Lisbon Stag Do

Lisbon can be defined by two distinct areas, the main city centre offering all the sites and sounds of Europe's most upcoming capital city and to the West Cascais and Estoril with long golden beaches and hot summer nights.

What's the best area of Lisbon for a stag do?

The main city centre is, for our purposes, centred around the Baixa Chiado and Cais do Sodre areas of the city close to the river Tagus, this is the area where you will find the largest concentration of bars, clubs and restaurants, plus access to the river and all the various activities Lisbon has to offer including the Lisbon Boat Party and Lisbon Bar Crawl. The main tourism area of Lisbon stretches from Principe Real along the Avenida do Liberdade through Barrio Alto to the West and Alfama to the East ending at the river bank of Cais do Sodre. Like all major capital cities, these areas are easily walkable as they cover an area of about a square mile but if you want to get around quickly without wearing out any shoe leather, Private transfers, Uber, Tuk Tuk's, taxis, busses and the underground train (metro) are all available. It is no surprise that these areas are absolutely packed with bars, restaurants, cafes and clubs you can easily jump from bar to bar trying to find one that suits you and your team or you can let us guide you to the best of the best on the Lisbon Bar Crawl, being sure to take note of where we go so you can revisit your fave the next night.

Again, being a capital city there is every conceivable taste and flavour of restaurant to choose from but if you are looking for a real slice of Lisbon we recommend the Time Out Market or LX Factory both of these venues offer a huge range of dining and tasting experiences, known in Portugal as Petisco's, that will be sure to tantalise any tastebud. Of course, if you're looking for a more guided approach the Portugal Rocks team can book you a table at one of our partner restaurants for a lad's dinner of your choice, we can even have your dinner served by ladies in Lingerie. Seafood is obviously a huge part of Portuguese cuisine and for the seafood lover it is paradise, we recommend that of your looking for incredible seafood you base yourself in Cascais or Estoril which are on the Atlantic coast as many forget that Lisbon is waterfront city along the banks of the famous Tagus River.

Lisbon Nightlife is something to behold, the city is a hive of activity with a huge young population and with the fastest-growing tech marketplace in the world giving the city a modern vibe with trendy bar and cafe culture as well as a vibrant club scene.

What do things cost in Lisbon?

The cost of living in Portugal is much lower than in the UK or Ireland which is what makes Lisbon one of Europe's most popular destinations, the average cost of a pint of beer in the area of the city around Barrio Alto is €4.00 for a large beer and €2.50 for a half and €2.50 for a bottle of locally brewed Sagres (330ml) other popular bottled beers in Lisbon include Corona, Coors, Super Bock and Peroni. Spirits range from around €6.00 including a mixer for the standard things like Smirnoff, Gordons and Bacardi upwards for more premium brands like Grey Goose, Tanqueray and Craken are around €8.00 a drink, also Red Bull will bring the price up to so be aware of the mixers you choose. Cigarettes are also half the price of back home with a packet of 20 Marlboro Lights costing €5.40 (as of October 2022), local brands are as little as €3.00 a packet of 20, (boxes of 10 cigarettes are not available in Portugal). Your Uber app works perfectly in Lisbon with an average cost of €5 for a short trip, many of our clients use Uber for their entire holiday as it is such a cheap way to get around and with thousands of cars available you're never more than a few minutes away from a cab.

Food is another huge part of Lisbon culture and you will be pleased to know it's also another area where you will save money compared to home. At the fast food end of the scale, a Mcdonald's or Burger King meal starts at around €8.00 up to €11.00 if you go large, you can find Subway, Pizza Hut and KFC too but they are nowhere near as popular as back home, most Portuguese eat healthy home cooked food which can be found in countless restaurants and cafes across the city. Prato do Dia or Dish of the Day menus are served in selected Portuguese places and as they are subsidised by the government a 2-course meal can cost as little as €6.00 and that's with a jug of local wine included, these restaurants can be found by either asking an Uber driver or your hotel reception, every local knows a good Prato do Dia Restaurant. If you venturing out for a meal at night you cannot go wrong really, whether you're looking for steak or meat on the grill, known as Churrasco (Brazilian Grill) or Vegetarian options Lisbon has it all and with the average main meal price starting at €15.00 per person you can eat well for very little. Obviously, you can find the usual suspects like Chinese, Indian and Italian restaurants scattered all throughout the city and again with a main course starting at around €13.00 stag dinners don't need to be expensive.

Lisbon doesn't keep the same hours as our cities back home, it is not unusual for a Lisbonite to venture out at 11 pm or even midnight to begin their night, most Portuguese will eat at 9 pm or 10 pm so getting an early table is easy, bars are open till at least 2 am and in some cases, 4 am, so clubs won't get going until 2 am or 3 am and you can expect free entrance into many however the well-known clubs will charge from €10.00 upwards and will not tolerate drunks, flip flops, t-shirts and shorts so you must dress to impress in Lisbon.

The Silver Coast, Cascais & Estoril

The second area is West of the city in the sunny beach playground of Cascais and Estoril, where Lisbon's rich and famous spend their weekends, so let's look at each area in more detail.