Lisbon in 5 days
Updated: Apr 26
Stop two on our Portugal adventure started with an easy three hour train from Porto to Lisbon.
Where to stay: We found an airBnB in Alfama (the old Moorish quarter), which had tons of character. There were trade offs- our bedroom door was a curtain, but it just looked cool. ttps://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1237809?unique_share_id=23da8c33-d6f1-4436-bfb3-11c49140f1c1&viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76
Generally speaking, I want to stay in the historical or 'old' part of these European cities. Even though this puts you in a tourist area, I love to be able to walk out my door and get that time travel vibe. Alfama is ideal in this sense but did not have as many rental options as Baixa, Chiado
and Barrio Alto which are all contiguous and easy to walk between. Staying in any of these areas would be great. Our place was within a block of Lisbon Cathedral and allowed us to walk to many areas of interest.
After we checked in, we immediately walked up towards Castelo de Sao Jorge and had a great lunch in a small spot named Ludo's. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering in Alfama which is dense with tourists but very atmospheric. Our group scheduled a last minute sunset cruise on the Tagus, which turned out to be more of a booze cruise for 20 somethings. This would have been a great way to see the Belem Tower.
Unfortunately, the tower was surrounding by scaffolding due to renovations when we visited (June, 2025). My favorite part of the cruise was checking out the coast of Almada, opposite LIsbon. You also get a good view of the Cristo Rei statue inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.
The next morning a few of us woke up early to be the first in line at the Castelo de St. George, which was the way to see it. We did see a fairly large line outside in the afternoon so go early if you can because it was awesome with nobody else around.
This is a Moorish castle dating from the 11th century was a great stop. It sits on Lisbon's highest hill with incredible interior courtyards and views from the ramparts which you can walk along. I felt bad for those who slept in.
The hill has been inhabited since the 8th century BC. The Castle we see today was built by the Moors during their conquest of the Iberian peninsula.
Strolling through the open air courtyards in the morning light with a few peacocks wandering about was photographer heaven.
Having accommodation in Alfama was fantastic. We were able to stroll up the hill to the Castelo and when we were done, it was a very pleasant walk back to the apartment as the whole area has tons of character. We usually passed the cathedral or Se of Lisbon. I had read that getting a photo of the famous tram 28 in front of the Se was every tourist's goal. It was not very hard as it turns out- one goes by on the regular.
Afterwards we collected the rest of our group to explore the neighborhoods to our west: Baixa, Chiado and Barrio Alto. First stop breakfast right around the corner in Alfama at Dear Breakfast. It was tasty.
These areas all are fun to stroll through with tons of restaurants and shops and interesting architecture. We took a route through Chiado to the Elevador de Santa Justa. This iron elevator was built in 1902 to spare pedestrians from a steep climb connecting neighborhoods of Chiado with Barrio Alto. The designer famously studied with Gustave Eiffel.
It is unique looking so I would definitely walk by but it would be easy to bypass a ride given the wait in line and expense.
At the top, we disembarked outset the Carmo Convent. This Convent dates from the 14th century and was damaged in the 1755 earthquake leaving a roofless structure which now houses an archaeological Museum. Apparently reconstruction of the convent followed the quake of 1755 was suspended during a time (1834) when religious orders were abolished in Portugal. Later the city decided to maintain the open air ruin as a reminder of the tragedy.
Photos from the interior look cool but I have to pick my battles on a trip with 4 teens so we didn't go inside.
We wandered up to explore Barrio Alto. The Miradouro de Sao Pedro is worth a peek. The Igreja de Sao Roque has a very impressive interior despite its bland exterior. We did not find much of interest for our group in this part of town and headed over to the Principe Real area for shopping and lunch. There were some fun shops and we had a nice lunch before we headed back to Alfama for a siesta.
We took a tuk tuk tour that evening because we thought the kids would like it. The drivers were very fun and although we had visited many of the sites on the tour already, it was worth the cost for the adventure of cruising around in these open air vehicles. They buzzed around Alfama up to the Miradouro Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. This is a beautiful spot with buskers and our group enjoyed the vibe and views.
Next day was a day trip to Sintra.
Sintra is a must unless you only have a day
or two in Lisbon.
The last day in Lisbon we headed to Mouraria for breakfast. It is was a short, pleasant walk from Alfama. Breakfast was in a little square with a tree covered with yarn for some reason. It was delicious and we wandered around the neighborhood which was small and quiet. Mouraria is famous as a birthplace of Fado with a number of restaurants that feature this uniquely Portugese art form every night with live music. We checked out a few and returned that night to see a show at Tasquinha Canto do Fado. I think the food was pretty good but don't remember it as well as the music which was kind of incredible. Being a few feet away from these singers and musicians (it was a rotating crew doing short sets), was exciting. The music is full of passion and seeing it in a setting like this was well worth the cost.
They open the doors and the music spills out into the streets where the locals have their own party dduring the show. We hung out after the show for another drink while the musicians were joining in the revelry. It was a definite vibe- not to be missed. It was a late night and the next day we had to catch a bus to our last stop: the Algarve
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