We spent 4 days in total in Lisbon, which was a good amount of time, though I felt like we only scratched the surface! As we had gone to explore Lisbon on a Monday, and most museums were closed that day, we decided to get introduced to Lisbon by simply wandering around the city. From our airbnb, we took tram 28, a historical tram that ran from just outside our door. It was really crowded, but pretty cool!
Lisbon has its own distinctive architecture, lots of yellows and painted buildings, and a specific scent in the air, a mix of the smell of fresh washing hanging out, and sardines and fish. It's not unpleasant strangely enough, but for me it certainly became the smell of Portugal.
The Alfama neighborhood was one of my favourite to wander, and is the oldest in Lisbon!
We popped into Gelato Santini, where I had the best coconut icecream I've ever had, and then headed for the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (not the most catchy name I've ever heard). It was destroyed in the big 1775 earthquake of Lisbon, though some of it still stands, dating back to the 1400s! After the bustle of the city, there is something lovely about stepping into such a peaceful place.
Our last stop for the day was to sample Ginja, from the A Ginjihna bar, where shots are only 1.40 euros each. This fortified wine is infused with cherries and sugar, creating this delightfully sweet drink. It was so nice, we had two! It's clearly a winning recipe (created by a friar) as its been in business since 1840!
The next day we headed for the museum of Aljube, exploring resistance and freedom in Portugal, documenting the dictatorship that ruled Portugal from 1926-1974. This building was once a political prison, and the cells are still visible. Highly informative, this is well worth a visit to see the struggle Portugal underwent, not to mention we had a lovely museum assistant who let us out onto the roof for one of the best views in Lisbon!
A stop at Gelato Davvero provided a perfect break, where I tried a lovely ricotta, walnut and honey flavor. Their coconut was not as good as the previous gelateria however.
Our next visit was to the tranquil English cemetery, created in the 1700s, it is very peaceful and quiet. A monument to Henry Fielding (the English novelist) can also be found here, though where he was actually buried is unknown.
For me the food highlight of Lisbon was Cantinho lusitano, a tapas bar that was probably my best food experience in all of Portugal! This tiny, simple family restaurant had only a few tables, served delicious bread and cheese and an insanely nice spiced pumpkin jam, we ate way too much of everything. Best of all it was very reasonably priced! We finished with gelato from Nannarella, which was probably a mistake as we were already far too full. It was very enjoyable however!
Belem
Belem is another worthwhile visit, and an easy half day trip from the centre of Lisbon. One of the highlights here is without a doubt the Jeronimos Monastery, the cloisters were amazing! This structure took a hundred years to build, beginning in 1501, and was built by King Manuel I. Funnily enough, it was then filled with monks whose purpose were to pray for the eternal soul of the king. What a coincidence. (In his defense, they also prayed for sailors leaving from the port in search of new lands, so I suppose he wasn't completely selfish). irritatingly (especially when paying ten euros) a lot of the monastery was off limits, so although what we did see was amazing, it did become frustrating to be barred at every turn.
We also walked to Belem tower and admired it from the outside, though we didn't feel the need to go in. A stop in Belem wouldn't be complete without a visit to Pasteis de Belem for delicious pasteis de nata. The recipe belonged to the monks at the aforementioned monastery, and was sold to the bakery in the 1830s.
Speaking of food, back into Lisbon we went, to try the Time Out mercado da Ribeira, a covered market full of local specialties and amazing food by the best local chefs. My dream come true. There was so much choice, everything looked delicious, and I wanted to eat EVERYTHING. Sometimes life is hard.
São Jorge Castle
Having not yet seen the iconic São Jorge Castle that crowns Lisbon, we decided to make this one of our last stops for the trip. Having heard how busy it gets, we went first thing in the morning as it just opened, which was an excellent idea! It's about a 45 minute walk up, but worth it! Not only are the views awesome, but the castle is pretty cool too. We admired the crenellations.
I really enjoyed going to the castle also from a personal note, as my mum had visited many years before. It's always strange to think of your parents having lives before you, but I had photographic evidence! I therefore decided to take a photo as similar as possible, because why not! It was interesting to see how much Lisbon must have changed, even the castle wall had been rebricked!
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