However short a stay may be, it deserves a debriefing, and this one was no exception, with few discoveries but a few confirmations.
At the bottom of the page you’ll find a summary of the articles about this trip to Lisbon.
The destination
Let me repeat: the purpose of this trip was not to go to Lisbon, but to attend a show for which there were no dates available in France for at least another year.
I did, however, try to visit the only site I’d missed so far: the Hieronymites monastery. It has to be said that the organization of the visits is not optimal, because although you can buy your ticket online, it doesn’t allow you to reserve a time slot and thus avoid the always imposing queue.
It was therefore with unconcealed joy that I noted the absence of a queue when I arrived very early in the morning, but my joy was short-lived: it was closed due to a strike. So that’s for another time (again).
So much the worse for a very long walk back to the city center and my hotel.
I was also finally able to do something that had been on my list for a year or two: visit Europe’s oldest bookshop, opened in 1732. Its name betrays French origins and makes me smile, since it’s the Bertrand bookshop.
As for the show, I have no regrets about coming here to see it before waiting to find tickets for a date in France. Laura Laune is by far my favorite humorist, and I’m a fan of her style, even if I admit it’s a little divisive.
A big thank you also to the artist, who we know is not very comfortable with social interaction for reasons we all know, but who takes the time shortly after her show to greet the audience, take photos with them and have a short chat with each of them.
In short, if you get the chance, this is a show you won’t want to miss on any account, with the added bonus of an unexpectedly moving part in the middle of a sharply humorous show.
Flights
This year, I decided to give Air France’s medium-haul product another chance, and so far the airline has proved me right, with a product that is a marked improvement on what I’ve experienced in the past, particularly in terms of staff attitude. Of course, there are still the occasional drosses of a bygone world, but these are becoming anecdotal.
From there to say that it dominates the European competition is a step I certainly wouldn’t take, but it can look the best in the eye.
Having said that, my conversation with a steward confirmed that Air France is obviously aware of the complaints about the 2F lounge that we have already shared here, and that they are working to improve things.
Hotels
There’s nothing new here – it’s more like a “journey to a very familiar land” – but two confirmations.
The first concerns the Moxy Roissy, which, after really seducing me when it first opened, is now stagnating in a form of mediocrity.
The second is the Moxy Lisbon City, which proves that it remains a solid, affordable product in a city where prices are getting crazy and unreasonable.
Restaurants
Lisbon’s culinary scene is highly qualitative and varied at all price ranges. This time I tested a Michelin-starred restaurant, Epur, but I could have taken almost any restaurant on my list, whatever the price range, and I would probably have come away with a very positive review.
Bottom line
A 2-night stay that was neither intended for tourism nor to test anything new, but which proves only one thing: Lisbon is a solid destination where you’ll find what you’re looking for, whatever the type and length of your stay.
The articles about this stay to Lisbon
# | Type | Review |
1 | Diary | Genesis of the trip to Lisbon |
2 | Hotel | Moxy CDG |
3 | Lounge | Air France lounge Roissy 2F (No review, already presented many times) |
4 | Flight | Paris-Lisbon Air France Business Class – A220 |
5 | Hotel | Moxy Lisbon City Center |
6 | Restaurant | Epur Lisbon |
7 | Flight | Lisbon-Paris Air France Business class – A321 |
8 | Diary | Lisbon trip debrief |