What to Do and Where to Stay in Lisbon, PT

Recently, my family took a trip to Lisbon for the holidays to visit my sister who is living abroad. Our trip was amazing and I wanted to share some recommendations from our experience!

Where We Stayed

We stayed in an Airbnb in the center of town (Baixa de Lisboa area), and I would not particularly recommend this. This seemed like a good location because it was in the center of town and also in the flattest area (Lisbon is veryyy hilly). Our Airbnb was above two restaurants on a busy street. The neighborhood is somewhat like the Times Square of Lisbon, with lots of shops and restaurants and foot traffic. It was pretty hard to sleep at night or even relax during the day, mainly due to the restaurants beneath us.  This neighborhood is good for shopping, not necessarily for staying.

Some better neighborhoods to stay in – Principe Real / Bairro Alto. My sister took us to see and walk through these neighborhoods. They gave more of a lived-in feel and were beautiful to walk through, with lots of shops, restaurants and parks.

Pictures of the area around where we stayed

Where We Ate

We had an amazing dinner at Flores de Pampa, a natural wine bar with tapas style food. My sister has an app called Raisin that shows you all natural wine bars and venues and in any city. We found this restaurant via the app and it was so great! My whole family was really impressed with the food, the presentation, and the ambience.

Dinner at Flores de Pampa

As we strolled through Principe Real, we passed by Numa Café, which I had previously read about online. It’s a bit pricier than other cafes, but the aesthetic was very earthy and warm. They had a great drink menu, baked goods, and all of the food we saw there looked great. I got a matcha tonic and an oat scone.

On our last night, we went to Honest Greens, a fast casual chain in Portugal. It was similar to sweetgreen but 10x better, with way more menu items and flavors. I got a salad here on our last night and my family shared the HUMMUS. Hummus was one item we really did not see a lot of in Portugal.

Where We Day Tripped

We took a day trip to Cascais, and it was absolutely beautiful. This is a beach town ~30 minutes from Lisbon. We took an uber but I believe there is public transit. Our uber driver offered to take us on the scenic route along the coast, which was very reminiscent of a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. Once we got there, we got brunch and then walked over to the beach. We walked along the coast for a bit which was absolutely stunning, and then came back to the central area. Other beachgoers were playing foot volleyball, some people were even diving into the water.

It was so lovely to see the beach and feel the sun, especially coming the cold grey northeast winter. Definitely recommend the day trip.

Pictures from Cascais

 

What we Saw

We did go to see some of the more well-known sights:

• Sao Gorge Castle: Stunning city views

• Jeronimos Monastery: inspiring and intricate architecture

• Belem Tower: A step into the sea

The historical sites were wonderful to see, and absolutely worth it. I think we could have spent more of our trip exploring the lived-in neighborhoods, such as Principe Real, and taking a few steps off the beaten path to explore the real Lisbon.

1/3: Pictures from Sao Gorge Castle, 2: Picture of the Tram

The people of Portugal were so friendly, warm and festive, they truly made our experience phenomenal. My one note would be to avoid staying in the touristy center and explore the lived in neighborhoods like Principe Real or Bairro Alto.

I hope this may help you, and feel free to let me know any comments or questions below!