Lisbon

In May 2016, after a fairly eventful beginning to the trip (always check your passport expiration, folks), I was so glad to land in Lisbon, Portugal a few days later than expected. I took an easy subway ride to meet my friend at our B&B, and after an espresso and a pastry, we hit the ground running. And by running, I mean wandering: up and down cobblestoned streets, street-art coated alleys, along the water, in the hills, and to every look-out point possible. Five days there — while not nearly enough time, ever — was enough to give us the chance to take day trips to a palace and to a beach, to eat as many tiny fish as possible, and to spend roughly two hours in the most wonderful ceramics shop I’ve ever visited.

The basics:

Language: Portuguese! My friend and I found that we did okay getting around with a mix of French, Spanish and English.

$$$: In Portugal, they use the Euro. The country is known to be among the least expensive places to travel in Europe, though with the influx of tourists, that may be changing.

Transportation: My friend and I chose not to rent a car because we’d read that travel within the city—and beyond for day trips—was easy by public transportation. This turned it out to be very true! It’s cheap and easy to navigate, and many of the subway stops are actually lovely. However, this city is made for wandering. As such, we walked over 10 miles a day, I think, not even trying, up and down pretty steep hills, so keep that in mind when choosing your shoes. 

Accommodations: We really liked our Airbnb in the Bairro Alto neighborhood of Lisbon. A great location — super easy to walk or grab the subway to wherever we wanted to go. It was nice to feel like we were truly in a neighborhood, as opposed to a tourist hub.

Places to eat: 

1. You've probably heard too much about Mercado da Ribeira. That said, I think it’s worth a stop. My friend and I had a delicious clam and butter bean dish that I'm still thinking about (from Miguel Castro e Silva, #10 on this map). It’s not a bad idea to stop for some vinho verde here, either. (Also, it has wifi, which is helpful for planning your next move.) 

2. Go to Graca do Vinho for snacks/wine. When we were there, the server was helpfully and jovially opinionated when we asked about what to order. We sat at a table outside which was both a great idea (beautiful night, lots of good people watching) and a bad idea (any sudden movements seemed likely to throw you down the steep hill this place is on). Inside looked cozy, too. We just went for a late night bite after still being a little full from lunch, but it seems like you could make this spot work for whatever kind of meal you needed. 

3. Get Mozambican food at Cantinho do Aziz. Great location, super friendly people, and lots and lots of delicious food. Make sure to get the miamba wa macau, a prawn dish with a buttery curry sauce so good I barely restrained myself from licking the bowl. Try to get a reservation if you can—they were packed. 

4. Gelataria Nannarella. A small will get you three flavors (and whipped cream if you’d like). It's among the best gelato I've ever had. If it’s there, try the strawberry—it’s so rich with the fruit it’s more red than pink. 

5. You almost definitely heard the phrase “pasteis de nata” the second you told someone you were going to Lisbon. These traditional egg-custard tarts are sunshine yellow and the perfect sweet treat to have with a strong espresso. (I wrote about their origin on Extra Crispy.) My favorite ones we had were from Manteigaria, where you can watch them being made. Note that the store is open until midnight... This turns out to be extremely helpful. (FYI: There's a location in the Mercado da Ribeira, too, but the separate storefront was far less busy.)

What to Do: 

1. If the weather’s good, go to the seaside town of Cascais. It's a very easy train ride. If you get off one stop early, you can walk along the boardwalk and scope out the beaches. We left late morning from Lisbon (after picking up a bag of cherries from a fruit stand) and spent a few hours under an umbrella on one of the less-crowded beaches, and then got hungry enough to go find some lunch. We decided to wander through the town (so many bougainvilleas and jacarandas and pastel-colored houses!) and walk towards the Boca do Inferno, or "mouth of hell." We found a decent seafood restaurant where we could spend the afternoon. From there, we walked down to the Boca, and sat on the cliffside enjoying the crashing waves. We were back at our bed and breakfast in time for a shower before dinner.  

2. Go to Sintra, particularly Pena Palace. A few disclaimers: The palace will be crowded. Going in isn't cheap, necessarily. BUT it was also magic. We arrived late morning and took a tuktuk up and down the mountain. (It was fast and worth it if you don't feel like hiking a big enough mountain and adding at least a couple hours to your day.) While the inside of the palace is lovely, it is far from the best part of the experience. Don’t miss walking the outside of the castle and exploring the grounds. It's a beautiful, strange place. The farther you walk away from the castle, the quieter it gets—plus you come across things like beautiful greenhouses and baby goats. Pick up pastries from Piriquita for the train ride home. 

3. I got a tiny bit obsessed with tiles when I was in Lisbon (when in Rome...). If you get similarly preoccupied, may I recommend the tile museum? 

4. Lisbon is full of lookout points, but my favorite one is called Miradouro da Graca. We went in the evening, so it was a little quieter, and it was a beautiful, sparkly view of the city. (It's also very close to Graca do Vinho, if you want to make a night of it.) 

Where to Shop:

1. I'd recommend bringing another bag just so you can go to my new favorite store in the world, a by-the-kilogram ceramics store called Ceramicas na Linha. I probably spent two hours here (and could have spent many more—my friend was very patient) and walked away with five beautiful new dishes for around 20 euro. This is a great place for gifts for people back home (or for yourself). 

2. There are a couple shops that sell only Portugal’s famous tinned fish. They're delightful. Conserveira de Lisboa is more old-school and smaller and Loja das Conservas is a well-curated shop and museum in one. 

3. A Vida Portuguesa is 100% made for tourists, but that isn't to say that the store isn't 1) beautiful and 2) great for little knickknacks/souvenirs. (Also they have sweet woven cotton rugs there for around 7 euro.) There's a location right around the corner from the ceramics place.

 O fim

A magic place. And next time: Porto. The Algarve. The vineyards!