A guide to Lisbon
I didn’t know much about Portugal or Lisbon before my trip… In fact, I didn’t do much research at all, and this is something I was very grateful for, because whatever expectations I may have had, were absolutely blown away by the reality.
It turned out to be so much more than hilly streets and trams, in fact, it is now one of my favourite cities in Europe. Its rich history, intricate facades, friendly people, as well as insanely delicious food and picturesque beaches makes Lisbon a perfect place to spend your holiday. If you’re planning on visiting this incredible city, here is everything you need to know.
Where to stay.
When it comes to accomodation, whether you stay in a hotel, hostel or airbnb, I would reccomend to stay in Baixia. This was a very friendly, safe area, which is located perfectly in the middle of all the main attractions. There are plenty of shops, cafes, restaraunts and subway stations nearby.
Tip: when you stay in an airbnb, you are required to pay a €2 tourist tax, per person and per night. So don’t be surprised when this is tacked onto the final price.
For transporation, I would highly recommend to get a Viva Viagem Card which you can use on busses, trams, metro and ferries (and sometimes elevators). This can be purchased at the metro stations around town.
Free walking tour of Lisbon.
If you are new to Lisbon, I would highly recommend to do a free walking tour to get the lay of the land. We did a tour with Guru walk as one of our first activities, and this included tastings of the local cuisines and spirits along the way. We walked for about 4 hours, so we covered a lot of ground and learnt some incredible facts about Lisbon’s history.
One of the most fascinating and devastating events occured in 1755 - the Lisbon Earthquake which was estimated at a magnitude of 7.7, and resulted in a tsunami, fires being picked up by winds, crumbling buildings, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. We got to visit the areas like Baixia which was heavily affected by the earthquake and had to be completely re-built, as well as areas like Alfama, which remained largely unaffected.
The relentless hills and thousands of steps were rewarded by a taste of the famous Portuguese tarts called Pastel de Nata (buttermilk pie), and Ginjinha de Obidos - a cherry liquor in little chocolate cups, which was served by sweet Portuguese grannies (yes, you can eat the cup once you drink the shot!).
During the tour we got to visit the main attractions like:
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Elevador de Santa Justa is a hugely popular attraction in Lisbon and you will find that there is a line spanning at least 50 m there at all times of the day. This 19th century elevator was built to transport passengers 45 metres down from one street to another. Now, you can ride the lift for €5 or do it for free by scanning your metro card. Once you get to the top level, you get to see a stunning view of the city and then make your way down.
It is a really cool experience to go up the lift however if you don’t particularly care about the elevator ride and want to get the same view without having to wait in line, there is a back staircase near Casa Portuguessa which leads to the exact same lookout that you can enter without having to wait.
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This magnificent Arch is a key attraction in Lisbon. Although we didn’t do this with the tour, you can climb the arch to get an epic view.
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Praça do Comércio is a beautiful square right next to Arco da Rua Augusta, which faces out onto the ocean and provides a stunning view of sailboats and offers a range of restaraunts and cafes.
Castelo de Sao Jorge
The Castle of Lisbon is one of the oldest structures in the city, which dates back to the 11th century!
The castle stands on the top of Lisbon’s highest hill and offers incredible views of the entire city from above. The structure started out as a fortification wall built by the Romans, was later rebuilt by the Moors, and after seeing damage from not one, but two earthquakes, was again rebuilt in the 20th century.
The Castle’s main residents are the stunning peacoks which strut around, quite unbothered by the presence of tourists. This site is certainly worth visiting, but I would definitely recommend to pay for a tour if you are a bit of a history buff.
Fado Night
If you’re going to Portugal, you have to experience a Fado night concert while eating a local Portuguese dish, which is most likely to be fish. Fado is a singing style which originated from the sea fairing sailor’s wives who sang about being separated from their loved ones, and has a very melancholy tone to it. It is beautiful and I would absolutely recommend to book this experience. We watched some Fado performers during dinner at Fermentação.
Food and drinks
Portugal is one of the biggest consumers of fish in the whole world, so expect to see a lot of seafood. If you’re wanting to try some traditional Portuguese dishes here is a little tip - go for the restaraunts with a chalkboard menu hung by the front door. This means that the menu changes daily and is likely run by a local Portugese owner, who bases their menu for the day on the freshest produce in the market. Here are some more recommendations below:
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Fabrica de Nata is said to be the best pastel de nata place in the whole of Lisbon! The pastels were originally produced by monks who closely guarded the original reciple. This recipe is allegedly known by a handful of places, one of which being Fabrica de Nata.
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If you are feeling like going out for dinner, but don’t quite know what kind of food you’d like to eat check out the Timeout Market. It is an undercover market with dozens and dozens of different food options from Italian, to traditional Portuguese, and Asian cuisines.
They also serve wines and cocktails and have a number of dessert stands including cookies ice cream and cakes. It is also a great area to check out on the way to or from the market as there is loads of bars, live music, and you are likely to walk through famous umbrella street on the way!
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If you want more Weston style of food for for brunch, check out Breakfast Lovers Misericórdia. This place offers a great view of the quaint streets with trams going by and has a great selection of food, as well as a great vibe inside.
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A Parreirinha do Paraíso is a great local restaraunt which we stumbled upon by accident, and let me tell you, its about as authentic as it gets! We were the only tourists, there was no english menu and the prices were incredibly low. So if you want to eat like a local Lisbonian, this is the place to go!
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You probably wouldn’t notice Sal Grosso if you passed it on the street, but this hole in the wall restaraunt came VERY highly recommended as a place to have some delicious Portugese cuisine. You will absolutely need to make a reservation because this place is booked out well in advance.
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Grom is a great ice cream shop which we actually discoevered in Italy, but it has been consistently amazing across the countries. Great for a little snack a cool down in the afternoon.
LX Factory
LX Factory used to be a huge industrial area, which has now been converted to a lively hub of bars, restaraunts and pubs, which often hosts music, fashion and media events. This is a great area to hang out in during the evening, and we particularly liked the look of Mex Factory for dinner, but couldn’t get in without a booking. We had a drink on the rooftop of LX hostel, which offered an amazing view (p.s. it does get a little chilly at night, even in summer, so make sure to bring a jacket!).
Sintra
I cannot stress this enough - you are absolutely not allowed to visit Lisbon without doing a day trip to Sintra. This was one of the most magical places I have ever visited. At every turn we discovered something so beautiful and out of this world that I couldn’t believe it was real.
We took a one hour train out of Lisbon to get there (make sure to get to the train early if you want to get a seat). Back in the day, this municipality was a popular destination for the royal family, so it harbours a series of palaces and beautiful landmarks on the mountainous areas among forest. There is a lot of ground to cover so I honestly would’ve liked to stay there for a few days. If you want a breakdown of what to do in Sintra click here to read more.
Visit the beaches
One of the great things about Lisbon is that it is situated on the Atlantic ocean and therefore you have access to some gorgeous beaches. However, what we didn’t realise on this trip was that the really good beaches were either a train or a car ride away and would take at least an hour to get to, so don’t expect to have a beach on your doorstep if you’re staying in the centre of town.
We ended up taking the train to Paço de Arcos which only took 20 minutes on the train, and offered a unique experience of being in the ocean while still seeing the colourful houses and city views of Lisbon. Visiting the beaches is 100% worth it, the water is really clean but much colder than expected!
A stunning and more secluded beach which we were recommended to go to by a local, is Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo. He said that this was the best beach in Lisbon, however to get there, you have to drive for 45 minutes or take a 3 hour train (if we had more time, we would’ve definitely checked it out!).
Image credit: Vaga Mundos