Lisbon Sports & Outdoors Tips by acemj Top 5 Page for this destination

Not just a Spanish sport

The Portuguese also enjoy their bullfights and you can go see the sport in the praca de touros (bullring) off of Avenida de Republica between May to October. I snapped this photo of the Moorish-style arena on the ride from the airport into town. Tickets are cheapest if purchased outside the bullring.

The fights last about two hours and are similar to Spanish bullfighting, but not exactly the same. The bull's horns are dulled by capping them with leather or metal balls and the animal is not actually killed in the ring, although he is usually destroyed after the fight in a less public place.

The fights in Lisbon are said to be a bit more tourist oriented than those in the Ribatejo provinces, so if you want authenticity, head to Santarem (about an hour northeast of Lisbon).

Address: Avenida de Republica

Directions: Metro: Campo Pequeno

Theme: Sports Watching

Football crazy

Like all of Europe, Portugal is wild for their soccer teams. Lisbon has two teams, SL Benfica and Sporting (Sporting Club de Portugal) and the two teams have been rivals since 1907.
Pav and I, both having played soccer most of our lives, inquired about going to a game, but unfortunately, there was none scheduled when we were there. Benfica was set to play their main rival, Porto, only a few days after we left. :-((

Between September and June, you can attend a game for a relatively inexpensive price (under 10 Euros for most tickets). Benfica plays at Estado da Luz (metro: Colegio Militar-Luz)

Phone: Benfica: 21 727 6961

Theme: Sports Watching

Website: http://www.slbenfica.pt