A long weekend in Lisbon
Every time we return home from a new city we seem to declare it to be our new favourite. This was certainly the case with Lisbon, and it's still holding strong to the top spot. It's a beautiful city that radiated sunshine - from its iconic yellow trams to the bright custard tarts. With a great mix of cool new spots and traditional areas there is lots to explore but here's how we spent our long weekend...
Thank goodness Lisbon is hilly because we ate a LOT of custard tarts in four days. We started as we meant to go on, picking up a box from Manteigaria for breakfast. Served warm at the counter with a sprinkle of cinnamon they were delicious. Manteigaria is also in the heart of Lisbon, on the corner of the square Praça de Luís de Camões, and conveniently close to where our Sandemans free walking tour began.
SANDEMANS WALKING TOUR
We're big fans of walking tours and they've become one of our regular starting points on city breaks. Taking the tour allows you to walk around without trying to navigate a guidebook but still pick up on the history of the city. It's also a great way to get your bearings and work out where you'd like to revisit over the next few days. They can vary in quality but we were really impressed by Sandemans walking tour of Lisbon. Our guide was really knowledgeable and the pace of the tour was great. It focused on two central areas Baixa and Chiado and covered Lisbon's history from the beginning of Portugal's empire to the fall of the Salazar dictatorship, something we knew embarrassingly little about. Our guide Yuri really brought the city to life and we saw some of the top spots in a couple of hours.
The tour finishes in the main plaza - Praça do Comércio - so we took the opportunity to head around the corner to find Conserveira de Lisboa, a shop that stocks some of Portugal's most colourful souvenirs: tins of sardines. So beautifully wrapped it seemed a shame to eat these but we have now eaten some and can confirm they taste as lovely as they look!
Hungry post tour we headed to Mercado da Ribeira - the Time Out Market on the seafront. Its large communal dining space has a great buzz and hosts pop-ups from some of the best restaurants in Lisbon so it's a good way to pick up an easy lunch or dinner. It is however very busy so it's not a place to have a leisurely meal - be prepared to hunt for a chair if you arrive in the lunchtime rush. We enjoyed a Bifana, a traditional pork sandwich from Lisbon.
BELEM
We headed next to Belém, a very short (10 minute) train ride away. It was a lovely clear day so we wandered along the seafront to Belém Tower and then circled back into the centre to the birthplace of the custard tart - Pastéis de Belem. There seemed to be a longish queue here to takeaway but no queue to sit in. Enter through the door and you'll find a warren of huge rooms with plenty of seats plus you'll pass the kitchen where you see stacks of Pastel de Nata being made. Cue another 4 delicious custard tarts.
After heading back to our apartment for a rest we headed out to dinner and stumbled across Cantinho Lusitano - a lovely little restaurant nearby, which we later discovered has brilliant reviews. I wish we had been hungrier but we still managed to squeeze in garlic prawns, tomato and chickpea salad and roasted octopus, which were all freshly made and packed with flavour.
DAY TWO: CERVEJARIA RAMIRO
Day two started with a walk across the city to restaurant Cervejaria Ramiro. Walking through Lisbon is one of the nicest things to do and it definitely gives off the vibes of a cool city. We found beautiful tiled buildings, picturesque squares and spotted interesting little shops and bars (some listed below).
Rick Stein and Anthony Bourdain both visited Cervejaria Ramiro on their visits to Lisbon so we were keen to try it out. It's a no frills fish restaurant serving flavour packed fish dishes - we tried these amazing little barnacles, their dark spindly shells make them look like an evil Disney creature but we eventually got the hang of shelling them and finding the food inside. Our favourite dish was the giant tiger prawns with garlic.
There was a queue to get in but we expected this - we arrived just before 1pm and had to wait 10 minutes although it did look slightly longer when we left stuffed an hour later. It's well worth the wait and was one of our most enjoyable Lisbon meals.
ALFAMA
On the afternoon of day two we explored Alfama. One of the oldest districts in Lisbon it's got a distinct sense of community - so much so that the locals view Lisbon as a nearby city!
