itself with the addition of a biking/jogging path that opened in 2010.
Coursing along the Tejo for nearly 7km, the path connects Cais do Sodré with Belém, and has artful touches - in-
cluding the poetry of Pessoa printed along parts of it. It passes beside a rapidly changing landscape - taking in
ageing warehouses that are being converted into open-air cafes, restaurants and nightspots.
A handy place to rent bikes is a short stroll from Cais do Sodré:
Bike Iberia
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
213 470 347;
www.bikeiberia.com
; Largo Corpo Santo 5; bike hire per hr/day €4/14; 9.30am-7.30pm) .
Those looking for a longer ride can bike out to Belém, catch the ferry to Trafaria, and then continue on another
new bike path (separate from traffic) that runs for about 6km down to the pretty beach of Costa da Caparica.
You can also hire bikes for short spins along the Tejo out at Parque das Nações, where
Tejo Bike
(
www.tejobike.pt
; per hr from €5;
10am-8pm) rents out bikes, kids' bikes and go-carts.
BUS
Both information and tickets for international departures are scarce at weekends, so try to
avoid that last-minute Sunday dash out of Portugal.
Sete Rios
Lisbon's long-distance bus terminal is
Sete Rios
(Rua das Laranjeiras)
, linked to both Jardim
Zoológico metro station and Sete Rios train station. The big carriers,
Rede Expressos
( 707
223 344;
www.rede-expressos.pt
)
and
Eva
( 707 223 344;
www.eva-bus.com
)
, run frequent services to
almost every major town. You can buy your ticket up to seven days in advance. Services
include the following:
Évora
(€12, 1½ hours, 10 to 20 daily)
Coimbra
(€14, 2½ hours, 15 to 25 daily)
Porto
(€19, 3½ hours, 10 to 20 daily)
Faro
(€20, 3½ hours, four to eight daily)
Buses to Sesimbra and Costa da Caparica also leave from here.
Gare do Oriente
The other major terminal is
Gare do Oriente
(near Parque das Nações)
, concentrating on services
to the north and to Spain. On the 1st floor are bus company booths (mostly open from
9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday, and to 7pm Friday, closed for lunch; smaller operat-
ors only open just before arrival or departure).
