Lisbon had been on my list for a long time and, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure what took me so long to visit! In the recent years, Lisbon has become a very trendy destination. The weather is good, prices are affordable, the food and bar scenes are excellent and there are some decent sights to visit between all the eating and drinking.
The city feels young, exciting and vibrant – like a coming of age destination. Now grab yourself a glass of Vinho Verde because this is a long one!
Day 1 – Arriving in Lisbon and Príncipe Real
We landed in Lisbon around lunch time and after getting the keys to our Airbnb, we headed straight out to do some groceries and explore Príncipe Real which was only 15 minutes from where we stayed.
Our Airbnb was on Avenue Almirante Reis which is perfect if you want to walk to most places during your stay. From there we headed toward Príncipe Real via Avenida da Liberdade.
We spent the afternoon exploring the cobbled streets, admiring the tiled houses and grabbing a couple of drinks on the way.
We had a beer at Cerveteca Lisboa, a drink with a view at Lost In, followed by dinner at Bossa. All great places!
Day 2 – Alfama, Campo de Ourique, Jardim Estrela, Cais do Sodres and Ponto Final
We headed out early on our second day to explore the Alfama. The walk there was a workout in itself with all the hills and steps to climb.
After arriving at our first stop, the Miradouro de Nossa Senhora do Monte, we rewarded ourselves with a Pastel de Nata and a coffee, a regular occurrence during our trip to Portugal.
We then zigzagged through the streets of the Alfama to our next stop the Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. Again we enjoyed the view and the break from the steps.
Heading back down toward the Tagus, we swung by Church of São Vicente of Fora and the Panteão Nacional.
We ran into several tramways and armies of tourists before reaching Miradouro de Santa Luzia.
It is good to note that even if Lisbon is packed with tourists, there are so many little streets to get lost in that crowds do not take away the charm of the city.
We still had a bit of time before lunch and peeked inside Lisbon Cathedral.
I happen to have a cousin living in Lisbon, which meant that we had to head to the opposite side of the city for lunch (which I will come to in a minute). BUT, if you do not have any other commitments, I would recommend you stay in the Alfama on that day and head to Castelo de San Jorge, which I talk about on day 3!
My cousin offered to meet for lunch at Mercado de Campo de Ourique, and we were so happy he did as otherwise we would have never found this amazing food market!
We then spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and strolling in the Jardim Estrela, before heading back to the city centre. We grabbed a drink and enjoyed the sunset at Cais do Sodres before heading to the other side of the Tagus for a dinner at Ponto Final.
Day 3 – Baixa and Castelo de San Jorge
We started our third day in Baixa, in the city centre of Lisbon.
We walked from our Airbnb to Praça Rossio and Praça dos Restauradores. Both squares are very beautiful and the cobbled floors reminded me of Copacabana’s beachfront. Here I could really recognise the Portuguese influences you can find in Brazil.
Our next stop was the Elevador de Santa Justa. The queue takes a little while but nothing unbearable and the views and the architecture of the tower really worth going at the top!
Unfortunately for us it started raining as soon as we reached the top of the tower… Just our luck…
But we didn’t get discouraged and after taking a few nice yet grey pictures we sheltered in the shops of Baixa for a spot of retail therapy (someone forgot to pack his swimshorts…). And just like that, the rain was gone.
We picked up our visit where we left it the day before when meeting with my cousin and strolled across Praça do Comércio before heading to our lunch destination Time Out Market.
After a lovely lunch and in need of a digestive walk, we headed back up into the hills of the Alfama to visit Castelo de San Jorge.
The views from there were amazing it was really interesting to learn more about the life at the Moorish castle.
Plus, you can actually order glasses of wine to sip on while visiting the castle’s grounds. It doesn’t get much better than that!
We ended our day back at our flat for a glass of rose before heading back out for the most delicious meal at Banca de Pau.
Day 4 – Belem and Lx Factory
Our final day was spent west of Lisbon in Belem. I would recommend getting the train there as it is fairly far from the more central neighbourhoods.
We started our walk at the Museu do Combatente.
We then headed to the Tower of Belem. We skipped the tour as the queue was extremely long and enjoyed the view from the outside.
After a coffee break at one of the cafes along the bank, we kept walking toward the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. The stroll along the Tagus is very pleasant with fishermen busy fishing and children busy playing.
Our next stop was the famous Jerónimos Monastery.
Again the queues were so long, and the weather so lovely, that we decided to skip the full tour and limit our visit to the cathedral.
Working up an appetite we grabbed a couple of Pasteis de Nata at the very famous Pasteis de Belém and enjoyed these on a bench in the sun.
Our final destination was Lx Factory where we had lunch, enjoyed the views of the Ponte 25 de Abril and spent the afternoon admiring the street art of local artists.
Lisbon stole our heart! It is one of those few cities we visited where we actually considered moving too, and thus only after 4 days!
If you have less time to spend in Lisbon, check out this 1-day itinerary!
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Claire Imaginarium 
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