Lisbon holds a special place in my heart as it’s the first destination I travelled solo to! Back in 2017, I finally ticked off my bucket list of solo travelling with a visit to Lisbon. It was amazing and I loved the freedom of travelling alone a lot. Now two years later, I decided to revisit Lisbon with a few friends and even added in a few more destinations this time around!
For the first four days, we were exploring around Lisbon and included a day trip to Sintra & Cascais (see part 2). Then we made our way to Coimbra by train (part 3), followed by Aveiro and Costa Nova (part 4). Lastly, we ended up at Porto (part 5) for a few more days to complete the 10-day trip.
Where to Stay in Lisbon
Lisbon is no short of beautiful hotels of all budgets and characters to stay in. On both my visits, I’ve stayed near the Rossio station, which is in the Baixa area and super central for exploring the city. Most sights are conveniently walkable from there and you’ve got Rossio station at your corner for a day trip to Sintra. Bairro Alto is another popular location that is just next to Baixa. Other areas you can consider are Chiado and Alfama. Both are still considered centre-ish but may require more walking.
Lisbon Hotel Recommendations
- Browns Boutique Hotel – ££
- Alegria A Lisbon Boutique Hotel – ££
- Convent Square Lisbon, Vignette Collection by IHG – ££
- Altis Avenida – £££
- Bairro Alto Hotel – £££
- Memmo PrÃncipe Real – ££££
- Valverde Hotel – ££££
- Verride Palácio Santa Catarina – ££££
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Getting Around in Lisbon
The metro network is generally quite good and easy to navigate in Lisbon. You will have to purchase a Viva Viagem card, where you tap in and out at stations and buses. There is the option of paying for a single journey or purchasing a 24-hour day ticket, where you get to use the metro unlimited times within the time frame.
Since we were staying quite central, we didn’t find the need for a day ticket as most places are reachable on foot. We only purchased individual journeys for going from the airport to Lisbon’s city centre, from Lisbon to Sintra, Cascais to Lisbon, and topped up for a tram ride from Lisbon’s city centre to Belem. We also used Uber a few times when we got too tired to walk. All in all, it’s pretty convenient to get around Lisbon.
Alternatively, if you are planning to visit many sights, you might want to consider getting the Lisboa Card, which offers you unlimited public transportation and access to 51 attractions within 24/48/72 hours after time of card activation.
What to Do in Lisbon for 4 Days
Day 1 – Manteigaria, Alfama, Cervejaria Ramiro
Check in at our Airbnb
We stayed at an Airbnb that’s super conveniently located near the Martim Moniz metro station, which is pretty central. Our host kindly prepared some treats for us as we arrived, and we were super grateful for it after a bit of an uphill climb to get there (Lisbon is a hilly city!).
Lunch at Bonjardim
Once settled in, we set out to grab a quick lunch at Bonjardim near our Airbnb. Bonjardim is known for its spit-roasted peri peri chicken, but since it’s not halal, I went with fried Bacalhau instead. “Bacalhau” is the Portuguese word for codfish, typically dried and salted to help preserve it, and it’s a Portuguese culinary staple. The fish was lovely, as per the high-quality seafood standards you can expect around Portugal.
Pastel de Nata at Manteigaria
Right after, we wandered over to the shopping district of Baixa and visited Manteigaria, a.k.a my favourite pastel de nata spot in Lisbon!
When in Lisbon, Pastel de Nata is a must. There are two particular spots most renowned for it – Manteigaria and Pasteis de Belem. We were fortunate to get a fresh batch out of the oven, and the pastel de natas were as lovely as I remembered – super gooey, fragrant, and mighty delicious.
Baixa and Praça do Comércio
While in Baixa, it’s lovely to stroll around the plazas and bustling shopping streets. You may want to check out the Santa Justa Elevator, which connects the lower streets of the Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo.
We didn’t bother with the elevator and kept walking down towards Praça do Comércio, which I think is the best place to soak up the bustling vibes of Lisbon, with the waterfront views.
Alfama
Next up, we walked up to Alfama, the historic district of Lisbon, packed with charming but steep cobbled streets and boasting beautiful views over the city. Portas do Sol, especially, offers a fantastic viewpoint of Lisbon’s sea of red roofs and the ocean. Another unmissable sight would be the Se Cathedral, Lisbon’s oldest church and most iconic religious building.
