• Football mini-breaks

  • By Rob Crossan

  • Time Out picks the best places in Europe to watch the beautiful game


  • The cultural option
    The place Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
    The date
    April 29 2007
    The game Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon
    The ‘Derby de Capita’ is the biggest game in Portugal. The Eagles (Benfica) and the Lions’ long-running rivalry continues at the incredible Estadio da Luz (Stadium of Light) in April following a match at Sporting’s equally impressive home this December. Benfica’s stadium is known as ‘the cathedral’ to the fans. Opposition fans are always keen to mock Benfica for their unique mascot, Victoria the Eagle, who swoops around the stadium before landing back on her perch on the roof at kick-off. The ground holds an impressive 65,000 on derby day. The centre of Lisbon, with its art deco-era cafés, strong espressos and impressively liberal nightlife, is only 20 minutes away by Metro. Feature continues

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    Tickets Sporting Lisbon (www.sporting.pt). Ticket prices range from £37 to £50. Adega Machado (no website) Rua da Norte 91 (00 351 213 224 640). Open Tue-Sun 8pm-3am with music starting from 9.15pm each night.
    What to chant ‘Allez, allez, forca Benfica, allez, allez.’
    After the game No visit to Lisbon is complete without sampling the fado music scene. The best place to experience this, and the excessive drinking that goes with it, is Adega Machado. The walls are covered in photos of famous fado lovers, including Kirk Douglas.
    Where to stay The Bairro Alto (www.bairrohotel.com) is centrally located and is considered Lisbon’s first boutique hotel. Doubles from around £200 a night.
    Getting there EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) flies daily from Luton to Lisbon from £11.99 one way.

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1 comment

  1. Posted by SPORTING SEMPRE on 28 Nov 2006 10:32

    Why go to Estadio da Luz when you can go to the most beautiful stadium of Portugal... Estadio Jose de Alvalade? For some reason it was preferred to host of UEFA CUP FINAL 2005/06! Anyway if you go to benfica’s home, make sure you support SPORTING singing “So eu sei porque nao fico em casa” (Only I know why I didn’t stay at home)… if you do so you’ll have a big chance of picking a stunning girl up as they’re all SPOTING fans and usually go to the stadiums and take part in the game! SPORTING ALLEZ... RUMO A VITORIA SEMPRE!

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