Lisbon, Portugal – what to visit

Hey hey, I hope you enjoyed my previous blog post about the south part of Portugal. To continue I will tell you how my Portuguese fairy tale ended and what to visit while in Lisbon, Portugal. As mentioned, our adventure finished in Lisbon. We spent there less than three days but it was enough to fall in love with this city. It is such a magical place! The spirit of the city is amazing! I don’t know if you felt this before, but there are places you bond with immediately, it feels so natural to be there, to live there, places that feel like home. This is how I felt in Lisbon.

Lisbon extends over seven steep hills, and from these high vantage points, there are many wonderful views over the historic city. Do you remember that we are panoramic view lovers? Good! Now you can imagine what a paradise was Lisbon for us! Basically you can admire the city from everywhere! And the sunsets…oh God, the sunsets in Lisbon are marvelous!

Lisbon is famous for its trams. The most iconic line is N28.

There are several lines in the city so you can choose which one to take. It is a pleasant way of transportation and you can also enjoy the beauty of the city along the way.

One of my favorite view points in Lisbon is definitely Miradouro de Santa Luzia. It looks towards the Alfama district which is one of the most picturesque neighborhoods in Lisbon. From Porta do Sol you can see the river and its bridges and the whole color palette of the town. Bairro do Castelo or the castle district is a wonderful area to walk around. There are many narrow streets, hidden restaurants and lots of handmade souvenir shops. The sellers are nice and friendly and you can practice your Portuguese skills because some of them are struggling in English.

We were on our way to the Caste – Sao Jorge.

The entrance was 8 euros back then (2016) but the views from the top are definitely worth to be seen. I’ve never been to San Francisco but from the pictures I’ve seen online it definitely reminds me of this city – the bridge over the river, the trams, the hills…

Another amazing view point is Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara.

It is a busy area, but the local guitar players make it a really special place! I really enjoyed this part of the city!

Going up from Placa Rossio to Bairro alto there is a funicular which is really popular among the tourists and it is the biggest tourist trap ever. The ride takes no more than 3 minutes and it costs around 3-4 euros (at least back then). You can easily walk your way up, without waiting for the funicular, it will take you no more than 10 minutes to reach bairro alto.

This area is one of the most vibrant nightlife areas of Lisbon. Quite hipster, many small cute bars, young people, colorful restaurants and stunning views over the night lights of Lisbon.

Time out market is also a must see location.

To be honest we found it by chance, we read about it, but we were not planning to go there, as our schedule was quite busy, but on our way to the Belem district we bumped into it and went inside. And we were lucky! It is a local market where you can try many local dishes, to sit with friends for a beer or to buy different Portuguese traditional products.

Lisbon was the first European city where I’ve seen tuk-tuk taxis.

We decided that it will be a nice and refreshing way of transportation and took one. They are a bit more expensive than a normal taxi and definitely you need to bargain a bit before jumping in, but the ride is special and you can see more of the city. The tuk-tuk drivers are quite crazy and they love speeding up which makes it really exciting, you feel like flying away from the car all the time. Scary but exciting!

Belem neighborhood is located far from the city center and it takes around half an hour or more to get there. There is located Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, impressive monastery. If you decide you can go inside, but as usual there is a queue and an entrance tax. Close to the monastery you can find the famous Belem tower.

Now, this monument is really impressive! The whole area is very unique – beautiful gardens, many fountains, small lake with ducks, the river and its bridges, street art graffiti and many more. 

Right next to the monastery there is the most popular pasteleria in Lisbon – pasteis de Belem . 

The place is founded in 1837 and since then they are producing the typical pastel of Lisbon. The place is authentic but really famous and the queue is looong. You can try to go inside and sit for a while, because the take away queue can take hours.  As i mentioned several times already I don’t like sweets so I couldn’t appreciate it that much, but people said that the dessert was good.

If you are looking for restaurant/bar recommendations where to go, here I will share some of the places we visited and enjoyed. I will not share prices, because it was two years ago and maybe they are not relevant any more (not that I remember how much we payed anyway 😀 ) :

• Lost in Esplanada bar – cool rooftop bar located in bairro alto, amazing view, creative interior design and chill music
• Locanda Italiana – the place is located in the old part of the city, the area is quite touristic, this makes it hard to find a decent place to eat, but we liked it. The food was nice, the prices were normal and the service was really good.
• Restaurante Take Away O Guerreiro – this one is located close to the castle and as you can imagine the area is really touristic and if you can avoid eating there – better, but if you are really hungry, the place was nice back then. I saw the recent comments and maybe now the service is not that good, but for us it was ok.
• Sky Bar Lisboa – my favorite rooftop bar in Lisbon. It is relatively posh place, but the environment is really nice and the view is amazing. It is always full of people, but if you go on time you can find a spot. Could be a good idea to reserve a table if you prefer.

Another local thing to be tasted is Ginjinha or simply Ginja, which is a portuguese liqueur made by infusing ginja berries, (sour cherry) in alcohol (aguardente is used) and adding sugar together with other ingredients. Sometimes it is served in small shot cups made of chocolate.

If you like fado music – there are a lot of bars where you can go and enjoy the live performance.

Part of our group had more time in Lisbon and they went to Sintra, which is a beautiful city close to Lisbon famous for its colorful castles. I left it for my next visit, because I fell in love with Lisbon from a first sight and I would definitely go back again!

See you soon when Travelista goes to…