It's the perfect area just to wander around. You can visit St Anthony's church, walk up to Miradouro da Graca - a viewpoint overlooking the city - or listen to the famous Fado singers as night falls.
We stopped for a drink and enjoyed Ginjinha, one of our favourite Portuguese finds. It's a sweet cherry liqueur, sometimes served in crispy chocolate cups, and is extremely tasty and far too drinkable.
DAY THREE: SINTRA: PENA PALACE AND BEYOND
Not far from Lisbon is the beautiful town of Sintra. It's a Unesco World Heritage site best known for its incredibly instagrammable rainbow castle (Pena Palace) but there are also many other sites to visit. We booked a tour through Sandemans to Sintra but we think you could explore the area just as well on your own. We took the train, which takes around 40 minutes (€5 return), and then spent our first hour or two enjoying the small picturesque town centre. The highlight was snacking on Sintra's famous Travesseiros - a puff pastry filled with sweet almond cream. They are SO good.
We skipped the long queue for the bus from Sintra centre to Pena Palace and took a taxi instead - it cost €5 and saved us quite a wait. Pena Palace is incredibly striking and colourful but was also very busy when we visited (lots of people strategically hidden in the shot below). We didn't pay to go inside the palace but enjoyed the views from the turrets instead.
After returning back to Sintra centre we walked to Quinta da Regaleira another "palace" we'd recommend if you're in the area. It's a grand house set in large gardens and a really interesting place. While the house is beautiful it's the garden that interested us most. With a system of tunnels, grottoes and 'initiation' wells it's sparked the imagination and brought to mind mysterious Illuminati and Masonic rituals.
DAY FOUR: LX FACTORY
Having ticked off our major must-sees our final day in Lisbon gave us time to absorb some of the less prominent spots. We walked to the LX Factory (although I think an Uber might be easier), which is a collection of industrial buildings close to Ponte 25 de Abril bridge. It's an arty space that now houses really cool bars, cafes and shops including the most beautiful bookshop: Ler Devagar.
We finished our day back in the heart of Lisbon with a walk along the seafront enjoying a cocktail and live music in some early April sun.
There is a phrase unique to Portugal called Saudade, which can be loosely translated as a love that remains after something is gone, a longing or nostalgia. It seems a very fitting word for anyone who has spent only a fleeting time exploring Lisbon's beautiful streets but still fallen in love with its charm. We certainly miss our time there and have more than the occasional longing moment for a golden custard tart in a sunny tiled square.
If we can't go back, you should...
OUR TOP TIPS AND FAVOURITE PLACES:
STAY
We stayed in this Airbnb. It's central, on a nice quiet street and lovely inside.
EAT
Restaurants:
Cervejaria Ramiro: If you want to eat fish, this is the place
Cantino Lusitano: Delicious. Amazingly priced, lovely food but a small place, so try to book.
Cafe de Sao Bento: Old fashioned steak restaurant - the steak really hit the spot.
Frangasqueira Nacional: Delicious takeaway Piri Piri chicken, which we ate back at our Airbnb.
Time Out Market: Includes stalls from some of Lisbon’s top restaurants. Busy but worth a visit.
Cafes:
The Mill: Good coffee and breakfast/ brunch - not traditionally 'Portuguese' but great.
Fabrica: Great coffee, close to Praça Luís de Camões.
Copenhagen Coffee Lab: Again great coffee if you're looking to kickstart your day.
Manteigaria: The tastiest custard tarts in the city centre / outside Belem!
Pastéis de Belem: The home of the custard tart; a place to visit in Belem.
Casa Piriquita: Famous in Sintra for its Travesseiros - the delicious pastries.
Ice cream:
Gelato Davvero: Perfect. Near the TimeOut market.
Gelados Santini: Really nice ice cream near the Santa Justa Elevator
Nannarella Gelati: We turned up here just as it had closed but the lady (I like to think Nannarella herself) spotted us peering in and brought us a free cup of strawberry gelato. She was so nice and made our trip.
SHOP
Conserveira de Lisboa: A beautiful shop filled with tinned Sardines (and lots of other fish) in the prettiest packaging.
A Vida Portuguesa: Iconic Lisbon souvenirs and beautiful gifts.
