Lisbon, Portugal
A lively city by the sea.
Our trip to Lisbon, Portugal was very spontaneous. It was October of 2019 and round trip flights to Lisbon dropped to less than $500 per person, that was all I needed in order to finally convince Jose to go. And so we did, we booked tickets to leave the day after Thanksgiving and for a beautiful week we got to experience what I’ve heard some people call, “the poor man’s Spain”.
While Lisbon has been growing in popularity amongst travelers, for a long time, this gem of a city has been overlooked, which is such a shame because it is stunning and is abundant in amazing food options. This has been one of our absolute favorite (and cheapest) vacations and we are always looking for reasons to go back.
Stay
We stayed at a lovely little airbnb in the Alfama neighborhood for a week and I highly recommend that area; it was quiet and felt very timeless, plus it was easy to walk and get around to all other areas. To be honest, I don’t think you could go wrong staying in any of the neighborhoods as each had it’s own flavor and charm. A week was the perfect amount of time to really explore the area, find your favorite places, and go back for a second time.
Food
Fauna & Flora. Arguably our favorite breakfast place in the world, we went here 3 times during the 1 week we were in Lisbon. They weren’t taking reservations when we went and understandably we often had to wait to get in but the wait was worth it. They have a magical take on pancakes, eggs, also great coffee and mimosas. Everything we ordered was phenomenal.
Dear Breakfast. Another great breakfast place that had cute vibes and simple dishes. There were a few locations so if you are out walking around in the morning and stumble upon this place, grab a seat, get some coffee and an order of the avocado toast.
Jamie Oliver Italian. This was some of the BEST Italian food we’ve ever had. Portions were huge and reasonably priced. We both got pasta that was amazing but the garlic bread appetizer was to die for and so was the brownie dessert. I’m not sure if this is a place that changes their menu often but if so, try whatever you can and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Timeout Market. Just go lol. This place was also AMAZING; it’s a huge food court with a myriad of different types of food and chefs. We went twice and were super impressed each time. The first time we ate at the Chef Kiko booth. He has a restaurant (A Cevicheria) that is supposed to be one of the best cevicherias in Lisbon but we did not get a chance to go. Luckily we stumbled upon his food at the Timeout Market (see picture below) and were blown away.
Wine & Cheese Shop. The wine and cheese restaurant we found is no longer there but it was one of those places that we ran into it when we got caught in the rain (pretty romantic) and we just loved it’s charm and good music. There are so many of these places in Lisbon! So while you might not be able to come to this exact place, this experience showed us how magical those moments are of finding those quiet little gems abroad. Stumble into places, enjoy the music, ask the waiters for their wine recommendations, and sink into enjoying the slow moments.
Pastel De Nata. Not a restaurant, but a traditional dessert/snack of Portugal. We would walk into any random pastry place after savoring over the desserts in the windows and grab a few to eat on our walks. It was a surprisingly light custard treat that we still dream of.
To Do
Check out all the different neighborhoods and find your favorite to come back to. The LX Factory is a fun place to check out, get souvenirs from and see some really cool art.
What we didn’t do but I wish we did: Listen to Fado music. We heard a singer outside of a bar on our way back to our airbnb one night and it was beautiful but we didn’t get a chance to sit and really enjoy the music. If you have that chance, definitely take it.
