My initial impressions of Lisboa weren't very positive. I suppose heavy traffic is inevitable in a major city when the only access from the south is by bridge, but this followed a long stressful day of the only driving I'd done in weeks. The Metro ride to vaguely-near-my-hostel was fine, but the taxi after that was atrocious. My driver was a comically grumpy old man who didn't speak a word of English. As I didn't speak much more than a word of Portuguese, I showed him a printout of the hostel's address. He didn't know where that was even though it was quite nearby and had to phone for help. Once we got started, we spent most of the journey in heavy traffic. I definitely picked the wrong neighborhood to stay in, too: the Bairro Alto. It was Saturday night and my room was directly above one of the main rooms with a frat-party / spring-break atmosphere. I just wanted to sleep!
The next day (mainly in the Belém neighborhood) was no better. Many things are free on Sunday, which should have tipped me off that this would make them popular, but I figured: how bad could it be? SO BAD. I spent most of the day standing in line, even considering everything I simply gave up on. My advice, if at all possible: don't visit Lisboa on a Sunday. Also, many sights are closed Monday, so that's also a poor choice too.
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