We planned to make a visit to Cafe Garagem, a local gem with stunning views of the area. A bit of a hike later, however, we found out it wasn’t open on that day! So we just wandered around the pretty streets, took pictures, and walked back downhill. Though keep reading on, as we managed to squeeze time to revisit the cafe another day!
Seafood Feast at Cervejaria Ramiro
For dinner, we revisited my favourite seafood restaurant in Lisbon, Cervejario Ramiro. The king prawns are a must-order, and they were absolutely heavenly. I was also thrilled to see that they’ve added more amazing dishes to the menu, including Lobster Rice, Steamed Crab and many more! The meal certainly did not disappoint and was just so good that I couldn’t recommend it enough.
Day 2 – Zenith Lisboa, Pasteis de Belem, Jeronimos Monastery
Breakfast at Zenith Lisboa
The next day, we started off with an epic breakfast at Zenith Lisboa – a popular brunch spot in town where we feasted on pancakes, both sweet & savoury, and some great coffee! For all the breakfast spots we visited during the trip, Zenith is probably my most favourite one. Read my full review on Zenith Lisboa here.
Pasteis de Belem
After breakfast, we headed down to Rossio and hopped on the 15E tram to Belem. Once we hopped off, we decided to pop by the renowned Pasteis de Belem first before doing any other sightseeing.
Belem is known to be the birthplace of the now worldwide famous pastel de nata. Since the early 19th century, Pasteis de Belem has continued to serve the very original recipe of the iconic Portuguese custard tarts. It is believed that these pastries were originally made and sold to the monks at the Jerónimos Monastery next door during the Liberal Revolution days.
Expect huge queues outside the pastry shop, but do not be put off by it. If you walk inside the shop, there is actually a huge sitting area for dine-in. Other than pastel de nata, we also tried the Chocolate Doughnut, as well as coffees and hot chocolate.
Belem
After a full and happy belly, we set out to walk around Belem, seeing iconic sights such as Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the Belem Tower – one of Lisbon’s renowned landmarks featuring a massive open terrace towards the ocean. We didn’t join the massive queues to visit inside Belem Tower and chose to enjoy the river view from outside.
Jerónimos Monastery
Then we visited the Jerónimos Monastery, Portugal’s most impressive symbol of power and wealth during the Age of Discovery. History aside, the monastery showcases magnificent architecture, with each column of the cloisters individually carved with coils of rope, sea monsters, coral, and other sea motifs, evocative of that time of world exploration at sea.
Ponte 25 de Abril
From Belem, instead of immediately taking the tram back to central Lisbon, we walked towards the picturesque Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge and explored more of that area. As long as the weather permits, it’s a really nice walk along the promenade!
The bridge shares striking similarities with the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco. Should you be interested in getting a better view, you can hop on the Pilar 7 Bridge Experience, where there’s an elevator that takes you to a panoramic viewing platform.
Village Underground Lisboa
Continuing the walk, we then arrived at Village Underground Lisboa, a creative space composed of 14 maritime containers and 2 disabled buses that are meant to serve as a co-working space. It almost felt like a mini theme park as we walked up and down through the installations. We then popped into one of the double-decker buses that housed a small cafe to grab a drink and some desserts.
Lx Factory
After that, we stopped by Lisbon’s new hot spot – the Lx Factory. The old industrial complex has been renovated into this really cool shopping & restaurant area. It almost reminds me of London’s Shoreditch, but more artsy and vibrant.
We particularly popped into the Livraria Ler Devagar, formerly a printing space converted into a beautiful bookstore. Upon stepping in, you’d be greeted by a wall of books that spans across two storeys and all the way up to the ceiling, plus the unmissable sculpture of a bicycle hanging in the middle of the shop.
Cafe Garagem
Just the day before, we missed out on Cafe Garagem, but the second time’s a charm. For the record, we weren’t particularly keen on doing the steep uphill walk back up to Alfama again after a whole day of walking and took an Uber there instead.
Anyway, Cafe Garagem is a cafe downstairs of the Teatro da Garagem and an absolute gem in the area. If you want one of the dreamiest views of the castle district and Alfama, Cafe Garagem is the spot.
