We arrived in Lisbon via train from Porto. It took around 3.5 hours. Even though there was no air con on the train it wasn’t too bad. We bought the Lisboa pass for 3 days and I think it’s pretty worth it as long as you use the transportation lots and go to at least 5+ sites. The buses and trams are really easy to take and they come quite often. There are people who check your tickets inside the buses and trams sometimes so make sure you tap inside. For the Lisboa pass you must get the physical card at their many offices. It activates once you visit the first site or tap it on transportation.
When leaving the hotel to the airport, we took a Bolt as it was early in the morning and we didn’t want to miss our flight. The Bolt took quite a while to come (around 20-30 minutes) and took around 30 minutes to get to the airport because of traffic. The good thing was it only cost me around 6 euros.
We stayed at the My Story Hotel Ouro and the location was perfect. You can read more about it in my review.
MUST VISIT:
- Praco do Comercio – this is the main square in Lisbon. This is an important square that was built after the earthquake. The people have held many political rallies here. The Arco da Rua Augusta can be seen from here. At the Cais das Colunas you see the spectacular views.
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Tip: Come during sunset to see the view
- Palacio Nacional da Ajuda – this palace is a bit out of the way but I think it’s worth the trek out here if you have the Lisboa pass. You get to see all the amazing rooms in the palace and the view from here is also beautiful. You get a little sneak peak into Lisboa’s past and how the royalty in Portugal used to live. It’s also nice because not a lot of tourists come here
- Duration: 1-2 hours
- Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara – very nice viewpoint. Lots of benches to sit and enjoy. There’s also little restaurants etc. Where you can buy drinks to enjoy the view with
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Tip: watch the sunset here
- Mercado de Santa Clara – HUGE flea market. They sell a lot of things here from CD’s to pottery to jewelry. I would definitely visit this market. I bought some very reasonably priced rings here.
- Duration: 1 hour
- National Pantheon – very nice view from the top. This is included with the Lisboa Pass so we had to visit. If you are afraid of heights you might find it a bit terrifying at the top but it’s worth the trek up the stairs. It also makes you oddly calm to be inside
- Duration: 30 minutes
- National Tile Museum – this tile museum is included with the Lisboa Pass. I would definitely recommend visiting it if you enjoy tiles. The hours on Google maps isn’t accurate. There aren’t a lot of people here which is nice. There are some beautiful rooms in here and the architecture is beautiful. It looks a bit worn but other than that it’s beautiful
- Duration: 1-2 hours
- Jeronimos Monastery – no visit to Lisbon is complete without a visit to Jeronimos Monastery. This is included with the Lisboa Pass which is great. I thought it was going to be more than just the center part of the building but just the center part was nice enough. I was going around with my mouth wide open as it was so pretty. The arches were stunning.
- Tip: come early in the morning and get in line. Come before it even opens. I heard from people in line that they tried coming the day before in the afternoon and the line was so long they didn’t want to wait.
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Belem Tower – This is included in the Lisboa Pass. This is a must see. The view from the tower is beautiful. There’s also more to explore than I had thought. There’s the bottom floor with the canons then the middle floor with the beautiful windows, then the 2nd floor with the view and the top floor (which has the worst view).
- Tip: If you have the Lisboa pass, you will NEED to get a ticket from the ticket booth. You show them the Lisboa Pass and they need to give you a ticket. We showed the booth the pass but they failed to give us a ticket and we were told off in line that we needed a ticket. MAKE SURE YOU TELL THE BOOTH THAT YOU NEED A TICKET or you will be left scrambling. I would come here right after you go to the Monastery. Like run here from the Monastery and get in line (if you are 2 people, one person get in line and the other person should get the tickets). The line can be really long so come as early as possible
- Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour
- Padrao dos Descobrimentos – this monument is beautiful constructed. We didn’t go inside as it isn’t included in the Lisboa Pass but the outside looks nice
- Duration: 10 –20 minutes
- National Coach Museum – the building which is filled with coaches looks surprisingly modern. The coaches are on the second floor. They have lots of history on coaches and it was more exciting than I thought it would be. It’s included in the Lisboa pass so I would recommend it if you have the Lisboa Pass. If you don’t have the Lisboa Pass – I would skip it unless you are a fan of coaches
- Duration: 30 minutes to 1 hour
MAYBE VISIT:
- LxFactory – I wouldn’t recommend coming here as it’s just one street and there aren’t a lot of stores here to see. It feels very touristy and overpriced.
- San Justa Lift – you can visit the bottom but I wouldn’t recommend visiting going up as the wait can take a really long time. I would recommend just taking a photo at the bottom and spending your time elsewhere
- Livraria Bertrand – I’ve seen a lot of recommendations to visit this book store. It’s nice inside but it’s not a must see
- Lisboa Story Centre – this is included with the Lisboa Pass but it’s a bit too cheesy and tacky. It’s not very big but I like that it tells the tale of Lisboa. I liked that it was literally a story centre and enjoyed learning about Lisboa
- Duration: 30 minutes
- Santa Estavao Belvedere – not an impressive viewpoint. Wouldn’t recommend visiting
- MAAT – we didn’t go inside as it wasn’t included with the Lisboa Pass. We went on the top and the view was okay. I wouldn’t recommend it if you aren’t in the area
- Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga – this art gallery is close to the Time Out Market. There are lots of paintings and old artifacts. It’s not the best art gallery we’ve been to but it’s okay. They also have this beautiful garden in the back with a view and a restaurant.
