Do you like the metro as residents of big cities love it ?! But they hardly really even notice him. For them, the metro is part of the everyday landscape, the ability to quickly travel from point A to point B. But the so-called limit arrives in the city and remains struck by the beauty of the underworld. For example, you should see the Lisbon metro. The scheme of this object is quite simple, especially if we take the metropolitan analogue as a criterion. Will we figure it out there? Can we enjoy the walk? Go on an adventure!
The streets of Portugal
Arriving in the westernmost of European capitals, you plunge into the atmosphere of bliss and imposingness. The city is spread over seven hills, and the Tagus River slowly flows below. It is very warm here. And there is no time at all. A real cocktail from the past is Portugal! Lisbon is her heart, full of colorful mosaics of sidewalks, old quarters with narrow streets and tiles. Here you can and should walk. Leave the car and the first days just enjoy the local air, architecture, lots of greenery. There are a huge number of panoramic terraces and parks with ponds. Do your feet hoot in the hills? Then it's time to take one of the many cable cars or elevators. An old tram is also suitable as a means of transportation. By the way, this is one of the symbols of the city. Transport is doing well here, so spending a taxi can be safely avoided. There are lanes for public transport on the roads , so there will be no traffic jams.
To pay the bills
Around you is the regal Portugal, Lisbon! This is a big city, and you need to go around it for a long time. To do this, buy tickets in advance. So save money and time. All sales are carried out automatically. In it, you can replenish the card balance with trips or cash. Cards themselves have different colors, which, in principle, does not play a special role. But each passenger must have a personal card, so as not to use it with a gang. You will have to pay about 0.5 euros for the document.
Also, the card can be bought at bookstores and newsstands. True, the weekend will not work: the points of sale are closed. Only the center of Lisbon works. There is a metro here too. You can replenish the card for one trip, which will cost 1.4 euros. When replenishing “zapping” you can save money, as one trip will cost 1.25 euros. Payment is not made for one trip, but for the hour that can be spent in transfers. Paying with a card is simple - you need to attach it to a special yellow device at the front door. I must say that controllers go on the routes, and they are very severe. In particular, fare dodgers can get a fine one hundred times the cost of a ticket.
Here it is!
Here is the Lisbon Metro! The most modern, reliable and fastest mode of transport for moving around the city. There are four metro lines with a total length of 46 km. There are 55 stations. The metro operates from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., which once again confirms the opinion that this city is surprisingly calm, restrained and solid. There are few carefree party-goers and nightlife lovers. Trains, by the way, run quite often - every 6-9 minutes.
Buy a ticket
How to buy a metro ticket in Lisbon? This can be done at the box office or at the machine. Here our countries are similar. Many people are of the opinion that machines cannot be trusted, so a person is needed to sell tickets. Young people prefer to buy tickets through the terminal. By the way, it has instructions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
What is the total?
The entire metro scheme can be divided into two price zones. The first includes the main attractions and the airport. Are you curious about how much a metro ride costs? A one-way ticket will deduct 1.40 euros from your budget. Accordingly, a round-trip ticket is twice as expensive. And for 6 euros you can get an unlimited number of trips per day, and not only by metro, but by bus and tram.
If this is your first time
Residents of the city give advice to guests. Firstly, a ticket in the machine is issued together with a receipt. It must be saved in order to be safe in case of problems with a travel card. Check in advance how much the metro fare costs. Change small money to pay for tickets. In the subway, you need to be careful, street robbery is booming here. At a later time, only get into a crowded carriage and avoid suspicious personalities.
History tour
In the Lisbon metro, the scheme hangs at every step, so getting lost here is very, very difficult. Each line has its own color and even a corporate badge. A green line connects the main tourist routes and the train station. Red connects Expo Park and the airport. Yellow and blue "older" branches; they pass through the center along the main avenues in the north and north-west directions. For tourists, these places are not so attractive.
It is hard to believe that the subway began to be built here in 1953. The work took 6 years. Initially, the subway stretched only 6.5 km - from Baish to the Zoo. There were only 11 stations. In 1995, the network was streamlined and two lines were identified - blue and yellow. Three years later, a red line (from the Alameda metro to the Expo territory) was added to the two “pioneers”. Further expansion was jerky - in 2004, new stations added to the blue, yellow and green branches. In September 2013, Portela Airport and the corresponding metro station were opened. Emotions were contradictory, since the location of the airport changed, and for many it was inconvenient.
