LISBON - Portugal - page 25

Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tours: Two tours on yellow, double-decker buses make over-
lapping loops around Lisbon, starting from Praça da Figueira (€15 apiece, includes audi-
oguide). You can get off, tour a sight, and catch a later bus. The Tagus Tour covers west
Lisbon, stopping at major sights such as the Museum of Ancient Art and Belém (runs
twice hourly April-Oct 9:15-19:45, fewer in winter). The Olisipo Tour covers east Lis-
bon, with stops at Parque das Nações, the National Tile Museum, and more (runs hourly
April-Oct 10:00-19:00, less in winter). You cannot hop on and hop off between the two
different tours without buying a second ticket.
Hills Tram Tour: This hop-on, hop-off tour takes you on a shiny red 1900s tramcar
through the Alfama, Bairro Alto, and other Lisbon hills (€18, 1.5-hour tour with five
stops, recorded narration available in English, runs twice hourly July-Aug 10:00-19:00,
fewer off-season).
Sintra Day Trip: Carris also offers a day trip to Sintra and its Pena Palace, making a
swing around the scenic and historic peninsula. Option 1 includes entry to the Pena Palace
(otherwise €13) and gives you 1.5 hours to tour the palace and 20 minutes in Sintra, while
Option 2 skips the palace and gives you two hours in Sintra (Option 1-€42, Option 2-€29;
both depart daily from Praça do Comércio at 14:00, 5 hours, live guide switches between
3-5 languages). Both options include Cabo da Roca (20-minute stop, frustrating to reach
on your own, even with a car), Guincho, Boca de Inferno, and Cascais (10-minute stop).
If you want to see the peninsula beyond Sintra, this is your most economical and efficient
bet.
Gray Line/Cityrama Tours —Another option for hop-on, hop-off tours are the red Gray
Line/Cityrama buses, which offer four different routes: The Castle line covers the city
center; the Belém line gets you to that district; the Oriente line includes Parque das
Nações; and the Cascais line heads west along the coast past the charming beach towns of
Estoril and Cascais to the scenic beaches near Guincho. Buses have free on-board Wi-Fi,
making multi-tasking a snap (one line-€12, two lines-€18, four lines-€25, ticket valid 48
hours, recorded English narration available; Castle and Belém lines run 2/hour April-Oct
9:30-18:00, Oriente line runs every 45 minutes, Cascais line departs 4/day but doesn't run
Nov-March; main info kiosk at north side of Marquês de Pombal roundabout but you can
catch buses at any stop, tel. [phone], www.cityrama.pt ) .
By Boat
Rio Tejo Cruise — Cruzeiros no Tejo runs two river tours daily. Their longer tour does
a big east-west loop to the Vasco da Gama Bridge and Parque das Nações, then to Belém
and back (€20, daily at 15:00, 2.5 hours, departs from Terreiro do Paço dock off Praça do
Comércio). Their shorter tour makes a loop downtown to Belém and back (€15, daily at
16:15, one hour, departs from Cais do Sodré ferry terminal). Each operates April through