Lisbon 'To Do List'

Lisbon ‘To Do List’ □ Visit as many of Lisbon’s diverse museums as possible. With 62 you will need to cram in more than one a week to cover them all in a year! □ Experience an evening of live Fado. Fado (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfaðu]; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins □ Wander the streets of Alfama, the old town, where the São Jorge Castle is located. It’s numerous restaurants and the Fado clubs offer a unique experience. □ Get lost in Lisbon’s many streets and squares in that are tiled in black and white. Excellent inspiration for strategic thinking! □ Catch the number 28 tram, riding in a quaint yellow tram as it screeches and rattles through the narrow streets of the city. □ Pack your binoculars and book a dolphin watching tour from Lisbon harbour □ Explore the Lisbon Oceanarium. It is the second biggest oceanarium in Europe and the house to more than 8000 animals and plants of more than 500 different species. □ Try your luck in one of Europe’s largest working casinos, Estoril, although we can’t guarantee you the same ROI as your Lisbon MBA! □ Scour the city in search of your favourite patisserie for the infamous Pasteis de Nata □ Spend a day in Belém where you can find the original Pastel de Nata while contemplating the impressive architecture of Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. Make sure you visit Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), the largest cultural center in Portugal. □ Learn to surf to burn off the Pasteis de Nata! □ Wander the streets of Alfama, the old town, where the São Jorge Castle is located. It’s numerous restaurants and the Fado clubs offer a unique experience. Sample images Lisbon: Your gateway to Portugal, Europe and beyond… Whilst Lisbon undoubtedly has plenty to see and do it would be a shame to limit your Portuguese experience to the capital. A highlight to spending time in Portugal is the ease of traveling around the country, and no city is a better starting point than Lisbon. Between the airport and many train stations, the rest of the country feels like a hop, skip, and jump away. Porto Porto is Portugal’s second largest city and although it is located in the north of Portugal, it’s a short 1-hour flight or 3-hour drive from Lisbon. Try the famous Francesinha sandwich (strictly not for vegetarians), discover the city’s azulejo art with a walking tour, take photos of (and from) a few of Porto’s emblematic bridges, and sip sweet Port wine or crisp Vinho Verde (green wine) from the local wineries. Alentejo If you want to get away from the crowds of the city Alentejo is the perfect antidote. This vast, farm- and vineyard-covered rural region spans roughly one-third of Portugal, and is home to Évora, a medieval town that has been marked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This entire town is a museum, and a few key features include the 18th-century Sé Cathedral, the Temple to Diana (possibly constructed in the 1st century), and 16th-century Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones). Coimbra Whilst Coimbra is not the oldest city in Portugal (that is Braga) it is home to the oldest university in Portugal. The University of Coimbra and its library, the Biblioteca Joanina, are one of the main attractions, and the library has been named among the most beautiful libraries in the world. Explore the ruins and preserved mosaics and if you are travelling with children (or just a big kid at heart) see Portugal dos Pequenitos(Portugal of the little ones). This theme park features Portugal’s main landmarks but all shrunk down to the scale of children. Cascais and Estoril A little closer to home (or school) are Cascais and Estoril, two neighbouring and primarily resort-based cities along the Portuguese coast. Cascais was once a fishing village that served as a lookout for seafarers, but its natural beauty and equally attractive climate attracted royal attention. From that time, these two cities grew into the trendy and sophisticated beach-inspired getaways that they are today. Visit Estoril Casino, one of the most impressive casinos in Europe, or the rumbling Boca do Inferno (which translates to “Hell’s Mouth”) where the waves crash against rough cliffs and a small cave. Sintra Sintra is one of those places you see in the pages of travel magazines and think, “One day, I need to go there.” From Lisbon, jump on the train at Rossio Station and in 40 minutes you’ll be in one of the most mesmerizing towns in the world. The green mountainous woods offer plenty of hiking paths and the city is a mecca for architectural masterpieces. Visit the eerily charming Quinta da Regaleira and its dark wells and caves, walk through the jaw- dropping Pena Palace, and visit the beautifully ornate Monserrate Palace. Head towards the coast to the westernmost point in continental Europe called Cabo da Roca and take a photo by its iconic lighthouse. Traveling to Lisbon and missing Sintra would be a tragedy. Obidos If whitewashed cottages covered in colorful flowers, charmingly eclectic souvenir shops, castle walls, and book-themed locales pique your interest, consider spending the weekend in Óbidos. This is a town that has attracted attention for its beauty and the fact that it is haloed by medieval castle walls. If you visit, pay special attention to the Porta da Vila, the gated entrance that’s covered in traditional azulejo tile art, and taste the cherry liqueur called Ginja de Óbidos. Usually, this town makes for a great day visit, since it’s easy to soak it in within a few short hours. Portugal – a gateway to Europe Many of our students make the most of their time in Portugal as an opportunity to explore wider Europe. With very extensive and reasonably priced flights from Lisbon it is possible to make your MBA experience even more international with weekends in Madrid, Milan, London or Paris. .

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