The Lisbon City Guide

Olá From the Capital…

The Lisbon city guide is a long time coming. Considering that we went last year, it’s taken a while for me to commit it to the blog. However, we’re finally here and the guide is on the blog.

However, since looking back I’m going to need to split this trip up to cover everything. We went outside the capital and it needs a whole post to cover the entire adventure.

I can’t wait to take a stroll down memory lane and relive our Lisbon trip. It was such a gorgeous place to visit and I can’t wait to go back. There’s so much we didn’t get to see, so it’s on the list to travel back to.

How to Get Around.

From the UK, the best way is to fly. We went from Manchester Airport, parking up and leaving from Terminal One. Manchester Airport is about an hour drive from our house and there’s plenty of places to stay overnight if you have an early flight. I believe you can also fly from Leeds Bradford Airport, but to be honest, Lisbon is accessible from pretty much every UK airport. The flight is about two- three hours long, easy one to bing a movie or two during the plane ride.

Timezone wise, it’s the same as the UK, which through me off when we landed. I was waiting for the clocks to change and it never happened. It was great in the long run, no jet lag, and pretty much meant we could get up and at it exploring the city.

Speaking of the city, the easiest way to travel is by the Metro. It’s so simple and cheap to use, we pretty much travelled on it every single day. We did take a taxi to and from the airport for ease, but other than that, it was public transport, trains or walking. Speaking of walking, there’s a lot of it and it’s uphill. Pack comfortable shoes. Lisbon really isn’t the place for fashionable shoes. We did a lot of walking and our feet were sore by the end of the day. Perhaps we could have paced the different areas, sticking to one spot for one day. We did dart across the place, which maybe didn’t help our feet.

Where to Stay.

For places to call home in Lisbon, you cannot go wrong with Browns Avenue Hotel. This hotel is a gem hidden in the city. There’s a rooftop pool, a bar and a simply gorgeous hotel. The comfy room is surprisingly spacious, the coffee is good and bathroom is gorgeous. And we know my feelings on hotel bathrooms.

Location wise, it’s right in the middle of boutique shops and a half an hour walk to the coast line. The hotel is modern and ideal for staying. Whilst there are authentic Airbnb, sometimes hotel take the hassle out of things, allowing you to take in everything the city has to offer.

Where to Explore.

Oh man, this is going to be the chunk of my Lisbon city guide. There is so much this place has to offer.

Let’s start with the coast, where there’s some great food, history points and shopping. To get there, walk down Rua Do Alecrim. You get a great vista point of the sea, Pink Street is off it and you can get a great shot of the umbrella’s from above and the train station is right at the bottom. Arco da Rua Augusta is a short walk along the coast and Lisbon Cathedral is a stone’s throw away.

During our visit we also visited Lisbon’s National Museum of Science & Natural history, which is a gorgeous building and stunning gardens. A great place for children and to get out of the sunshine if it gets too much for you.

One of the main things we did was take ourselves on a day trip to Sintra. It’s less than an hour train ride away and is a stunning place to explore. The two things you want to hit up is the colour castle (National Palace of Pena) and Quinta da Regaleira, which is home to Initiation Well that is stunning to see. Both places get busy quickly so it’s a toss up of which one you want to see and which you don’t mind fighting crowds. My top tip would be to plan in an overnight stay in the town, there’s some gorgeous places to go eat and you can go see one place on day one and then the other day two.

Sintra is also home to some great nature trails and is worth taking in by foot. However, everything is quite far away from each other, so if you don’t like hiking or are not an expert at it, I’d recommend taking the bus system. There’s several routes that loop you around and it costs around five euros for an all day pass.

Sadly, we miss some points, due to not realising how far out they were. Again, any excuse to go back. Some places I definitely want to hit up in the future are Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery and National Tile Museum.

Where to Eat.

The best thing about Lisbon is that you won’t be stuck for places to eat. I could list a plethora of places, however, I’m going to stick to my top choices. The first is Comadre, a choice of my husband’s. Very speak-easy, hidden behind a mirror. The menu is great, and the cocktails/ mocktails are beautiful. I’d highly recommend booking as a surprise if you’re travelling with a partner.

Another place of choice is Pomme Eatery. We went here on our last night and it was one of the best meals we had. Fresh food, and Mediterranean flavours, I highly recommend checking it out. And order the peach burrata.

Of course, no visit to Lisbon is complete without visiting Time Out Market. A mixture of casual dining, with some fine dining options. We ate there on the first night, and several lunches and dinners whilst we were staying there. The best pasta de natas are sold there so you have to check them out.

If you visit Sintra, you have to have lunch at Tascantiga. There are no reservations, big queues at lunchtime, but for good reasons. The food was incredible, fresh fish and salads which were delicious. Highly recommend trying it out if you visit the countryside.

Honestly, you cannot go wrong with the food in Lisbon. Plus the coffee options are perfect. Lots of independent places to check out, I’d check out my Instagram Highlights for the places that my husband recommends (he is the coffee expert).

Lisbon City Guide.

There are so many pictures I could show off in this Lisbon city guide, most I’m documenting in photo albums as we speak. Until next time Portugal.