LISBON - Portugal - page 92

seum, across a busy road and train tracks (€1.65 each way, 8-minute cruise, ferries depart
on the hour and half hour except hourly from 13:30-15:30, last ferry departs 23:00 week-
days and 22:00 weekends; for a memorable Tejo experience, tall men can use the urinal
while sticking their head out the porthole). Boats continue to Trafaria before returning to
Belém via Porto Brandão. Upon arrival, carefully confirm return times.
Porto Brandão is a tiny (and dead) three-street town whose harborfront square has sev-
eral good fish restaurants. I like cozy, blue-and-white-tiled Restaurante Porto Brandão
(€10-20 fish meals, daily 12:00-15:00 & 18:00-23:00, Rua Bento Jesus Caraça 25, tel.
212-959-145). Their bacalhau à lagareiro is for garlic lovers. The cataplana (a traditional
fish-and-veggie stew) and seafood fondue meals are made for two but stuff three (€15-20/
person).
Shopping in Lisbon
Lisbon—Portugal's capital city—has shopping opportunities that run the gamut from flea
markets to the country's biggest shopping mall.
Produce Market —The market closest to downtown is Mercado da Ribeira (Mon-Sat
6:00-14:00, closed for produce on Sun but open for a coin collectors' market, Metro: Cais
do Sodré).
Flea Markets —On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the Feira da Ladra flea market attracts bar-
gain hunters to Campo de Santa Clara in the Alfama (8:00-15:00, best in morning). A coin
market jingles at Mercado da Ribeira, listed above, on Cais do Sodré (Sun 9:00-13:00).
VascodaGamaMall —This finest shopping mall in town fills the grand entryway to the
1998 World Expo site at the Oriente train/Metro station. It's well worth a trip out here to
feel the pulse of today's Portuguese society, enjoy Parque das Nações , and take in the
modern architecture (daily 9:00-24:00, mall described on here ) .
Centro Colombo Shopping Mall —This is the largest shopping center in Spain or Por-
tugal. More than 400 shops—including FNAC's biggest department store, 10 cinemas, 60
restaurants, and a health club—sit atop what they claim is Europe's biggest underground
parking lot and under a vast, entertaining play center. There's plenty to amuse children
here, and the place offers a fine look at workaday Lisbon (shops open daily 10:00-22:00,
food court and cinemas remain open until 24:00, pick up a map at info desk, Metro: Colé-
gio Militar/Luz takes you right there, tel. [phone]).
Armazéns do Chiado —This shopping center's six luxurious floors connect Lisbon's
lower and upper towns. It's a stop on “The Bairro Alto and Chiado Stroll” described earli-
er in this chapter, and has a lively food court on the sixth floor. The FNAC department
store hides behind an old facade and is known for its helpful English-speaking staff.