Our three night trip to Lisbon last weekend was absolutely epic and if it’s not on your list, I’m telling you to put it on right now! It was such a relaxed city – we really felt like we could just potter, eat nibbles and drink wine. No mad rush to get sights ticked off the list. Plus, we were so blessed with the weather, seeing nothing but blue skies the entire time!
After putting together all the info from our ski trip, I thought I’d share with you all the tips from our trip to Lisbon! To give you a little background – it was myself and Trevor, along with another couple and we flew out of Dublin. A bit annoying when we live in Cork, but there are no direct flights at the moment! I had never flown with TAP Air Portugal and even though check-in and boarding were a hassle, the plane itself was noticeably lovely and modern.
Day 1
We arrived at the airport and grabbed an Uber to our hotel for only €12. Twenty minutes later we were pulling up outside Hotel Mundial. This was a fab hotel – great location, amazing rooftop bar and we got it for a good price on Booking.com for €145 for the room per night. I’d highly recommend it!
We dropped the bags and went for a stroll, passing the Santa Justa lift – This is a very old, ornate outdoor elevator. We didn’t use it as the queues were huge. From there, we walked down Rua Augusta, through the huge arch and out onto the Comércio Square. This is a huge plaza area, right on the water and it was the perfect place to stop for tapas and wine! Yum! (PS. if you like white wine, try the Albarino. Delish!) We walked along the water then, stopping for a Pineapple Pina Colada and a view of the underwhelming, but pretty Cais das Colunas. (2 old columns standing in the River Tagus).
Next up was the Time Out Market. This is a must do and was one of the highlights of trip. It’s a classy, indoor food market. All the stalls are restaurants or bars, so you order a plate of food and some drinks and take a seat at the communal tables. We ordered lots of different plates to share and it was all gorge. Some stalls that stood out for us were Ground Burger (the chips with rosemary and aioli especially), sushi in Confraria, a port tasting plate from the port stall and finishing up with the nicest Portuguese tarts ever in Mantegaria. I’m drooling here remembering it all!
As the sun was setting, we went to the Park rooftop bar. It’s a secret bar, that you have to walk through an underground carpark and up a very dodgy looking elevator to get into. When you walk in, you have the most amazing view of all the red rooftops across the city as the sun goes down. Gorgeous and very cool! Thankfully one of our group had been here before, otherwise I definitely would have turned back before the elevator!
And finally, we went to Tapas 52 for dinner. A casual spot with a great buzz and really friendly people. Dinner was so tasty, another recommendation for sure! We packed so much into Day 1 that I felt as if we have done all of Lisbon already, but it never felt rushed.
Day 2
We started off the day with a 3hr Eco Tuk tour of the city. Amazing and great craic!! You can kinda choose to see where ever you want, as it’s a private tour. We decided to do just the city centre so we would have time to stop off at viewpoints etc if we wanted. It worked out really well. The cobbled streets are crazy in a tuk-tuk, so I would say if you have a bad back, maybe just stick with a car tour instead! The areas we went to were beautiful – so many stunning tiled houses, beautiful churches and cool street art!! We asked the guide to drop us to a nice area for lunch. She chose Rossio Square and it was ideal. A pretty area with lots of people watching, plus we could walk back to our hotel easily.
After a quick change, we went for a drink (or two!) on the rooftop bar of our hotel. I’m pretty sure members of the public can reserve a table too, well worth checking out even if you’re not staying.
Later that evening we went back to the Alfama area for dinner. It’s an area famous for it’s Fado singing – a traditional way of singing in Portugal. To be honest, I could take it or leave it. It was nice to have in the background, but if you don’t get to hear it while you’re there, I wouldn’t worry! It was great fun seeing lots of residents in the area, mainly old women, selling Ginja shots from their sitting rooms! I would tell you to get one of these alright as it’s a bit of fun! (Ginja shots are tiny shots of cherry gin, drunk from a chocolate shot glass. Plus you get to eat the shot glass after – win, win!) The Ginja bars are all over Lisbon.
Day 3
We went to the Belem area of Lisbon, which is about a 10-15mins drive from the centre. We ended up spending a few hours here. There was a big enough market, where I picked up a cute little trinket box and we got takeaway tarts from the famous Pastéis de Belém. Word has it, they were the original bakers of the Pastel de Nata (Portuguese tart). They were the best Trevor has ever tasted, but I still think the Time Out market ones cinched it for me!.
We saw the Jerónimos Monastery, which had the most beautiful and detailed exterior. From there we rented electric scooters to get travel further down along the water’s edge. These scooters are everywhere in Lisbon and we had been dying to try them out! You need to download either the Lime or Uber app, find a parked scooter and scan the code on the scooter. It unlocks the wheel and you take off! They were pretty powerful actually!! It cost 25c per minute and when you’re finished you park in a designated area and tap finish! So easy to use.
Using the scooters, we stopped off at Padrão dos Descobrimentos. It’s an amazing monument, which when you’re up close, you really get a feel for the massive scale of it. It was also a great spot to stop and view the bridge. Did you know that the same company that designed the San Francisco bridge also designed an identical one in Lisbon. Plus right next to it is a replica of the Christ the Redeemer statue, which Brazil gifted to Portugal. Seeing them both together kinda blew my mind!
Before stopping for lunch we saw the Belem tower. A military tower which sits in the water. We weren’t expecting it to be as nice as it was. We had a great afternoon in Belem, but if looking at old buildings isn’t for you, maybe don’t get too excited!
For our last dinner, we headed to the Hard Rock Café. On our very first holiday abroad in Barcelona, we went the Hard Rock. Ever since then, it’s become a bit of a tradition to go, scoff some nachos and buy a collectable pin.
Day 4
We didn’t get to go on any of the classic yellow trams, so I guess that’s an excuse to come back!!! Tram number 28 is supposed to be the one to get for the best sightseeing! We got Uber to the airport – make sure you use Uber here. It’s so much cheaper! In duty free, we bought a few bottle of Albarino wine to take home! ;)Our trip to Lisbon was amazing and we loved every second. Have you been?
