Language: Portuguese
Currency: Euro
Tips: Not obligatory. Typically 5-10%
Best time to visit: mid-spring to the end of October
Emergency contacts: 112
Where to stay
Thinking about where to stay? We’ve ended up choosing My Story Hotel Ouro. Perfect central location, not too loud, plus you could easily stroll along the river.
Things to try
- Pastel de Nata: Savor the delectable Portuguese custard tart that has won hearts worldwide.
- The Bifana: Sink your teeth into a traditional Portuguese sandwich, brimming with flavorful goodness.
- Green Wine: Quench your thirst with Portugal’s famous Vinho Verde, a light and refreshing green wine.
- Pastel de Bacalhau: A deep-fried codfish cake, typically made with codfish, potatoes, eggs, and parsley.
Favourite places
- Start one of the days with the visit to Castelo de S. Jorge. Buying online tickets in advance could help skip the queue. Just a few minutes from it there is a very small place The Bifanas of Afonso serving famous Portuguese Bifana sandwiches. Although the queue could be long, it moves very fast. They are cash only.
- Visit Santa Justa Lift. You could walk up the lift without a ticket and get a great view. Very close to the lift is Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau a famous chain to try Portugues fish cakes Pastel de Bacalhau.
- Evening strolls along the river: several shacks are prepping fresh pina coladas and serving them directly from pineapples. Beautiful sunsets.
- Espressolab Portugal is the coffee shop I visited every day during the trip. Sometimes, finding good coffee places is a game, luckily Lisbon had quite a few good ones. FÁBRICA COFFEE ROASTERS is another coffee place I visited a lot.
- If you already need a break from Portuguese cuisine at the Swaagat The Taste of India, I very much enjoyed my favourite butter chicken there.
- Check out the famous Bica Funicular.
- Nice walk along the river from Belem train station towards the Belém Tower on the way. Check out Tropical Botanical Garden if you are in the area. The entrance is not free, but it is very chill there and plenty of peacocks just casually walking around. Just around the corner of the entrance, there is a statue of pink men sitting on the fence.
- Visit LX Factory places with a modern vibe that used to be an industrial complex. Most of all I was impressed by the bookshop with a cafe, bar and music area.
- Time Out Market Lisboa is a great place to try various foods in one place. Could get a bit crowded tho depending on the time of the day, but there are some more chill restaurants just on the premises of the market.
- Visit the Pink Street. It is very pink, even the road is coloured pink and worth at least passing by, but could become very-very crowded, especially in the peak seasons.
Day trips
- Sintra is a must-visit when you are in Lisbon. It is a very easy train journey there. There are multiple palaces and castles you could visit there, but my favourites are the National Palace of Pena and Castelo dos Mouros. You would need to buy tickets to the palace, but the castle is free.
- Cabo da Roca – the end of the world. Picturesque views. You could easily combine the Sintra visit with Cabo da Roca or enjoy it on its own. A short drive from Caba da Roca is Moinho Dom Quixote a pretty restaurant with picturesque views.
- Cascais is a very train-friendly day trip destination. Visit the beach Praia da Rainha, walk along the coast to Boca do Inferno, and stop by Pedra da Nau.