Dinner at Bairro Do Avillez
You might have noticed I didn’t mention anything about lunch for this day…this is because we didn’t! And you bet we were famished by dinnertime despite having snacked throughout with pastries and desserts. Bairro Do Avillez is a popular and buzzing restaurant in the heart of the Chiado area. It is founded by renowned Portuguese chef, Jose Avillez, and offers a great selection of a modern take on traditional Portuguese dishes.
Options are a little bit limited as the meats are not halal, but we still had some nice seafood options. Most memorably, the Prawn Acorda had been a pretty interesting one. It’s a Portuguese speciality and roughly translates as a savoury bread stew/porridge. Essentially, think of porridge, but made from bread and savoury in flavour. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but certainly an interesting one to try out!
Day 3 – Day Trip, TimeOut Market
Day trip to Sintra & Cascais
For Day 3, we decided to start the day early for a day trip to Sintra and Cascais. Last time I only spent half a day at Sintra, but this time we had a pretty jam-packed itinerary and visited more sights. See part 2 for the full itinerary.
Late-night stop at TimeOut Market
The train back from Cascais to Lisbon stops at Cais Do Sodre, which is right next door to the TimeOut Market. We were absolutely knackered by then (it was almost midnight) but thought we might as well have a quick stroll before calling an Uber back to our AirBnB. Even though it’s relatively late, it’s still pretty busy in there. We treated ourselves to a cheeky little pastel de nata from Manteigaria.
Day 4 – Heim Cafe, Pink Street, Bica Funicular
Breakfast at Heim Cafe
After a few days of lots of walking (especially around Sintra!), we decided to take it easy and be more chilled for our last day in Lisbon. We started the day with a visit to the Heim Cafe, a super popular brunch spot in town. I enjoyed some Coffee Pancakes and a really lovely cup of gaḷo (the Portuguese version of a latte) Рyou can read more about it on my Heim Cafe food review.
Lisbon Pink Street
What would attract all the Instagrammers? A street coloured pink! The actual name of the street is Rua Nova do Carvalho and is a hub of Lisbon’s nightlife. It used to be the red light district, with plenty of shady stories where sailors and criminals hung about, as opposed to the vibrant, quirky district we see today. The street was painted pink fairly recently (finished in 2013) as part of a gentrification project. We stopped for some quick photos and then headed off to another cafe in the area to continue our day.
Comoba Cafe
Why settle for one breakfast when you can have two?! We popped by another popular cafe/brunch spot in town, Comoba Cafe, for more coffee and treats. The vegan-friendly cafe features a stylish interior, and we enjoyed the likes of vegan matcha pancakes, charcoal latte, and more. Read more about Comoba Cafe here.
Bica Funicular
When in Lisbon, a tram ride is a must! And there’s no ride more iconic than the Bica Funicular. Well, technically it isn’t a tram, but you get what I mean, and it’s arguably Lisbon’s most iconic view. The funicular railway line connects you from Cais do Sodré to Bairro Alto and it’s a scenic ride. Tickets are available on board or via contactless debit card, and are priced at €4.20 for two trips.
Other sights to see in Lisbon
So this pretty much sums up our itinerary for Lisbon. From there, we hopped on the train from Santa Apolónia to our next stop to Coimbra (part 3). But before we jump ahead to the next city, read more about our day trip to Sintra & Cascais in part 2!
Hi! Thank you for sharing your trip. I was wondered if Uber is reliable to be used in Lisbon please as I will have an early morning flight back to UK? Therefore I plan to Uber it to airport on 3am in the morning. Thanks
Hi Lilyani, from my experience, using Uber was absolutely fine to get around in Lisbon despite hearing some stories of ride cancellations. I haven’t tried the pre-book function though (which I assume you’ll need for your 3am ride) but I think it should be fine! Maybe just have a backup plan like asking your hotel/airbnb host. Hope this helps 🙂
This trip sounds amazing. Is this your own private trip or do you have prices for this itinerary?
Hi Eleanor! It was an amazing trip indeed 🙂 This is just my own private trip. I’m happy to dig out the prices – are there anything specific you wanted to know about re prices?