How to fall in love with Lisbon in 3 days
Lisbon is a city that will literally conquer you, its warm and charme, the streets, the atmosphere and the people will make you fall in love with the city, as happened to me.
Day 1 ☀️
The best way to start the day in Lisbon is with their typical breakfast, pastel de nata and coffee or, as they also call it, "a bica", an acronym for "drink this with sugar". In the city the best place where have it is "A Manteigaria", there are more stores in the city but my favorites are in Praca Camoes and in Rua Augusta. Always in Rua Augusta, if you want to try different type of Pasteis de nata, you can go to Nata de Lisboa, they have different flavour of Pasteis de nata, the chocolate one is really good.
The first morning is perfect to walk around thew city center: Restauradores, Rossio (a must see is the sardines shop), Rua Augusta, Arco da Rua Augusta (you can go up and see the city from above), Praca do Comercio, Praca do Muinicipio, Convento do Carmo Avenida Ribeira das Naus till Cais do Sobre and then have a tour of the Time Out Market, it's also a good spot for lunch but it's pretty expensive. For lunch my suggestion is to head back to Restauradores and to go "La Provinciana", if the wait is too long, it's becoming very popular, you can go to the one next to it called "Girasol".
For the afternoon, after another Pastel de nata and coffee, plus Ginjinha, my suggestion is to go to visit the three main miradouros (viewpoint) and if you want can also take the famous tram 28, you can take it at Lg. Academia Nacional Belas Artes and then get off at R. Graça, near the Miradouro Senhora de Monte. In my opinion this is the best viewpoint of all the city, it's the higher and there is always some street artist to create the atmosphere, here the sunset is breathtaking. After this you can walk a little bit down and arrive to the second miradouro, called Miradouro da Graca, here you can also have a break because there is a bar with the tables with the amazing view of the city. The third and last miradouro is the one of Santa Luzia, this one is the most famous thank to the reel on the social and its flowers. The main difference with the previous two is that the view is on the other side of the city and on the Alfama, the ex fishermen neighborhood and on the river Tago. After this you can decide if you want to go to visit the Alfama and get lost in its small streets, street art and particular houses or, if you want to return in the city center, you can visit the Sè of Lisbon, the main cathedral of the city. You can also decide to do this route on reverse, walking from the city center to the Miradouro Senhora do Monte (it's not so hard but it's basically all hill) and then get the famous tram to return to the city center.
For dinner, to end the day in a perfect way, you could get a reservation at Ponto Final, a restaurant on the other side of the river where you can have dinner watching an amazing sunset behind the bridge, an experience that worth the price a little bit higher than other restaurants in Lisbon. You can get a boat from Cais do Sodre to Almada and then walk on the river shore for less then 10 minutes.
For the night out I'll add a paragraph later.
Day 2 🏰
For your second day it's time to catch a train from the beautiful station of Rossio and go to Sintra (1h), many royalties used to live here and that's why you can find many terrific palaces and gardens, all the city center is part of the UNESCO. All the entrance has a cost between 10-15€, so my suggestion is to visit only two of the palaces, so that you can see them without rush and enjoy them. My choice are: Quinta da Regaleira (11€) and Palacio da Pena (13,30€). The first one is a like to be in a fairytale with its palace and its incredible garden with a lot of surprises. While the second one, the main building in Sintra, is a little bit out of the centre, so you can decide to walk for almost one hour or to take the bus 434 or the 516. You probably have already seen the pics of this colorful and particular palace that dominates all the area with its amazing park and the castle.
For lunch you can return to the city center and go to Tascantiga, a local restaurant that serves tapas or Portuguese dishes, or try to find another restaurant, be careful to avoid the too much touristic ones that will scam you with overpriced food.
For the afternoon you can take the bus 1253 or 1624 and in like 1hr you'll be in the eastern point of the continental Europe: Cabo da Roca. Here you can see all the ocean from the cliffs and also take a picture with the obelisk. There isn't too much to do and often it's windy or foggy, but it's still something to visit. After this you can decide what to do, if it's hot and you want to spend a few moments on the beach you can go to Praia da Ursa, after a short trekking that it's not very easy to do, or you can take the bus again and go to Cascais. It's a beautiful city that you can visit and also enjoy one of its beaches. If you still have energy and want to visit something more you can rent a bike and go to see the hell's mouth (Boca do Inferno). The you can easily take the train and return to Lisbon.
