We are proud to call Portugal our home! It’s a beautiful, peaceful and charming country and Lisbon, it’s capital has been selected to host the annual SE4All forum. Although RVE.SOL was founded in the Central Region (Leiria) we know Lisbon and thought these tips might help people visiting explore our wonderful country. Enjoy and share!
Language basics
The Portuguese are great English speakers for the most part. The older generations might be a little shy but almost everyone speaks fluent English and is very helpful.
Hello – Olá. You can also say Bom dia for good morning, Boa tarde for good afternoon, Boa noite for good eventing/night.
Please – Por Favor or Se Faz Favor
Thank you – Obrigada (if you are a woman), Obrigado (if you are a man)
Yes – Sim
No – Não

Where to eat
In our opinion the very best restaurants are SeaMe (fish and seafood); Bica do Sapato, owned by John Malkovich who fell in love with the city 15 years ago; any of the Jose Avilez restaurants; Bairro de Avilez or Pateo are more casual but still delicious! Vestigius wine bar is a very cool spot with a view of the river.
Os Tibetanos or Jardim dos Sentidos if there are vegetarians in the group. And finally, we’ve heard good things about Frade dos Mares and 100 Maneiras. TimeOut has a pretty good article here of the best resaturants in Lisbon by budget (€10, €20, €30, €30+).

What to do
A great way to see the city is to take a tuk tuk or a segway tour of the city. These you can catch near the very impressive Praça Comércio usually and they’ll show you all the important landmarks and take you up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge for a great view of the city. Taking the famous yellow tram 28 up the hill is a fun way to get around too. Find more info here.
You should get a famous “pastel de nata” custard tart at either Antiga Confeitaria de Belem or Confeitaria Nacional but be prepared for the lines!
Take time to go listen to Fado in the evening at a tasca or adega (little bar). Fado is the national music of Portugal and guaranteed to move your soul. Here is a nice article and list of authentic places to go listen.
Our favorite museums are the Tile Museum (Museu dos Azulejos), The Gulbenkian and the Paula Rego in Cascais. Cascais and Sintra are two great cities to visit outside of Lisbon (about 30-45min away) if you have enough time and a car. Cascais is an upscale beach town and Sintra is famous for its Pena Palace.

Where to stay
Airbnb will probably get you most affordable options. We really haven’t stayed much in Lisbon given we live here and if you haven’t booked yet you might be in trouble, but the forum website recommends The Sheraton and this Telegraph list has 20 great hotels in Lisbon

One warning
In any city there is crime and thank goodness Portugal has very little of it, which is one reason it was voted the 3rd most peaceful country in the world. However, petty crime and pickpocketing is unfortunately common, so please keep very careful watch of your purse or wallet. The thieves can be very skilled so you should err on the side of caution. Emergency line – dial 112

We hope you have a great visit and most importantly, that you continue your dedication, curiosity and/or involvement in bringing sustainable energy to all people! Here are some articles to leave you with:

– Lisbon Like a Local
– Lisbon Hidden Gems
– NYT 36hrs in Lisbon

Thanks to Maria Burpee for sharing (@mariaburpee)