Mobile phones Portugal has an advanced mobile phone network and more than 50% of calls made here originate from cell phones (EU 30%). The country was a pioneer of the prepayment system, which was invented by a Portuguese. There are currently three operators: TMN (numbers beginning with 96), Vodafone (91) and Optimus (93). All of them have shops in major shopping centres and other places around town. Vodafone is the market leader for business users and also has the highest percentage of third-generation technology clients in Europe.

Business centre Espaço Ávila, 2nd Floor, Avenida Duque Ávila 20 (Tel: 3303 733, Email: espacoavila@netcabo.pt, www. espacoavila.web.pt).

Office equipment hire Alfasom Audiovisuals, Rua Tomas Figueiredo 14B (Tel: 7647 007, Email: alfasom@mail. telepac.pt).

Secretarial services Intess provides temporary staff for all kinds of office work (1st Floor, Rua Sao Julião 62, Tel: 8882 506, Email: intess@ip.pt).

Translation services Traducta, 1st Floor, Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 127 (Tel: 3883 384, Email: traducta@mail.telepac.pt). Alternatively, most countries’ embassy websites carry a list of translators and interpreters. Also, if your country has a chamber of commerce here, it should provide you with a list of translators.

LOCAL PRESS

You’ll find the best English-language information on events in Lisbon in the monthly magazine Follow Me Lisboa, which can be picked up for free at the Lisboa Welcome Centre in Praça do Comércio and other tourist offices. The country’s two English-language weekly newspapers, The Portugal News and The Portugal Resident, also carry some basic information, although both are based in the Algarve. In the rooms of up-market hotels and other selected outlets you’ll find the stylish magazine Essential Lisboa, offering up-to-date information about Lisbon life, including bars and restaurants.

INTERNET

There are some 140 wi-fi hotspots in Lisbon. Apart from the airport, they can be found at post offices, most hotels, McDonald’s restaurants, the Forum Picoas Telecom building (Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo 38C), major shopping centres and the Hard Rock Café in Restauradores, among other places.

Internet cafés and other venues offering internet access include: Fórum Picoas, Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo 38C.

Loja do Munícipe, Rua dos Douradores 108.

PostNet Braamcamp, Rua Braamcamp 9, Loja A (Tel: 3511 050).

Açores Café/Bar, Rua da Prata 49 (Tel: 914 558 134, Email: info@netaria.pt). NetCenterCafe.Com, Rua Diário de Noticias 157–159 (Tel: 213 230 012, Email: geral@netcentercafe.com).

MONEY

Portugal was one of a vanguard of 11 EU countries that adopted the Euro in 2002. Although in most supermarkets prices are still indicated in two currencies (Euros and the old escudo), people are now used to the new coins and notes and are generally happy with them. The country has an advanced system of ATMs (Multibanco) machines. Locals also use these machines to pay bills, charge their mobile phones and pay their taxes. The system has helped to reduce queues in banks. The latter are open Mondays-Fridays 8.30am-3pm. All major credit cards are accepted in most places.

Except for in the city’s historic Feira da Ladra flea market, bargaining isn’t part of the culture in Lisbon.

TIPPING ETIQUETTE

Tipping is done, but much less so than in most other European countries. Restaurant and bar staff and taxi drivers are happy with 5% to 10%, or you can just round up your bill to the nearest Euro. Reward bellboys and porters with one or two Euros if they’ve been helpful.

VISA/VACCINATION

A passport valid for at least three months beyond the intended departure date is required unless you are an EU national or citizen of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland holding a valid national ID card. A return or onward ticket and funds of €75 plus €40 per day are also obligatory for all except nationals of the EU, Iceland and Norway.

As long as you’re staying for less than 90 days, you won’t require a visa if you come from an EU country, US, Canada, Australia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR), Iceland, Israel, Korea (Rep), Liechtenstein, Macau (SAR), Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela. Contact your consulate or Embassy for details.

There are generally no vaccination requirements for foreigners entering Portugal, although temporary regulations may sometimes apply to visitors from specific countries.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

1st January—New Year’s Day
14th April (2006)—Good Friday
25th April—Liberty Day (Day of Revolution)
1st May—Labour Day
10th June—Portugal Day
15th June—Corpus Christi
15th August—Ascension Day
5th October—Implantation of the Republic
1st November—All Saints
1st December—Independence Day
8th December—Immaculate Conception
25th December—Christmas

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

Lisbon has a year-round mild climate, with an average temperature of 17C. In July and August, temperatures can get as high as 35C. The rainy season normally starts in October and occasional showers can be expected until May. Winter is kind here, however, with long periods of sunny weather and temperatures sometimes climbing to the low 20sC. Average January temperature is 12C.

SUGGESTED READING

A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson. Award-wining, well-researched thriller set in Lisbon about Nazi gold, Portuguese banks and the murder of a young girl. British author Robert Wilson is a long-time resident in Portugal.

Lisbon: What the Tourist Should See by Fernando Pessoa. A tourist guide, but mostly a declaration of love to Lisbon, written in English in 1925, but not published at the time, by great Portuguese poet and novelist Fernando Pessoa.

Night train to Lisbon by Emily Grayson. Set in 1930s Lisbon, this is a recent novel about an American and her British lover who is accused of being a spy for Germany.

GETTING INTO TOWN

Airport Lisbon’s Portela Airport (Tel: 8413 700, www.ana-aeroporto.pt) is conveniently located just 7kms north of the city. Operating since 1941, the airport was entirely renovated several years ago, but has now reached its maximum capacity of 12 million passengers per year. That is why a new international airport (www.naer.pt) has been planned to be located at Ota, 40kms north of Lisbon. The infrastructure is scheduled to be completed by 2017. In the meantime, Portela is to be enlarged one more time. It’s a state-of-the-art airport, offering all the facilities you’d expect, all open 24/7. The tourist information desk is open 6am-midnight. Car hire Lisboa Car Hire (www.portugal. rentalcargroup.com) offers an economy car from around €99 a week plus insurance. Alternatively, most major car-rental firms can be found in the airport Arrivals hall. If you’re driving in Portugal, be very careful and expect the unexpected—like cars coming towards you on the wrong side of the road. It’s not for nothing that the road-deaths rate here is the highest in the EU.

Taxis into the city centre should take 15-20 minutes, but allow twice that in rush hour. Fares are about €8, but there is a 20% surcharge on weekends, holidays and at night and an extra charge of €1.60 if you have luggage to put in the trunk. Bus The No. 5, 22, 44, 45 and 83 buses run from the airport to the central bus terminus every 10 minutes. The 30-minute journey costs €1.20. The Aerobus runs 7.45am-8.45pm between Lisbon Airport and the Baixa district (downtown). Tickets, which are also valid on Carris trams and buses on the same day, can be bought on board or at the Aerobus desk in the Arrivals hall (€3).