THE LISBON GUIDE
Lisbon is a city made of dreamy pastel patterns, cobblestone hills, and warm magical sunsets. We spent five days here and it was the perfect amount of time to explore the city and a few smaller surrounding towns. These are the highlights from our trip!
see + do
Lisbon
São Jorge Castle is a Moorish hilltop castle overlooking the historic center of Lisbon. It’s not a far climb to get to this hilltop and the view of the city and Ponte 25 de Abril is unbeatable!
Day trip to Sintra
My favourite part of the day trip by far was when we visited Quinta da Regaleira. Besides having absolutely stunning plants and flowers it had waterfalls and a really cool pond that you could walk across. It’s a peculiar, inspiring and in a spectacular adventure! One of my favourite places I’ve ever been. Definitely worth the 45-ish minute trip to Sintra!
The Castle of the Moors is a hilltop medieval castle located in the central Portuguese civil parish of Santa Maria e São Miguel, in the municipality of Sintra, about 25km northwest of Lisbon.
Day Trip to Cascais
Cascais has a range of beautiful sandy beaches. It's located in a little town bustling with restaurants and little shops!
Wine Tasting in Setubal
We loved the With Local's Wine Tour we did in the historic area of Setubal! The tour guide picks you up and drives you about 40 minutes to two family-owned vineyards and one family own liqueur establishment. We tried many types of Portuguese wines, tasted grapes right off the vine, and spent the day with two incredibly knowledgeable tour guides!
eat + drink
First things first, you have to try the Pastel de Nata’ (custard tarts) as soon as you arrive! The famous place to buy these is the Pastéis de Belém, however, due to high demand, these are now mass produced and don’t compare to many other handmade options in the city! We loved the pastel de nata from Manteigaria.
This place caught my eye one morning as we were walking to the train station. They have a beautiful cafe upstairs and a unique stationery shop underneath. How cute is the pastry board?!
Time Out Market Lisboa is a food hall located in the Mercado da Ribeira. We loved the stall called O Prego da Peixaria because they offer a traditional Portuguese sandwich with a modern spin on it.
One of the most spectacular places to enjoy a sunset in Lisbon is at Park Bar. It’s a hip cocktail bar located on the top floor of a parking garage. Make sure you arrive early to avoid the crowd and not miss the sunset over the city!
Nicolas and I had some of the best Mexican food at Pistola y Corazon in Lisbon! If you've been traveling for a while and want a cool atmosphere with some serious comfort food, this is the place to go!
In search for some local seafood and not wanting to resort to the internet to find something, we set out on a walk to find a restaurant that caught our eye. Eventually, we stumbled upon Oficina and were immediately sold on their charming European sidewalk tables and elegantly lit string lights. The service was excellent and the food was fantastic! It was a pleasant surprise!
shop
This shop’s interior is adorable and located in the heart of the Lisbon shopping area! They sell a variety of soaps, blankets, food and much more!
LX Factory is quite a unique place filled with restaurants, cafés, galleries, and shops.
stay
During our stay in Lisbon, we stayed in a historic flat right in the heart of the city! We rented Vera’s apartment using Airbnb. There are so many other great Airbnb options in Lisbon, the locals really took advantage to restore the old apartment for their visitors, but I highly recommend Vera’s for a short stay!