Lisbon Travel Guide

Our week-long vacation in Lisbon and Paris flew by and it’s hard to believe that was already a few months ago! I’m very excited to share all the fun places we explored with you guys! So many interesting sights, beautiful scenery, and of course…delicious food.

We started our travels in Lisbon, a city that seemingly everyone has been visiting in the last year. I had found a great deal on TAP Portugal, in which you could fly from NYC to any city in Europe with a layover in Lisbon for less than $500 round trip! When I saw this a few months ago I immediately booked a trip for 3 days in Lisbon and 6 days in Paris, and both my mom and I paid $460 round trip for each ticket. Though they may be thought of as a “budget airline” because of this deal, I actually had a great experience with them. They served not one but TWO meals during my short 6 hour flight from NYC to Lisbon, their check in process was smooth, and they gave free blankets, pillows, and earbuds. Not too shabby. Note: tall people (like my husband) may have a bit of a harder time because the leg room is pretty small.
We stayed in an Airbnb that was across a small cobblestoned street from the Castelo de Sao Jorge, a national monument built by the Moors in the mid-11th century that now consists of the citadel and ruins of the former castle. This made for very convenient tourism but it was pretty consistently loud throughout the day. The area that our Airbnb was in is called Alfama, and it is a very charming maze of  narrow and winding cobblestone streets lined by historic homes.

Here are some of the highlights from our Lisbon trip:

Castelo de Sao Jorge

The first stop was our neighboring castle, the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The main attraction of this were the sweeping views of Lisbon from the towers. You can see the entire castle in about an hour, and then you can move on to enjoying the several musicians playing outside of the castle grounds and many cute shops and restaurants just steps away.

Portugese Egg Tarts at Pasteis de Belem

Go here and enjoy as many as you can! These creamy custard tarts in a crispy flaky shell are divine. There are also UNESCO world heritage sites nearby, the Geronimo Monastery and the Tower of Belem.

Eating Out in Lisbon

Time Out Market was so cool! We came here for dinner at ~10 pm and this place was still packed to the brim. This is a humongous warehouse /food court consisting of 24 restaurants, 8 bars, a dozen shops and a high-end music venue, all curated to be the “best of the best” by the Time Out journalism team. Celebrity chefs like Alexandre Silva have restaurants here, and cuisines from all over the world can be found. But make sure to be on a lookout for a seat; this place is SO trendy that it was hard to even find a place to enjoy our bacalhau and wine!

The other meal I had was dinner at Le Petit Cafe in Alfama walking distance from the castle. This restaurant had a fantastic octopus dish where you get huge grilled octopus legs, some of the best I’ve ever had. Their sangria was delicious as well, and there was live music outside.

Also on my list but didn’t have time to see/try:

Christ the King Statue
Pink Street (literally what it sounds like)
LX Factory for trendy food/coffee
Santini Gelado or Gelateria Nannerella for gelato
Landeau for its famous chocolate cake
Going out in Bairro Alto to check out the nightlife and bars