Sintra

This is a mini guide to Sintra, Portugal. I HIGHLY recommend spending a night or even two in Sintra instead of just passing through on a day trip. Sintra, Portugal is a magical place. It is the town where royalty spent their summers, and it shows! The fact that it is just about 45 minutes from Lisbon makes it even better, it is so easily accessible. I have been to Sintra twice and I still haven’t seen it all. The first time I went, it was just a for day trip and just wished I had more time. The second time, we stayed overnight and I still found myself wishing I had more time! I would advise spending a night or even a weekend in Sintra. The town of Sintra itself is charming and easy to walk around and enjoy. During my first time there, I didn’t even get to explore the town because we got off the train, grabbed lunch, and immediately started walking up to the Pena Palace. It was like a tease to only be able to explore a small portion of this gorgeous city, so for my second visit to Sintra, I didn’t make that same mistake. We enjoyed spending our time walking around and checking out all of the pastry shops, little bars, cute stores, and restaurants. In this guide you'll find all of my favorite spots, as well as where to stay, what to do, and what I STILL think I would do if I visit again!

Lisbon is one of those cities that I know we’ll keep going back to throughout our lives. This beautiful city has so much to offer. The hills are a huge part of the charm, the views from so many different locations are breathtaking. The tile buildings here are beautiful and so unique. The trolleys and funiculars add to the experience and make traversing the city so much fun. The food is excellent, there are so many options, and so much to see. It is easy to understand why Lisbon is a popular place of residence for expats from all over the world, we could actually see ourselves living in Lisbon some day, too. I have been to Lisbon multiple times so I have a lot of recommendations here!  Hopefully you can pick and choose what suits you best on your stay in Lisbon! The things I've listed should give you more than enough to do for a few days. This guide will include everything I've personally done in Lisbon with honest details about each location. I will also list some wish-list spots in a section at the end that includes things that I still haven't done yet in Lisbon that I have planned and researched and hope to do on a future visit.