We want to make travel a breeze so you can have a stress free trip to celebrate with us and r e l a x after a long year of staying home. We’ve put together a list of travel tips that we hope help you have the best time!
Food & Travel Guides
One of the reasons we love Portugal so much is obviously the food. Sitting on the coast, the food culture is heavily influenced by seafood (hello, bacalhau!). We could go on and on but we’ll save it and leave you with some really great guides that led us to some of the best meals of our lives!
Conde Nast Lisbon Travel Guide
We suggest getting tickets to any sites like the monastery, Belem, the Palace in Sintra, or Benagil cave tours ahead of time and plan to go early for 2 reasons. 1 - it’s a better experirnce without a crowd and 2 - capacity is still limited so we don’t want you to miss the opportunity because the bookings are full!
Reservations to top restaurants book quickly so do that ahead of time if you had your heart set on a particular place! Most breakfast and lunch spots are easy to walk into but don’t expect a Michelin dinner to be readily available without a reservation.
About Lisbon…
Lisbon is the capital of Lisbon and has a ton of sightseeing to do being the oldest cities in Europe outside of Athens. It’s a lot like Philadelphia with different neighborhoods making up the city but has a San Franciscan feel. Here are a few areas that we enjoyed staying, eating and exploring:
Alfama: this is the oldest area in Lisbon. It’s tiny, cobblestone roads crammed with tiny houses, eateries and shops. It’s more touristy than traditional now but still has a lot of the traditional Fado (musical genre) nights if you’re into the experience. It contains 2 of the largest tourist attractions, St. George’s Castle and Se Cathedral.
Principe Real: This is a more upscale area with high end shopping and food. Think Rittenhouse/Gayborhood. Our two favorite restaurants are here: Tapisco, a Spanish tapas joint, and A Cevecheria, which is literally a cevecheria. Both hold Michelin and can be hard to get into, so reserve ahead of time (however if you wait outside before they open, you can usually just sit down to be the first served).
Bairro Alto: this area is very similar to Fishtown. It’s known for it’s nightlife scene and really cool restaurants. Here you can ride the famous, Ascensor da Bica, or at least grab some cool photos.
Baixa: This neighborhood is really tourist friendly. It’s closest to main street type of shopping, dining and landmarks near the river.
Chiado: More of a historic neighborhood, there are many theaters, museums and shopping in this neck of the woods.
Transportation
Uber is very popular and affordable. If you want your own car, you can book through Guerin or Sixt. Most rentals available are manual; automatics are limited and more expensive. We wouldn’t suggest a car if staying in Lisbon as parking is tight, but if you chose to stay in a smaller town it should be okay. It’s a lot like parking in the city either way - the streets are narrow and there are no driveways.