Lisbonception :
The "City" vs. The "Metropolitan Area" of Lisbon and more
There is something you must know before going on a Portugal trip.
There is more than one Lisbon in Portugal. Well, 3 different meanings of it, at least. And this is valid for many of the cities.
I can hear you asking “What do you mean?”
Well, Portugal is governed with administrative zones which sometimes can resemble those of federal countries and it may get really confusing at times, especially in the beginning when you are aware of this separation.
…. And when it comes to cities like Lisbon.
Because, for starters, there are 3 different Lisbon:
There is a Lisbon “Metropolitan area” in Portugal, which is one of the geographical regions (that I will be elaborating hereinbelow in the further sections.) Then there is Lisbon, which is an administrative region, and then there is Lisbon, the capital city within the region of the same name.
The same goes for many cities such as Porto, Leiria, and so on.
But don’t worry, friends. I’m not here to confuse you, but to make your job easier.
In this guide that I prepared almost as meticulous as a dictionary, I’ll unscramble this matter once and for all. When you’re done reading it you’ll want to keep this practical guide for all your trips to any Portuguese destination.
Administrative Regions of Portugal on Ascending Scale
Now, friends, think of it as if we are going to zoom in on the map of Portugal as we go.
First, let’s take a bird’s eye view on Portugal.
Portugal consists of 7 geographical regions, 2 of which are autonomous (See map 1):
- the Northern region,
- the Center region,
- the Lisbon Metropolitan region,
- the Alentejo region,
- the Algarve region,
- and the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira.
The Portuguese mainland (Portuguese territory except the Azores and Madeira islands) consists of 18 administrative regions. These are called “district” (or “distrito” in Portuguese). One of these districts is called “Lisbon”. (See the regions and Lisbon circled in red on the map 2 below.)
Districts are divided into local administrations called “Concelho” in Portuguese. These are basically cities as we know it. (I’ll continue with Lisbon as an example to make it easier.)
Zoom in on the map towards Lisbon again and you will see that the name of one of these sub-divisions (conselhos) of Lisbon is also “Lisbon”.
And this is “The” Lisbon as we know it. The capital city. (All this administerial structure can be wrapped up as this: Metropolitan Lisbon (geographical region) > Lisbon Region (district) > Lisbon City (conselho))
Do you know matryoshka dolls? It’s kinda like them, you see.
Now let me tell you why I have given all this information: Because being able to perceive Lisbon this way will make your life much easier, especially you’re making plans to visit Lisbon. (Or Portugal in general).
Otherwise, you can easily fall for the common mistake by jumping headfirst when you hear “Lisbon” thinking it is “The” Lisbon, which may lead to sad stories where you say “Oh, it’s in Lisbon, probably it’s close, or at least there are easy means of transportation there.” and then find out it is actually 50 km away from “The” Lisbon and there’s no easy transportation to there.
For example, when I first came to Portugal a few years ago, public transportation cards were called “Viva Lisboa” and was valid for only certain parts of the Lisbon region and for only specific means of transportation. So, it could sometimes be a total torture to find out what it meant by Lisbon. Especially as a “newbie” and a foreigner that does not speak the language.
Fortunately, they now have congregated the cards under one name, “NAVEGANTE” which is valid for every transportation and for all of Lisbon Metropolitan Area. (See? Now you know what it means.)
Plus, knowing this distinction will create a more concrete picture of destinations for you in many aspects such as the location of the points of interest that I mention in the guides here on this blog, transportation, ETAs, accommodation options, etc., which will be of great assistance in planning your trip. (You can thank me later.)
Therefore I thought it’d be best for me to, first and foremost, mention about this matter to you before I go on with any guides to Portugal.
Finally, let’s take a quick look at Lisbon to understand what is where in this vivacious city.
When we zoom in to Lisbon, we start to see Lisbon’s most well-known places such as Alcântara, Belém (yes, the birthplace of those famous custard tarts =) ), Benfica…
I’m sure some of the names will sound familiar to you, even if you’ve never been to Lisbon.
The Portuguese call these “Freguesias”, but we can call them “parishes” and Lisbon has 24 of them, which are divided into “neighbourhoods”. (In Portuguese these are called “Bairros”.) The most popular spots such as Chiado & Bairro Alto, Belém, Parque das Nações (Parque of Nations), Alfama and Baixa are some of these bairros. (Mostly the purple and yellow marked parts in the map 4.)
(These are the areas you will encounter most when you try to plan a touristic trip to Lisbon. You can find seperate guides here on this blog for all of these bairros.)
Now step back and look at the map again.
You see the difference, don’t you?
Of course, this is a good thing for us, travellers. Because the main region of Lisbon also promises us amazing travel destinations such as Cascais, Mafra, Sintra, each of which stands out with its own special features, providing a truly joyful experience at every stop.
And of course, we will be exploring all of these destinations together.
Let’s go!
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