Legendary Lisbon

Pack your comfy walking shoes and be ready for some hills!

As Portugal has taken off as a tourist destination, Lisbon is a great spot for first-time visitors to this welcoming country.

Portugal was the celebration spot for my mother’s birthday trip (I won’t say what age, because she looks younger and if she reads this, will be happy I didn’t mention what year we were celebrating).

We wanted to have time to relax and enjoy the city, so we did Lisbon over President's Day weekend and spent five nights (only 2 days of PTO!).

Getting to the City: The Lisbon airport is only a 20-minute car ride from the city, so we elected to book a transfer to and from the airport in advance. It was a great experience and very easy. Websites like Viator are places you can book.

Things to know: The whole city is beautiful. All the tiles on buildings, the neoclassical architecture, the smells of delicious food, and the taste of vibrant wine. Here are some of my favorite tiles:

Where we stayed: The location we stayed was perfect, the Chiado area. It was right in the middle of the city and easy to walk everywhere. We landed at Browns Central Hotel which had a cute bar downstairs for happy hour, and our room made us feel like queens in the "Grand Glamour Suite".

Recommended activity: Wine tasting! We did this on our first day after exploring and before dinner to keep us awake and ready to take on Lisbon. This was an intimate experience and our sommelier was wonderful. You have to book in advance for most of these tastings. Here is the one we did:

Palácio Ludovice - Wine Experience Hotel 

It was in the stunning Palácio Ludovice hotel. Going inside the hotel was a treat as well. The tasting was also near Miradouro Sao Pedro de Alcantara, a great park to see the city. There are food trucks and drinks available for purchase.

Food and drink:

• The pastry you will see everywhere: pastel de nata

  • Castro - Atelier de Pastéis de Nata

  • Manteigaria

  • Casa São Miguel - Doçaria Regional Portuguesa

• The V Rooftop Bar (drinks and tapas, good views!)

• Time-out market (food hall)

• Java rooftop (drinks and good views)

• Martinho da Arcada - coffee shop from the 1700s with ghosts 

• Break se (good brunch)

• BAHR & Terrace (great for brunch)

• Eating bear - ad hoc wine bar

• Palacio Ludovice Wine Hotel 

  • Wine tasting - highly recommend 

• From The Vine: Wine Tasting Bar 

• Dear breakfast 

• Sardine shops - good purchase to bring home

Must see and do:

• Castelo de Sao Jorge - there are peacocks there!!

  

• Miradouro Sao Pedro de Alcantara (left) - We had some drinks here and enjoyed taking in the views of the city. 

• Pink Street

• Lisbon cathedral 

• Church of Sao Roque 

• Shopping near Tivoli Forum - Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and other luxury brands

• Arco de Rua 

• Belem Tower

• Praca de Comercio 

• National Tile Museuem 

• Alfama

• Thrifting

• Shop for Portuguese ceramics (I got the best serving platter)

  
  
  
  

• Day trip - I would recommend booking a tour, we did the full-day trip that included:

  • Park and National Palace of Pena

    • The Pena palace is skippable (don’t come for me Instagram), but the gardens are where I would spend my time. They were beautiful to walk around. 

  • Sintra

  • Quinta da Regaleira

  • Cabo da Roca - the most western point in Europe

  • Cascais

In summary, Lisbon is perfect for a girl's trip, a mother-daughter trip, or a romantic getaway. We walked a ton, ate a ton, drank a ton, and just enjoyed spending time together in this great city. Please be respectful as tourism increases in Portugal.

Xoxo,

Mom and Daughter