Lisbon has become an incredibly popular travel destination over the last few years, given the city’s friendly atmosphere, delicious food, affordable lodging, and extensive activities. I spent two weeks this past autumn crisscrossing all over Europe, and Lisbon was hands down my favorite location. Keep reading and you’ll see why.
My boyfriend and I visited Lisbon at the beginning of October, as part of a longer Europe trip. I highly recommend early October for a visit – we had nothing but perfect weather every day (high 70s, with no humidity).
We spent a total of four days in Lisbon (including one day trip to Sintra and Cascais – more details on that later). I had heard that the city was vibrant, affordable, and wildly popular amongst digital nomads. But I fell in love with the friendly culture, the abundance of azulejos, and beauty of the different neighborhoods (Barrio Alto and Chiada being my favorites).
Where to Stay:
For lodging, my boyfriend and I generally stay at either hotels or Airbnb properties, depending on what we are looking to get out of a city. For Lisbon, we stayed in an Airbnb (link below), which was great because we immediately felt like locals (and I could do laundry!).
I picked our Airbnb based on the abundant 5 star reviews (this is so important!) but did not really register how central the location was until I showed up. Upon arrival, we realized that we had booked an Airbnb overlooking one of the most iconic views in Lisbon: Rua da Bica de Duarte Belo!
By the way, there are two famous yellow trolleys that traverse up and down Rue da Bica – one is shiny clean and yellow (pictured above), and the other is covered in graffiti. The trolleys switch places every thirty minutes, so if you want a photo with the cleaner one, you might have to be patient!
If you aren’t able to nab this exact Airbnb, it is not the end of the world – you’ll see no shortage of yellow trolleys during your time in Lisbon. (But I had a great time hanging out our window and watching the trolley trek up and down our street.) Generally, when visiting Lisbon I would recommend staying in the neighborhoods of Barrio Alto (where I stayed), Chiado, or Alfama. These are all centrally located in the Old Town and great jumping-off points for exploring (you’ll be doing a lot of walking wherever you go in Lisbon – get ready to have calves of steel!).
What to Eat:
We kicked off our first full day bright and early with a staple Portuguese delicacy – pastel de nata. Pastel de nata are small custard egg tart pastries. You’ll see these everywhere in Lisbon, so it won’t be that hard to find some time to try them. Ultimately, we tried them on Day 1 “just because,” then ended up eating pasteis (the plural for pastel) for breakfast every single day for the remainder of our trip.
For a breakfast that is not pasteis de nata, I recommend one of the cuter brunch cafes: Hello, Kristof or Dear Breakfast. We stopped at Hello, Kristof for breakfast one day and ordered the prix fixe option (which included one beverage, one pastry, and one breakfast entrée). There were a lot of cool magazines to peruse and the spot had a very open and friendly feel, with a lot of larger tables being shared amongst strangers.
For dinner our first night, we had already made a reservation at Tapa Bucho in Barrio Alto. This place was absolutely delicious (even though it was Spanish food, not Portuguese). I highly recommend getting a meal here if you are in Lisbon. I don’t have any photos of the food we ate, because we demolished it in about 14 seconds.
Another dinner spot we loved was Versículo d’O Faia in Barrio Alto, which served seafood and steak and was a bit nicer restaurant than average. Our dinner spanned multiple courses and delicious from start to finish. We managed to walk-in here without a reservation, but it was certainly crowded, even on a Tuesday night.
One small note: this restaurant only accepted cash. But there was an ATM right across the street, so I stopped there to refill my wallet after filling my stomach.
I’ve come across a lot of Lisbon blogs that recommend going to Taberna da Rua das Flores for dinner, which is also located in Barrio Alto. This spot does not take reservations, and my boyfriend and I did try to put our names in, but were overwhelmed by the queue and the relatively brusque mannerisms of the host. From talking to other people on the street who were waiting for a table, it seems that guests generally start putting their names down here at 4:30pm in order to nab a 8pm table…in my opinion, that’s a lot of advance planning for a “walk-in” spot. If you have a lot of time to spend in Lisbon, I think you should definitely wait around one evening and see what all the hype for this place is about. But if you’re only visiting Lisbon for a few days, I don’t think waiting in a four-hour dinner line is worth it when there is so much amazing food in Lisbon.
Where to Shop:
An absolute must-do activity in Lisbon is to check out the azulejos – and luckily, they are everywhere, so you couldn’t miss them if you tried!
Before arriving in Lisbon, I thought tiles were fine – I didn’t particularly have a strong feeling for them one way or another (tiles? the waterproof squares on the walls in my bathroom? yeah, cool, I guess). But after seeing beautifully tiled building facades across Lisbon, and just the general caliber of the porcelain / ceramic work that the city proudly displayed, I feel head-over-heels in love.