For dinner my favorite place to eat an Hamburger is called MBH and it's near Alvalade. The hamburgers here are just so big and delicious, the ingredients are fresh and of first choice and the dessert it's really really good. The owner is also really nice and will help you to choice your perfect burger.
Day 3 🗼
For your last day it's time to taste the real and only Pasteis de Belem, so you can get to Belem by train, tram or bus, or even by bike sharing. The first stop has to be at Pasteis de Belem, the bar take the name of the famous tarts and here is the place with the only and original recipe. They bought the recipe from the monastery next to them in the middle of the 1800 and since that only a few people know the original recipe. Do the line to sit at the table and not for the take away, also inside it's really really beautiful and there many tables, the Pasteis are served hot and basically cooked in that moment, than it's up to you to decide if are better or not from the ones in Lisbon.
After this breakfast or coffee break you can start the visit of Belem, right next the bar there is the Monsteiros dos Jeronimos, a monastery with a church that I suggest to visit, usually there is always a bit of line but inside it's really really nice and particular. After this you can walk through the garden in front of the monastery and than cross the road to go to the Padrao do Descobrimentos, a monument build in honor of the main Portuguese explorers like Vasco da Gama and more, on the floor in front of it there is a map with all the countries that they have discovered and when. Continue to walk on the river shore and go to the main attraction of the city, the Belem Tower, it's the perfect spot to take a picture but I don't suggest to visit it, there is nothing relevant inside and it's not so high for a memorable view.
This is the last attraction of Belem, you can decide if eat here, my favorite restaurant is called O Prado and is a typical Portuguese restaurant, or you can decide to go to the next spot, that is called LX Factory. This is an old industrial complex for textiles that is now a creative, artsy village within a city with trendy cafés, artisanal shops and libraries. It's just beautiful and incredible, my main suggestion is to visit the library Ler Devagar and then just walk around, you can eat here but the price are higher than normal. If you don't want to eat here outside there a couple of restaurants that I really like: the first one is Tempero Caseiro, here you can find Portuguese dishes at a fair price. The other restaurant is 50 Maravilhas, also here you can find the typical Portugues dishes for the fair price.
The last thing to see in this day is the Cristo Rei, the smaller copy of the one in Rio de Janeiro. It's also an opportunity to cross the famous 25th April bridge, that looks like the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. You can arrive to the Cristo Rei with Uber or Bolt (I'll tell you soon about this). From here you can see the city of Lisbon from a different prospective and it's just wonderful, you can decide to go to the top of the statue but for me it's not worth it, the view it's the same.
How to move
Lisbon is a city that you can visit by feet, everything is pretty close and walking around its neighborhoods is one of the best things to do. Of course sometimes is better to avoid its hills and just take one of the city transports: metro, tram or bus. To use these you need a card that can be found at the vending machine of the metro (50 cent) and then you can charge your money on it and then tap the card when you enter.
In Lisbon are very common Uber and Bolt, they're both the same thing but often Bolt is cheaper, if you travel in a group of 3/4 people it's the best way to move in the city, especially at night or if you have to go a little bit further. This is my link for a discount for Bolt https://invite.bolt.eu/EMANUELENHE.
Night out
The best area to hang out at night is Bairro Alto, here you can find everything, restaurants, pubs, bar and discopub. The price are really low and it's always full of people. My favorite places are: Sentido Proibido, where you can have a giant drink (0,75l) of caipirinha, mojito or other things for just 5 euro, while listening live music. The second place is called Esteves Bar, it's a small place with basically no place for seat, but the owner and the atmosphere are totally worth it, Nuno it's a really special and kind person who loves his job and will entertain you, the price are just unreal and it's speciality is the Erasmus pack.
Another area is called Pink Street, also here is full of bars and disco but the prices are a bit higher, my favorite place here is called Pensao Amor, you can stay here all night drinking and dancing.
The main disco in Lisbon are: Urban Beach and Lisboa Rio, but everything depends on the nights, the dj and your music taste.
Where to sleep
The best neighborhoods where to sleep are: Marques de Pombal, Principe Real, Santos, Rossio and, if you don't mind to be 20m away from the center, Alameda.
Marques de Pombal:
Principe Real:
Santos:
Rossio:
Alameda:
Place to eat
Place to visit
Night out
The home for unique & authentic travel
