Ask Me Lisboa – The Lisbon Welcome Centre

One of the best places to get familiar with in Lisbon when you first arrive is the Lisbon Welcome Centre “Ask Me Lisboa”. There are seven branches in the city including one at the airport. Ask Me Lisboa is there to make your visit to Lisbon run as smoothly as possible and help you find your way around. The branch I mainly use is found on Rua do Arsenal. To get there, walk down to Praça do Comércio and turn right as you come through the archway onto the square. Walking this way will take you onto Rua do Arsenal. The Ask Me centre is on the left of this road (tip – if you have reached the Praça do Municipio you’ve gone to far). The Welcome Centre is just before it. Just look for the sign.

In this branch you’ll find friendly English speaking staff, lots of maps, arts and crafts by local artists and public toilets! The free city centre maps are an added bonus. I went in several times both to use the toilets and to ask directions and each time was greeted with a smile and willingness to help. They also have internet access here as well as at their other branch round the corner on Comércio Square. Prices start at €1 for 15 minutes use (circa 2008). Handy for updating your profile on Facebook, sending a Tweet or just emailing your friends all your photos from beautiful Lisbon to make them just that little bit jealous.

Ask Me Lisboa offer several different types of tourist cards that can give you money off savings on transport, eating out, shopping and visiting tourist attractions. The Lisboa Card is the most popular of all of these. If you are going to be travelling around a lot and intend on visiting as many places of interest as possible, this card will probably be ideal for you and could save you quite a lot of money. A three day card costs €39 (current 2012) and will give you free access on public transport (including trains to Sintra and Cascais) and entrance into a whole host of museums and monuments. Note however that public transport is generally quite cheap so it might be wise to check out your sums before purchasing, depending on where you want to visit.

If you are unsure where to start when you arrive, or need help finding your way around, do take a walk down to one of their branches.

Ask me Lisboa have a website here which includes the addresses of each of their branches as well as details of the different visitors cards they sell.