Finishing up the holiday tour de force, we arrived in Lisbon early (following an overnight bus from Seville), and it felt like we didn’t stop moving from that moment… barring of course the nap we took upon arrival. Since we did so much, I figured I’d switch it up, and try a little list of the things I enjoyed most, and would ultimately recommend!
Things to do in Lisbon
- Castle of São Jorge
A medieval castle that offers a great view of Lisbon and the river. There’s a long wall around which you can walk, and a camera obscura, which enabled us to have a 360 view of the city in a unique way. We hiked all the way up (accidentally), but you can take an elevator or the tram most of the way up (and save your legs a little)!
- Praça do Comércio
I loved this plaza because it leads out directly to the Tagus river (which allows for beautiful sunset views) on one end, and a magnificent arch at the other. It’s also the place where one of the many Christmas trees in town were lit up at night! This square is immense, and is the perfect place for watching the boats sail by, grabbing a drink, or just people watching. You can also catch the tram to Belém here, or walk out onto Rua Augusta to find many places to eat!
- Time Out Market
If you’re familiar with the Time Out magazine/industry, the name of this market should sound familiar! Located near the Cais do Sodré metro stop, this market is filled with all the food you can imagine, and was packed full when we stopped there for dinner. There are several seafood options (which I would recommend, especially the Bacalao), but also a bar, dessert stalls, and even a place where cooking lessons are held. If anything, it’s worth visiting for the atmosphere and the remarkable number of eating options available!
- Eat (many) Pastéis de Nata
I have no words for how good this flaky, custard pastry was, but we certainly ate our share while we were there! You could easily eat several of these in a day, let alone in one sitting. We took the mindset that anytime we saw one, we had to try it to compare how it stood up to the other ones we had tried. Our favorite came from Fábrica da Nata, but there are several from which to choose in Lisbon! You can’t really go wrong though as long as you’re eating one.
- Jerónimos Monastery in Belém
If you want to explore the areas surrounding Lisbon without going too far, Belém is definitely the place for you. You can take the tram out and there are several sites of note to visit. We chose to spend time exploring the Monastery, which is much larger than you’d expect it to be. There’s also the tower of Belém located on a small island right off the shore, as well as the monument to the discoveries which is a sight to see, and includes an elevator ride to the top for a beautiful view.
- Ride a funicular up to the top of one of Lisbon’s seven hills for a great view of the city (and a fun experience as well!)
Since Lisbon is a city of hills (it’s very similar to San Francisco in this way, and in others as well), there are several ways to get up them without actually walking. There are three funiculars in Lisbon, and the cost to ride them is included in your transport card if you choose to purchase a 24hour or more pass. We rode the ascension da Glória up to the Bairro Alto neighborhood and watched sunset as the lights came up on the castle.
- Day trip to Sintra
If you have extra time while you’re in Lisbon, you can easily hop a commuter train and voyage out to Sintra, about 45 minutes away. It has a completely different feel to Lisbon, but still has so much to see. We ended up spending most of the day there ultimately, and managed to see the National Palace, the Moorish Castle, and the Palácio Nacional da Pena, along with its gardens. These all come from different eras, and offer different architecture, while the latter two have beautiful views of the whole city as they are atop a very high hill. The castle is essentially all wall, but almost resembles a mini Great Wall of China in its construction and layout. The Palácio Nacional’s exterior is very colorful, and the interiors are at the same time lavish and simple (half of it used to be a monastery, while the other half was built much later on). We took a tuk-tuk both up and down the hill to save time, but you can also take a bus or if you’re really adventurous, there is a hike both ways.
It’s hard to believe that my two weeks in Spain and Portugal are already up – they went by so quickly (no matter how many times someone says it, time really does fly when you’re having fun)! It was an intense two weeks, but I’m glad it was that way because that allowed us to see so much, and enabled me to visit several cities in both countries (as well as Gibraltar). I’m already looking forward to including this trip in my scrapbook for my year participating in TAPIF, and now it’s back to the real world of work… wish me luck!
Not Your Average Giraffe 