I went to Portugal in the last week of October 2024. It was my second time in Lisbon, was there 5 years ago, and have to stay that the cool artistic vibe that Lisbon had back then, is even better now. Lisbon has progressed even further over the years, new cool districts, many internationals living there and buzzing nightlife, and of course many tourists during the high season.
The weather was great during our visit, between 21-23 °C degrees during the day, but colder at nights, so have a jacket with you.
Also be ready that you will climb up and down the hills quite a lot, so have comfortable shoes with you that wouldn't be slippery.
I decided to stay in the Bairro Alto area, it is one of the central districts in Lisbon city centre, has many trendy restaurants and bars, but also artsy places and parks around. Other good areas where to stay are Chiado, which is closer to the waterfront, and Alfama.
Pro tip: it was really cheap to go around using Bolt taxi app. For example taxi from airport to the place I stayed, which meant around 30 minute driving, costed less than 10 Euros.
The public transportation also works well, but with these kind of taxi prices, several times we decided to opt for taxi instead of crowded public transport.
We also visited coastal fancy city Cascais and to our surprise the best way to visit Cabo da Roca, the most Western point of Europe mainland, which is around 25 minute drive away from Cascais, costed us by Bolt only 18 Euros in total both ways. Highly recommend.
The food and overall prices are still cheaper than in other Western Europe capitals and the food is delicious. I lost track how many pastel de natas I ate during my visit and the fresh fish is simply delicious.
We were thinking if to visit this week both Lisbon and Porto,
but one week in Lisbon and rather doing day trips to Sintra, Cascais, or even Nazaré, makes way more sense and rather leave Porto for a separate trip:)
Here are my top places during this trip:
Sintra is famous hilly region near Lisbon, known for its many palaces. You can easily take a train from Lisbon Rossio train station and it takes around one hour one way. The trains can get quite crowded so plan accordingly and return ticket costs around 15 Euros.
Quinta da Regaleira palace was a nice surprise. Considering everyone knows it because of the famous spiral stairs (initiation wells), it also has a beautiful park area to wander around with many different sculptures and the palace interior itself is worth to see. It's only 10 minute walk away from Sintra city centre so makes even more sense to visit.
Pena Palace is up on a high hill, so the views from up there are amazing.
You can take a bus, tuktuk or a taxi up and then you still need to have a small walk up the hill or use palace shuttle bus. The palace colours make you feel like in a fairytale and you can also have a walk through the palace rooms.
We decided to take train to beach resort town Cascais and spend time at the beach. Although the weather was warm, the ocean makes the water rather cold, so quite soon we decided to take the taxi to Cabo da Roca instead and catch the sunset over there. It was really windy but 'oh boy' the powerful feeling to be on top of that hill and watch the sunset over the ocean, is a truly unique experience.
São Jorge Castle is right in the heart of Lisbon city centre in the Alfama area. Either you can take the crowded but famous old tram nr 28 up the hill or if you want to have a workout, then it takes around 20 minutes to go up to the castle on foot. Great place to enjoy views over Lisbon city centre and a great sunset spot. To my surprise they have peacocks roaming around the area freely and was cute to see how they go to sleep up to their tree.
If you want a quiet getaway from the city buzz, the Tropical Botanical Garden is a great place for an afternoon visit. On your way stop by also the viewing platform Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara.
16th century Belem Tower was once an important sea gateway for sea explorers. It is located about 5km away from Lisbon city centre, so a bus or taxi ride is recommended. When you are there, it is 10 minute walk to the Monument of the Discoveries and another 10 walk to the Jerónimos Monastery. The remains of the famous Portuguse explorer Vasco da Gama and grand poet Luís de Camões are buried in the monastery church.
Closeby is the famous Pasteis de Belem bakery, where they say they use an ancient recipe from the Jerónimos Monastery since 1837. Pro tip: don't wait in the long takeaway queue, but go inside where they have plenty of tables and queues are way shorter. A delicious experience is guaranteed:)
Overall I highly recommend to visit Lisbon and Portugal in general. Maybe even October is best time as it's less crowded and weather still warm. The food is good and coffee and wine are cheap, each city has its own vibe and you can either enjoy just a city break but recommend to explore the nature.
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