Welcome to Sunny Lisbon!

Did you know that Lisbon has 290 days of sunshine a year and is the perfect blend between city and beach life? It’s true!

Cisco has had an office in Lisbon, Portugal since 1997 – the year I was born! These two great events just can’t be a coincidence, right? We are now home to over 600 Cisconians, who come from 35+ nationalities.

The Cisco office is in Lagoas Park, a business park just 20 minutes from the city center. We are now divided into several buildings within this ecosystem, but there are always plenty of events for everyone to come together and connect.

Wonder why we’ve been ranked as a #1 Best Place to Work for 7 years in a row? Wonder no more as I share more about our Lisbon offices with you here.

1. Where do most employees have lunch? Most Cisconians bring lunch from home and have it on our 1st floor e-café. It has a lot of natural light and is the perfect place to unwind when you don’t have much time to go outside.

2. If you want to go offsite for lunch/snack, where do you go? There are tons of places to eat around our office. If you don’t want to drive then Lagoas Park hosts everything from fancier Portuguese food to pizzas, healthy salads, sushi or the most delicious Portuguese pastries from Sacolinha. I can never pass up the Sacolinha’s Pasteis de Nata and miniature croissants, so I try not to pass in front of their doors too often.

3. Best coffee. Coffee fuels innovation. Where do I get some? We have a coffee area in each floor, so you don’t have to walk that much for that dose of caffeine you crave. Luckily, we have Nespresso coffee machines with many coffee options to choose from and also different types of teas. Our collection of Cisco mugs is also impressive so you can enjoy your morning coffee in style.

4. Where is the coolest spot to sit? Window seat with a view? The good thing about our office is that we have several ‘hot desks’, meaning they are not assigned to anyone. This way you can sit in a different place every day and experience the office from different angles and hang out with different colleagues. If you are looking for a refreshing view you should grab your laptop and head to the 3rd floor coffee area.

5. Where is the secret spot that we should visit in the building? Nap pods? Scrabble room? Everything is very straightforward and simple around here. But as far as ‘secrets’ go, a Cisconian of a Cisconian of a Cisconian told me that if you tap the wooden panels on

the 3rd floor three times then you can teleport into San Jose’s HQ. This has yet to be proven but we’re always on the cutting edge of the latest & greatest technology here at Cisco…

6. Fun fact about your building/location/city. (Largest office, most employees, how many employees in the location, etc.) Just a few months ago we opened the newest Customer Experience (CX) Center here in Lisbon, so as you can imagine our site is rapidly growing. And with 600+ employees from over 35 different countries, this is the place to get the best travel tips! We also were lucky enough to have our CEO, Chuck Robbins (2018) and former CEO, John Chambers (2016) in town not too long ago. Still till this day our office is represented in Chuck’s LinkedIn profile.

7. If you’re visiting from another Cisco location or interviewing from out of town, what’s the best hotel to stay in? The closest hotel is Lagoas Park Hotel, within the same business park. It has everything you need for a nice stay in the area. If you want to explore a bit further you should check out Vila Galé Collection Palácio Dos Arcos, a 5-star hotel in a century-old palace. It has a superb river view and amazing gardens and outdoor pool, walking distance from the beach – watching the sunset from their gardens is something else!

8. If you’re staying an extra day or two, what’s the one tourist spot to hit? You can’t come to Lisbon without visiting Sintra. Sintra is a real-life postcard filled with fine architecture, monuments, museums and hidden treasures. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Save a full day to get to know Sintra as you will find yourself getting lost in all the secrets to uncover. Cascais is also a lovely place to check out – Casino Estoril, for instance, is the largest Casino in Europe and it inspired Ian Flemming while he was writing James Bond – Casino Royale.

9. What’s the dress code like? Jeans? Biz casual? (But remember, always look sharp if you’re interviewing!) That highly depends on your role, and whether you interact with customers or not. You can never go wrong with business casual but add your personal touch to it, we love to get a glimpse of everyone’s personality!

10. Is there a gym nearby? Trails to walk? How can you get your steps in to impress fitbit? We do have some gyms nearby, but you must take advantage of our sunny weather. If you like running, we have a Running Club here at Cisco Portugal that gets together weekly. It’s the best way to exercise after a workday while enjoying the outdoors with your fellow Cisconians. If you fancy surfing, we do have some pretty cool beaches nearby and some of our colleagues can guide you.

 

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