Last summer, in July 2018, we were lucky enough to go back to Portugal, enjoy its beautiful beaches and explore Lisbon. It is not hard to fall in love with Portugal as it is one of the most enchanting places in Europe and we definitely left a piece of our hearts there.
We stayed 7 days in the Algarve, exploring a new beach every day and then travelled for 3 nights to Lisbon, so here is a summary our experience there and must see places from my point of view!
By day Lisbon has a naive theatrical quality that enchants and captivates, but by night it is a fairy-tale city, descending over lighted terraces to the sea, like a woman in festive garments going down to meet her dark lover. – Erich Maria Remarque
1. Do a tuk-tuk ride around the city! Amazing experience and so much fun. They stop at all the places you want to see or take pictures. Tip: arrange a price beforehand!
2. SLEEP: get an @airbnb and save yourself some money. Go for a traditional and authentic Portuguese kitchen! We stayed in a beautiful flat just off the main shopping street. It had a kitchen but we ate mostly outside as you can shop, eat and drink everywhere very reasonably. I mean, an espresso for £0.70! By the way, the coffee in Portugal is just delicious.
3. EAT: We tried to eat in small local bars/restaurants away from the main tourist places and it was so cheap and tasty…Great value for money! TIME OUT MARKET – We were not very impressed as we found it totally overpriced and overcrowded! We didn’t eat there, it’s a nice place to see and meet new people though, especially if you travel alone! The food choices are great, just not traditional. If you walk through the old town of Alfama, you will definitely find a cute little place on every corner where you could eat one of the Lisboetas favourite dishes – sardinhas. Especially during the All Saints Week in June, one of the capitals biggest festivals, street traffic is replaced with music and parties and everybody eats grilled sardines followed by pastel de nata.
4. DRINK: Breakfast always starts with an espresso and lunch typifies the old Portugese saying “a meal taken without vinho verde is breakfast”! Try this wine as you will only get it in Portugal and it’s delicious! It’s a mixture between white wine and fizz but has a lower alcohol percentage. In the evenings you will find numerous bars which roll out their tables on the curb and serve all sorts of drinks and cocktails! It is my kind of pub tour!
5. THE PORTUGUESE EXPERIENCE: If you want to have THE Portuguese dinner experience where they serve Portuguese food and sing live Fado, then book a table in Clube de Fado (reservas@clube-de-fado.com) – it’s a warm, romantic and almost mystical atmosphere. Fado is a music genre that can be traced back to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins.
“The only thing that matters is to feel the fado. The fado is not meant to be sung; it simply happens. You feel it, you don’t understand it and you don’t explain it.” – fado singer Amália Rodrigues
The songs were sung by seamen who were missing their wives and the wives who were missing their husbands.
6. VISIT:
LX Factory – love at first sight!!! Imagine you give up and convert an old strip of factory buildings into restaurants, cafés, and creative minds? The result is that you get one of the coolest hangout spots in the city – @lxfactory Lisbon is the perfect spot for entrepreneurs, creative minds and start up businesses. LX Factory is one of many fruitful initiatives. It is a hidden gem a little bit outside the city center and you wouldn’t really find this place in any written traditional city guides. We took a tuk tuk ride from the city center and weren’t disappointed! In fact, it was a real surprise…a street full of amazing quirky restaurants, coffee shops, independent shops and galleries. We started our mini tour with a vinho verde. We strolled around the street enjoying all the art work and graffiti. We stopped at Landeau because we fancied a chocolate cake and oh my goodness…! That was THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE I ever had! It was a pure food orgasm!!! The cake had a variety of textures and must be tried to understand how good it was. It honestly was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to! It’s an industrial beauty and I congratulate the designers and creators from the bottom of my heart!!!
Alfama is a very old part of the town with lots of run down buildings and the government ensure it stays that way to maintain the culture and history of the city. With lots of little roads and bars and shops where you can again drink vinho verde, delicious Portuguese coffees and eat the famous Pastel de Nata.
Castello de São Jorge. Definitely visit this place. It is a must, you see all of Lisbon from up there. Absolutely amazing and stunning views! It’s the highest point of the city and it’s breathtaking!
Take a stroll along the river and you will find lots of restaurants, bars, live street bands, walk all the way to Plaza de Comercio, it’s a great historic place. If you walk through the arch, you will find yourself in the vibe of the modern city center with the best ice cream cafes.
Lisbon is a city of endless walks! Don’t take any high heels, it’s a waste of space in your suitcase, a space you could use to bring some beautiful basket bags or gorgeous souvenirs back! Just walk around and enjoy the city! It’s beautiful, amazing, mystical, historic…I felt at home and I felt very calm and relaxed there. I can’t wait to go back!!!
TORRES HOUSE 