“Ask me” centers in Lisbon can help you and are happy to dispense advice, maps and brochures. Their staff is multilingual.
‘Ask me’ kiosk in Rua Augusta, near Praça do Comércio.
The beautiful Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square) is located near the Tagus River and still commonly known as Terreiro do Paço (Palace Square), because it was the location of the Royal Ribeira Palace (Paços da Ribeira). After the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake, the square was completely remodelled.
This new (2008) Lisboa ‘Ask Me’ Center (Praça do Comércio, phone 00351 21 0312815), is open from 09:00 – 20:00 daily. The Lisbon Gay & Lesbian Guide is available as well. Smaller ‘Ask Me’ kiosks are dotted about the Rossio district, the Portela airport of Lisbon and at Santa Apolonia train station.
Praça do Comércio, April 2007. The statue is King José I, who oversaw the rebuilding of Lisbon, after the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake.
Lisboa Card
The Lisboa Card offers free use of all public transport in the city and free or reduced price tickets to many museums, galleries and tourist attractions. They can be purchased in 24 hour (adult / child: €14.85 / €7.50), 48 hour (€25.50 / €12.75) and 72 hour (€31.00 / €15.50) denominations. They are not very good value unless you plan to visit a lot of museums. Especially so if you are a holder of a student identification card (international or national) since the student discounts to these attractions are often the same as for the Lisboa Card.
On the use of Lisbon Card – it is worth to buy it at the airport. Without starting the card, you may use a small voucher inside the book you get with the card. Fare for aerobus is 2 euro then, so you save 1,5 euro. There are two such vouchers, the second one for the return trip. I think one day card is the best option – use it for all the trams, elevators, metro, Belem atractions, managae to catch a train to Sintra, get discount at Mourish Castle – it is then a real good value.
It is also so convenient just to validate the card on every tram you jump in 🙂