I usually try to summarize my trips in one post if I am visiting more stops within the same country, especially because I barely find the time to post nowadays. In this case, however, I felt like Faro and Lisbon deserved their own posts. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Lisbon, but flights were way too expensive during the weekend we wanted to go. So, even though we decided to fly out to Faro first, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to take a 2h bus ride and explore the city at least a a little bit. If you are flexible enough and don’t mind some additional driving, why not right?! So, here it goes – one night (and two days) in Lisbon.

We’ve stayed in Good Morning Lisbon Hostel which is seriously one of the best hostels I’ve ever stayed. Every bed has its own curtain, so you have a little privacy, the common room area is super cool and stylish and their breakfast is amazing (waffles, paninis, fresh cooked eggs, fruits…). They have activities almost every night, so if you feel like being a little more social, you’ll definitely meet new people there.

We arrived in Lisbon around mid-day so we wanted to make the best out of it and started walking up and down the hilly streets of Lisbon. First thing we learned about the city – if you walk down, you for sure need to walk up that sucker at one point again (haha wise words on this Thursday morning), so don’t be afraid to walk – a lot. Of course there is an alternative. You can take one of their many trams that run up and down the streets. Try it at least once, its fun. Kinda reminded me of San Francisco in a way.

On our way down to the water and along the Igreja de São Roque we went to Restaurante Adega De S. Roque to grab lunch. The food was really nice (god, we ate so much fish), the service was alright. If you are looking for a restaurant to sit outside – thats not it. Its located right on the street and the few seats that they have outside are reserved for people that only want to order drinks.

If your continue walking down the road from Igreja de São Roque you eventually end up at the promenade of Tagus river that leads you right Praca do Comércio. Its a nice walk, which also brings you to Rua Augusta- the main shopping street. Also, you are passing by Rua Nova do Carvalho which is known as the “Pink Street” in Lisbon. You have a lot of bars and clubs down there and its pink, so you won’t miss it. Because we only spent one night in Lisbon and went to have typical Portuguese food (and I was still really hangover from the night before, ha!) we passed on Pink street this time. But I will for sure check it out, once I make it back to Lisbon.

Also, when you are in Lisbon (and you will read that everywhere) you will have to try Pasteis de nata. We went to Manteigaria, which is a small bakery that is famous of doing these little tarts. It’s not my personal favorite because it’s super sweet, but its worth a try.

So, we walked around Roa Augusta, tried some watched some street performers and took some pictures, before we went back to the hostel for the dinner in this very typical Portuguese restaurant. It’s a deal of the hostel and says offers a 4 course meal with unlimited drinks (beer and wine included).

The next day, we decided to go on the free walking tour to learn a little bit more about the cities history and get to know some of their cool neighborhoods. We went from our hostel down to Bairro Alta, which is one of the party quaters in Lisbon with lots of bars and a great view over the city (we also went to Elevator de Santa Justa to take some pictures and have a view over the city- you would never guess that most of the city was once destroyed by an earthquake), Alfama which is a more traditional part with a great view over the river and also Cais do Sodré, which is where Pink street is located as well.

In general, I really liked the city but would have loved to stayed longer. After the walking tour, we had lunch and had to go back to the hostel, because or train (what then was switched to the bus) left at 6 pm in the evening. I feel like we have seen all the most important sights, but we didn’t really experience all the different neighboorhoods in their glory. So, Lisbon is still on my bucketlist – next time it will just be a little bit more about experiencing the cities vibes rather than just doing the touristy sightseeing stuff.

Cheers!