Discover Lisbon: Top 5 Attractions to Visit

The first time we tried to take a trip to Lisbon it was early in the time of Europe reopening. We booked a flight and not too long after the flight was booked the color code system that Europe, and specifically Belgium, was following had updated and Lisbon Portugal turned red.

At that time, if a country was red it meant that you were not to travel there, so luckily most airlines were granting refunds or letting you change your flight fairly easily so we were able to not miss out on what we spent for this first flight to Lisbon.

So when Lisbon was deemed safe to travel to it was no-brainer that this is where we wanted to go! We had seen a lot of images and information online about Lisbon, and Portugal in general, and just felt like it was somewhere we needed to visit!

We got to Lisbon from Cascais and we took an Uber. Sometimes you can get a car from the hotel to pick you up from where you are or from the airport. You can also take public transportation like buses or the metro system.

We got to our hotel right at check-in time so we could put our stuff down and then go explore.

The hotel was in such a perfect location that everything was within walking distance which we absolutely love!

Except for the Jeronimos Monastery, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Walking through the town and seeing the Praca do Comercio, which is the square along the Tagus river. There is a huge statue of the former king of Portugal, and shops and restaurants all around.

The Portuguese pavement, with its different stone patterns, was so beautiful and used in a lot of places where people were walking. It was really nice to see the yellow trolleys in real life, that you see in all the Instagram pictures.

We made it down to the waterfront and were pleasantly surprised to see the view of the bridge that looked like the Golden Golden Gate bridge which was really cool and The Sanctuary of Christ the King overlooking Lisbon, in the distance!

We walked along the water and just kind of enjoyed the warm, sunny weather! We found a pineapple drink stand, so cute! So of course we had to stop and get some pineapples… mine was a Caipirinha, which always reminds me of Brazil, and Brian’s was a Pina Colda!

One of my favorite things about being in a city that has a waterfront or some type of park that’s free to just chill in and watch the water, the people, and the day go by. If you have a drink in your hand, even better!

So that’s what we did: we grabbed the pineapples, we found a spot, and we just sat and watched and listened. Saw the people and chatted about life and how cool we were finding Lisbon so far.

Brian is always excited to take a boat tours every place that we’ve been and sometimes we’re not able to because we have the dog with us, but this trip we did not have our puppy, he was with a sitter so we were able to find out about a boat trip and book it fairly quickly, easily, and inexpensively through get your guide see link to the right to check out the exact trip that we took. It was an hour long and included wine, water, and snacks! Great views of the bridge, and prominent monuments, as well as a gorgeous sunset!

We spent a lot of time walking around, exploring, seeing what we can see just by wandering around we stumbled upon a giant elevator, The Santa Justa Lift, not sure if it was running, at the time of night we were there, but… we got to see it’s hugeness and nearby there were lots more restaurants and shops, including a pretty big mall!

The next day was a sightseeing day. There were places that I had seen around online doing my research on Pinterest and Instagram, that I knew I wanted to see and/or take pictures at, so that was the plan for this day.

We started with breakfast at the hotel which was so good, and then we head out to the places that we could walk to.

Then we got the Uber to Jeronimos Monastery. Jeronimos Monastery is a UNSECO world heritage site that used to be a place for monks to give spiritual guidance to the sailors who were passing through. The architecture here was incredible. The archways and intricate designs were reflective of sea exploration, and were really freaking cool! I felt like we could walk around here all day and just feel as if we were part of history. It cost €10 to get in, but it was definitely worth it for the history and the beauty that was found within!

So, this is another really good thing about getting an Uber, is that your Uber driver is an awesome source of information! If your Uber driver is chatty or friendly or interested in talking to you, they are a wealth of knowledge and can give you some really good local insight in where to go and what to do. If you travel with an extrovert, like I do (my husband), it makes it even better because he will ask all the questions and then I’m there ready to take all the notes!

Our driver recommended we go to the restaurant, Ramiro, to get seafood. A quick check of Tripadvisor, and this place is rated 4.5/5 and had over 10,000 reviews….. You couldn’t make a reservation, so we just showed up to see what happened. We got it right away, probably because it was still relatively early. Not a super fancy place but the service was amazing and there was so much bread! We ended up getting a shrimp and garlic appetizer and a lobster to share as the main! Wow! It was so delicious and reasonably priced which is even better!

Pink Street was super cute. You come around the corner and there’s a street that’s pink! Former Red Light District was painted pink in 2013 and now is known as a tourist attraction. Down pink street there are restaurants and bars, so we decided to come here one night and get a drink and then check out what the restaurants had. We went to this little bar and it was funny because they had a game playing on the tvs and the crowd in there was definitely rooting on their team so that was pretty fun to be around! We took some very interesting shots which gave us heartburn, but you know it’s for the experience!

Lisbon was a city that I would go back to in a heartbeat! Sunny days, great people, great food, what more could you need?

Here’s the list of musts!

Food

You must try the Nata pastry… okay so the name is cool… obviously, but these were literally soooo good! They are like a little custard pie… They had them out in the lobby of our hotel at all times of day, so whenever we’d walk by, I’d always snag one.. Or two..

Pastel de bacalhau- saw these all over, it’s like a codfish cake, filled with ooey gooey cheese. Thought I would love these… I did not. But, codfish is a staple here and these look so great so, still, give them a try.

Ginja in a chocolate cup- We found a little stand near the main square that was serving these babies. If you’ve ever had the Mon Cheri, cherry liqueur chocolates, it was just like that, yum!

Restaurant

Ramiro- super good seafood!

Hotel

Baxia- small rooms right in the center of everything! Very cute, cozy, and friendly staff! Super good breakfast!

To See

Miradouro de Santa Luzia - Gorgeous viewpoint

Pink Street - Bars, restaurants, cute photo op

Mosterio dos Jeronimos - Beautiful architecture

Boat Tour - Check out Lisbon from the water

Lisbon Cathedral- National Monument

Museu De Lisboa Santo Antonio - The entrance has a cute wall of flowers

Click below to view or book some fabulous experiences in Lisbon!