Up until now, Barcelona has always been my favourite city in Europe, but Lisbon is a high contender after our recent visit. It’s such a chilled out, culture-filled European capital.
I booked a mystery trip to surprise my better half for his birthday and we had a smashing weekend. Although usually I’d have city breaks pretty well planned in advance, this one was just impromptu all the way. Lisbon is a lovely city to just wander in, but here’s a list of our highlights and tips to help you plan a visit (link to our whole itinerary at end of post).
Lovely Lisbon Highlights
Miradouro da Santa Luzia affords you the best free panoramic views of Lisbon. For a slightly more elevated view, pay in to the Castelo de São Jorge – recommended time to visit is sunset (always😁)
Free walking tour
Go on a free walking tour with Take Lisbon (see the main sights), or with Chillout Lisbon (authentic city tour through the eyes of a local). We choose Chillout as it covers all the main neighbourhoods in one tour: Chiado, Bairro Alto, Baixa and Alfama. The meeting point was 10am at Praça Luís de Camões, they also offer afternoon, music, literature and pub tours, check out: https://www.lisbon-chillout-freetour.com/Tours
Park Bar
Heading to Park Bar for sunset is a must. Located on the top floor of a multi-storey car park, the tunes are loud, the cocktails are strong and it’s the perfect terrace to watch the sun go down over Lisbon. Address: 58 Calçada do Combro
Cake
For the best chocolate cake in the World, head to Landeau (70 Rua das Flores) (According to the NY Times). Obviously with such a high claim, we were obliged to deliberate and it was damn good, super moussey.
Tram like a local
The “tourist tram” is the no.28, the tram everyone rides to see the length of Lisbon- we did this on day 1, and walked back from Martim Moniz. It can be very busy, and rather rollercoaster-like, but it’s a great way to orientate yourself. €2.90 on board or €1.45 with a Viagem card (see below).
Sintra & Pena Palace
We took a day trip to Sintra and Pena Palace one of the days we were in town. I’ll write a separate post on this, but a day trip to Sintra (43min, €5 train ride) and Pena Palace is well worth the trip. Super charming and easy to do yourself.
TimeOut Lisbon
TimeOut Lisbon is unmissable- a big food hall with dozens of food and drink stalls, including some from Michelin star chefs. The gems we found were all located on the back wall:
Alexandra Silva– I had the seared tuna with sweet potato and kimchi, it was incredible.
Miguel Castro e Silva – get the Francesina de Carne Assada, toasted roast pork sandwich covered in melted cheese, port-infused tomato sauce and a fried egg (May induce food coma🙊).
Henrique sa Passoa – good fish and meat options
All the drink stalls are located in the middle of the hall, beer is €3.50, cocktails from €6
Campo Ourique
Campo Ourique (last stop on Tram 28) is the local equivalent of Timeout market, and so a bit cheaper.
Arris Wine Bar in Bairro Alto does a great steak and fries (just don’t ask for a g&t like me or the waiter will remind you it’s a wine bar 🙈).
For a light lunch on the go, grab a slice of healthy pizza at Romana (44 Rua de Conciçao) – made using milled organic flour, with a variety of toppings to choose from. We went with one with zucchini, mozzarella & sundried tomato and one with ham.
Coffee gems
Fábrica (Rua das Flores 63) was the best coffee we had in Lisbon (himself is a coffee conosseur and did his research 🙂 ) http://www.fabricacoffeeroasters.com/
Copenhagen Coffee Lab (10 R. Nova da Piedade) was also 👌🏻 very laid back and good to chill in http://copenhagencoffeelab.com/
Casa Pereira was recommended by our tour guide but was closed Sunday when we passed – try the Minas Gerais coffee and buy beans here if you like.
Getting from the airport
Uber is both popular and cheap in Portugal. MyTaxi also works. The metro and tram systems are handy, but our taxi from the airport late Thursday cost €10 and took 25mins, super easy.
Getting around
Pick up a Viva Viagem card at metro, bus, ferry or train stations (and some PayShop selling points) for €0.50 and save half the cost on trams, buses, trains (including to Sintra), funiculars, ferries. When you purchase, you’ll be asked how much you want to put on it. You can top up by whatever amount needed (as little as one journey for €1.45) or 24 hour unlimited use is €6. The credit is valid for one year, and the balance is refundable at the end of your trip.
Stay at
We stayed at a cute apartment right in the middle of the party area, Bairro Alto. There was no noise audible from the apartment and the location was absolutely perfect – within walking distance to everywhere. When booking, I would recommend Bairro Alto, Chiado or perhaps Alfama as ideal locations to base yourself. Here is where we stayed.
Itinerary
Download our full interactive itinerary at https://go.sygic.com/travel/trip?id=5b830af89dd3c enjoy!
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