MUST EAT:
- ByTheWine – very nice bar/restaurant. We came at around 5:00pm and were able to get seats without reservations. If you want to sit at a table, best to make reservations ahead of time as we saw some people get rejected at the door. We got the prego do pao and the octopus carpaccio. Both were not bad. I would come back to try their other items. I enjoyed sitting at the bar as you can see the chefs cook in the back
- Bifanas of Afonso – this little hole in the wall place at the top of a hill. They sell these succulent sandwiches. Very simple just meat and Portuguese bread. They have mustard that you can use there which really helps elevate the dish. We went early in the morning so there weren’t many people and we got a spot easily. But there aren’t any of their fried goods so early in the morning. We passed by in the afternoon around lunch time and there was a long line outside
- Floresta das Escandinhas – We got the sardines and the octopus. The dishes are really simple and they grill it in house. The price is super affordable. I would get the octopus over the sardines. The sardines tasted the same as the ones I can make at home so I would skip that. If you want to experience Portuguese food, you should try this place.
- Tip: come right at opening as the wait can be quite long. We waited around 30 minutes for a table and we went around 2:00pm
- Taberna da Rua das Flores – we came here after seeing some reviews online. We didn’t come early enough and unfortunately we just missed the 1st seating. They told us to come back at 7:30pm which was perfect since we could go enjoy the sunset first. We came back at 7:00pm and were able to get seated by 7:15pm which was great! We ordered the scallops, razor clams, beef tongue sandwiches and flourless chocolate cake. They do daily menus on their blackboard which is really cute. I loved the wine list as well. The scallops and razor clams were to die for and so was the flourless chocolate cake. Would order it all again. I don’t want to rave too much about it as I don’t want the line to be longer than it already is.
- Tip: Come around 10-15 minutes before opening and you will get the 2nd seating. They also only take cash only so bring cash with you
- Pastelaria Santa Antonio – we had the pasteis de nata and the croissant ham and cheese sandwich. They have 2 floors so there’s quite a bit of seating. The pasteis were not bad but not the best I’ve had. The ham and cheese croissant sandwich on the other hand was oddly addictive. Very crispy and savoury. Would only recommend if you are in the area
- Ginjinha – is a Portuguese liquer made of ginja berries that are infused in alcohol. We were planning to visit the popular Ginjinha stand in the middle of the old part of town where everyone goes. But while we were in Alfama, we found an old lady offering Ginjinha in a chocolate cup in a sketchy alley. We decided to take her up on her offer of 1 euro per tiny shot and we were presently surprised. It was delicious! After walking down this alley, we found a bunch of other old ladies selling their Ginjinha. I Googled the location and found the name of the lady we bought the Ginjinha from – Ginginha da Dona Alice. Would recommend it
- Alfama Cellar – we came here and had the oxtail, chocolate mousse, octopus salad and the seafood rice. The Oxtail was surprisingly melt in your mouth and addicting. Dip the bread in the oil and you will thank me. The octopus was also really refreshing. The chocolate mousse was decadent but not overly sweet. The bits of salt and crumble on top helped balance everything out – not visually appealing but satisfying.
- Pasteis de Belem – Everyone knows that this is the most famous place for pasteis and I tried to keep my expectations low so that I wouldn’t be disappointed but I was surprisingly surprised. The pasteis de Belem were perfect. The center was creamy and the pastry is very crunchy. The shrimp rissois weren’t good – I would avoid them. The ham and cheese croissant were meh. Not as good as the ones from Pastelaria Santa Antonio. The fried bacalhau balls were PERFECTION. Crunchy on the outside – lots of salted cod – it’s the perfect balance. Would recommend the fried bacalhau and the pasteis. The orange juice is over priced so be warned. I would definitely want to come back and try other things.
- Sol e Pesca – We came here for a little snack and actually really enjoyed it. We were not very hungry after the fish we had at the TimeOut Market but we knew we had to have something else so we wouldn’t leave sad. They are known for their canned food here. It’s a bit touristy but still not as touristy as TimeOut Market. We had the canned mussels and the canned sardines. Not going to lie, the canned sardines tasted pretty regular but the canned mussels were so declicious and smoky. It went so well with the bread. The beer also was good. The décor inside matched the food perfectly.
DON’T EAT:
- Alfama Doce – we came here for the natas. They weren’t very good but they are served warm. Wouldn’t recommend
- TimeOut Market – I would definitely not recommend the TimeOut Market. In a sentence, I would call it an overpriced, tourist trap with hipster food. The food isn’t even good and it’s greatly overpriced. It’s more like a foodcourt with food that’s trying to be something it’s not. If you are looking for authentic Portuguese food, this is not it. If you want bougie food, this is also not it. Just avoid it
- Confeitaria Nacional – the pasteis and their buns weren’t very good. Don’t try it
Lisbon didn’t meet my expectations as I had hoped to feel more at home here but it felt kind of weird. I can’t describe it but it wasn’t what I expected. The food here was pretty good. Not as cheap as I had thought it would be but the cheap wine made up for it. I hope to still find good natas somewhere not so far from the main town. I also want to go back and visit my family and other more hidden spots. Look forward to going back and eating more
Just A Morsel 