Being far from home, it is important to have an opportunity to keep in touch. In Lisbon you will find various facilities for this purpose.
Telephone
The country code for Portugal is 351; the city code for Lisbon is 01.
The national number for emergencies is 115; for general information dial 118; the international information and assistance operator is 098. These are good numbers to keep handy, since Portugal is in the process of changing numbers and adding digits.
Local Calls
Public phones can be frustrating, and phone numbers in Portugal are being changed to a seven-digit system (often without notice), so you might have trouble getting through. Ask either at your hotel or at a local phone office for help. The easiest way to make a local call is to go into a café or bar and ask the bartender if you may use the phone. Bar phones are metered, and the bartender will charge you after you've finished.
At a pay phone, insert coins and wait for a dial tone. The minimum cost for a local call is EUR1, more to call another province, for which you must dial the area code. On the old pay phones, you line up the coins in a groove on top of the dial, and they drop down as needed. The new CrediFone or T-Sete phone booths take phone debit cards, which can be purchased at post offices. These phones have digital readouts, so you can see your time ticking away, and they are uncomplicated to use-the booths have instructions in several languages, including English. The phones accept Visa and MasterCard, and a countrywide "freephone" information line can be reached at 145311, 145883, or 145662.
Long Distance
To make calls to other areas within Portugal, precede the provincial code with 0 (most phone booths have a chart inside listing the various province codes). The 0 is unnecessary when dialing from outside Portugal.
Calling abroad is awkward from public pay phones and can be expensive from hotels, which often add a considerable surcharge. The best way to make an international call is to go to the local telephone office and have someone place it for you. (There's one in Lisbon's post office on the eastern side of Praça dos Restauradores, at No. 58, open weekdays 8 AM-10 PM, weekends 9 AM-6 PM; a second telephone office, open daily 8 AM-10 PM, is on the northwestern corner of the Rossío, at No. 65. At either place you may have to take a number and wait your turn in line.) When the call is connected, you will be sent to a quiet cubicle and charged according to the meter. Some calls can be paid for with Visa or MasterCard or with the CrediFone card. You can also make direct-dialed long-distance calls from most city phone booths on the street, though it's easiest if you use a phone card, available from post offices.
To make an international call yourself, dial 00 and wait for a tone. Then dial the country code (1 for the United States; 44 for the United Kingdom), followed by the area code and number.
Dial 05017-1-288, and you'll be connected with an AT&T operator in the States. For an MCI operator, dial 05017-1-234, and to access Sprint, dial 05017-1-877. You can then make a collect or calling-card call and be connected with an English-speaking operator to make an international call. Be aware that you cannot get this service from all phones in the city.
Mail
Sending Mail Home
Airmail letters to the United States and Canada cost EUR.75 up to 15 grams; postcards are also EUR.75. Letters to the United Kingdom and other countries in the European Union cost 50 cents up to 20 grams. Postcards are charged the same rate as letters. Stamps (selos) can be bought at post offices and government-run tobacco shops.
Receiving Mail
Because mail delivery can often be slow and unreliable, it is best to have your mail sent to American Express representative Top Tours (Avda. Dugue De Loule 108, Lisbon, tel. 351/1/315-5885). An alternative is to have mail held at a Portuguese post office; have it addressed to lista de correios (general delivery) in Lisbon. Postal addresses should include the name of the province and district.
Lisbon's main post office (Praça do Comércio) receives poste restante (general delivery) mail and is open weekdays 9-7. You'll need your passport to collect your mail.
The post office on the eastern side of Praça dos Restauradores, at No. 58, is open weekdays 8 AM-10 PM, weekends 9 AM-6 PM.
Internet Cafes
Cyber.bica
Duques Bragana Street, 7 Lisbon
Tel/fax: 1322-5004
Email: cyberbica@cyberbica.com
Web: http://www.cyberbica.com/
Monday through Saturday, 12 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Esc600 per hour of use.
PostNet - Braamcamp
Rua Braamcamp No.9 Loja A c/v 1250-048 Lisbon
Tel: 21-351-1050
Fax: 21-351-1051
Email: infolis02@postnet.pt
Web: http://www.postnet.pt/
Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Esc150 per hour of use.
Web C@fe
Rua do Diario de Noticas, 126
(Bairro Alto) 1200 Lisboa
Phone: 342 1181
PETER@NET Cyber Cafe
Cafe Peter – Parque das Nacoes, Lisboa, 1990-254,
Phone: +351218950060
Fax: +351218950061