I went to as many tile stores as possible while I was in Lisbon. Some of my favorites were: The Lisbon Shop, d’Orey Azulejos, Lisbon’s Tiles, and Solar Antiques. My boyfriend joked that my suitcase on the way home had no room for clothes in it, just tiles…I don’t care. They were so beautiful. I have a few hanging up in my apartment now, and they always bring me happiness when I glance at them. I suggest picking up a few as souvenirs for family and friends (…or for yourself!)
I loved the tiles so much, I even started to dress like one.
Other than tiles, some great Portuguese souvenirs to pick up include olive oil, salt, sardine-shaped chocolates, wine corks, anything with a rooster on it…the list goes on. A Vida Portuguesa is a really cute store selling a variety of Portuguese goods; we purchased a number of gifts for family and friends here.
Activities: Take a trip down the Tagus River
For one of our evenings in Lisbon, we booked a two-hour sunset sailboat cruise down the Tagus River. There are many options for tours like this – as long as you pick one with good reviews that suits your preferred timeline, I don’t think you can go wrong. But it was a beautiful spot to watch the sun set with a glass of wine.
Once the sun sets, it gets cold on the water – bring a jacket!
Day Trips from Lisbon:
I highly recommend planning to stay for enough time in Lisbon to allow yourselves to get out of the city for one day. We rented a car and did a mini road trip to Sintra (approximately a 30 minute drive from Lisbon) as well as to Cascais (20 minutes from Sintra, then 30 minutes back from Cascais to Lisbon).
Sintra & The National Palace of Pena
Most people visit Sintra on a day trip from Lisbon to tour the palaces of Portuguese royalty that were built during the 1800s, specifically Pena Palace. Located at the top of the highest hill in Sintra, the Palace of Pena sits like a crown gem overlooking the region…and it’s pretty much an amazing photography shot from any angle. The bright exterior and decorative tiles are distinct and unforgettable.
Unsurprisingly, Pena Palace draws a crowd. We had an 11am visit slot booked (to reserve tickets for a time slot to see Pena Palace, click here) and our visit included a lot of waiting in lines and a lot of waiting for people to get out of our photograph frames.
After visiting Pena Palace, we also stopped by one of the smaller palaces in the area, Monserrate Palace. This was a nice addition to the day in my opinion, because there were no crowds at this second palace at all. We took a lovely stroll through the grounds and admired the palace and nature without interruption. It was nice to take some time away from the other tourists, even if we only spent 45 minutes here (if that).
We visited the Pena Palace and Monserrate palace during the morning/early afternoon in a Saturday. There were no good food options at the palaces (Pena Palace has a small rooftop cafeteria, but the food is prepackaged and honestly horrible. We choked down a cheese sandwich here for the sole purpose of not fainting, so I would not rely on this spot for sustenance). At around 1pm, we drove down the hill from the palaces and grabbed lunch in the adorable town of Sintra at Tascantiga, a tapas spot voted “Best Restaurant With A View in Sintra.” We walked in without a reservation at lunchtime on a Saturday, so there wasn’t any outdoor seating available for us to experience the view. However, the host found a table for us inside and the food was absolutely delicious.
After grabbing lunch, we strolled around the town of Sintra – I highly recommend trying Ginja, which is a Portuguese sour cherry liquor. There were many small shops that sold “shots” of Ginja and it was a cute and fun pick-me-up after our morning spent climbing palace stairs in the hot sun.
Cascais: Easy to Combine in a Day Trip with Sintra
After spending an hour or two strolling around the town of Sintra, we hopped back in the car and drove twenty minutes along the coast to Cascais, a small beach town on the Portuguese Riviera. Cascais was a little touristy and crowded along the main shopping streets (especially on a Saturday afternoon), but the off-the-beaten-path winding back streets were some of the most vibrant and charming sights I have ever experienced.
Isn’t the tiled wave pattern on the streets of Cascais beautiful? Portugal was full of quirky, decorative surprises like this.
We ate dinner in Cascais at the Restaurante Hifen, which was situated overlooking the water and had some really incredible cocktails. Every menu item we ordered was innovative and different from anything I’d ever had before – I really liked the fig salad.
Lastly, make sure you save time to loiter…
Save some time to just wander around! There were incredibly beautiful vistas around every corner we turned in Lisbon, and all of my favorite ones were those that we stumbled across accidentally. Here are a few of my favorites:
I loved Lisbon so much that I am already planning a trip back to Portugal to spend a week in Porto next month. Let me know what you think!