Through the eyes of tourists
Russian tourists love Lisbon. It is calm here, especially after the noisy Moscow. The city is very beautiful, order reigns everywhere. In order not to get lost, you need to study in advance what is the subway of Lisbon. The circuit seems easy. The language of the locals is fast and very emotional. Even if you know it at a basic level, then at first nothing is clear. Therefore, it is preferable to issue tickets through the machine. By the way, he accepts cash bills, and coins, and credit cards. The touch screen, you can choose the English language, which we all understand a little thanks to video games. There are two options - buy a card or replenish it. If you just arrived in Lisbon, then, of course, you need to buy a document. The card is valid for a year, and on all modes of transport. If you save the check, it can be returned when you are about to leave. Here we learn what "zapping" is. This is a replenishment of the card balance for a large amount, that is, 5, 10 and 15 euros. If you plan to travel often, then it is profitable to take a zapping. Even for one trip there is a saving. When replenishing the balance, the bonus falls on the card. The larger the amount, the sooner the bonus increases. It seems a trifle, but nice! So the ticket is paid. The Lisbon Metro hospitably opens its turnstiles in front of you.
Displacements
In the Lisbon metro, the scheme is active, and you can always see at which station you are at a particular moment. It’s easy to navigate: if the desired station is on the left side of the diagram, then you need to go left. The platforms are large and spacious, crowds, by the way, are not at all. The stations are decorated in the same style, so it’s pretty cozy here. The floor is laid out with small paving stones, like the pedestrian Lisbon. On the walls are interesting murals and even avant-garde portraits. Sometimes you can recognize famous Russian writers in them! The deep stations are decorated with tiles similar to those used in the USSR for public baths. It seems that this is “Scoop”, but for some reason it is perceived extremely organically. At one station, an interesting highlight is that the floor resembles the shape of a piano key. From the steps you can hear the sounds of notes. The mood rises at a time! Of course, you can’t do without musicians in any metro in the world, but here you have to give them their due - they play music that reflects the spirit of the station where they settled.
From Seagull to Wind Rose
What are the most interesting metro stations in Lisbon? This is an amateur question, since each point of the city is attractive for its authenticity. Even the metro lines are original here. Blue - the line "Seagulls", yellow - "Sunflower", green - "Caravels", and red - "Wind Roses". It should be noted the station "Terreiro do Paso", which goes directly to the river transport. It is built in the spirit of typical minimalism. Only polished concrete, light and navigation plates. There are no wires and communications here! But there are horizontal escalators. On the green branch there is a station called Says do Sodre, which is very close to the resort of Cascais. Here the walls are decorated with glazed tiles, and painted rabbits from "Alice in Wonderland" run along them. On the red line there is a truly epic Oriente station, where the metro intersects the train station. There are many decorative metal structures on the floor, and the wall itself resembles an epic comic book. Opposite the wall is decorated in a marine style. Pointers are placed on huge fishes.
One of the most beautiful metro stations in the world is Olaias with columns and a translucent ceiling. The walls go at an angle, and the floor resembles a patchwork quilt. At the end there are complex stained-glass windows.
From call to call
In the Lisbon metro, the operating time differs from the usual Moscow one. Here the first train starts at 6:30, and the last one leaves at one in the morning. Season and holidays determine the interval of trains. On weekdays, the train arrives every 5-7 minutes, and in the evenings and on weekends the interval increases by 3-5 minutes. If you do not have time on the subway, you have to get to the house in another transport. There are many buses in Lisbon - about 50 routes, and 3 of them carry passengers to the airport. There are 9 night routes operating from 23:00 to 5:00. The ticket price is identical to the metro option, and if purchased from the driver, it grows to 1.8 euros.
The calling card of Lisbon is called trams and funiculars. True, only five routes operate, and they run in the historical zone. Some are equipped with fixed-route taxis rather than trams. Ticket prices are also fixed, but the driver’s ticket is almost twice as expensive, so it’s best to think ahead of time on what to go home.
The cable cars in Lisbon are a full-fledged mode of transport connecting the upper and lower regions of the capital. There are three routes, moreover, one of them was opened in 1884. Funiculars work only until 9 p.m., and on the weekend almost round the clock. For two trips, you will have to pay out approximately 3.6 euros.
If you are a pedestrian and there is a steep slope ahead, which often happens in the city, the elevator lift, which is also considered a kind of transport, comes to the rescue. At the highest point of the climb, such a beautiful view of the city opens up that rumors are strong that Eiffel himself was involved in the project. For the elevator ride with a visit to the observation terrace, they charge 5 euros or you can use the daily metro ride.
Summary
So how to use the metro in Lisbon? It has a long history here, and the Lisbon people love it very much, but a tourist can get a little lost in this abundance of light and colors, hidden underground. The stations were expanded, now they take four trains at a time instead of two. The metro often “participates” in the cultural life of the city, as it was during the Lisbon World Exhibition. Then the red line opened. Today there are more than 340 wagons in operation, of which 225 are motor powered by the third rail, and 113 are non-powered.
I must say that public transport is very convenient here, especially if you take into account that there are always not enough parking spaces from above. Be sure to bring a camera with you to capture the beauty of the local metro. Hold on to your pockets tighter since theft is booming! Take cash with you in a small amount. Better keep your funds on credit card. Watch your handbags, especially if you get into the crowd. Although such a prospect is unlikely in Lisbon, people here are calm and unhurried. They also smile a lot, which is always pleasant for a tourist!