This is truly one of Europe’s forgotten gems. Full of all the history, culture and architecture of favorite’s like Rome and Paris, this city has it all but flies under the radar.

EXPERIENCE

Praca do Comercio (Comercio Square) is the center square ideal for strolling around. Tuk tuks and trolleys shuttle locals and tourists between the city’s main attractions which include Belem Tower, the Design and Fasion Museum, Rossio Square, Costa do Castelo, Castelo Sao Jorge and the Se de Lisboa.

Much of the charm of Lisbon lies in strolling the tile clad neighborhoods and cobblestone streets. Some of the best neighborhoods to explore are the Alfama District, Barrio Alto and Baxia Chiado.

The real highlights of Lisbon for me were two separate day trips we embarked on via train with Lisbon as a hub. One was to Sintra and one was to Evora. Sintra was absolutely stunning and very historic. Here Pena Palace takes the cake as the main attraction. Be sure to also make time to stroll the gardens and decadent structures of Quinta da Regaleria Palace. The Grotto East, Unfinished Well, Initatic Well (spiral shaped) and summer residence of Carvalho Monteiro really are worth seeing. If you use the Hop On, Hop Off bus to get around town, another attraction worth checking out en route is the Cabo da Roca, the most Western part of Europe. We ended the day here with a trip past the Moorish Castle and with a glass of Portugese wine at Barron Bar in the heart of the whimsical downtown area.

Our second day trip was to Evora, a quaint and small little town with an impressive church. We enjoyed sipping wine and eating lunch among the beautiful white facades and finally made our way to the attraction we came to see, Capela dos Ossos. Capela dos Ossos is a chapel made entirely of human bones and skulls. Other things to check out while in town are the Design Museum, Roman Ruins and city garden. We also had one of the best meals of the trip at Café Alentejo. A cute coffee shop worth hitting near the train station, Alkimia Café, also makes from a nice respite from the hilly walking.

STAY

We had a wonderful experience using Airbnb for our entire trip and chose a large property, that appeared to be a former nightclub, in the Alfama District. I was very easy to explore the city by foot from this neighborhood.

EAT

“Honey, jam, cheese and ham!” read a sign outside a local restaurant as I arrived—these seem to be the staples of the Portuguese cuisine. We added to this plenty of bacon, olives, a little seafood and of course lots of red wine. Also be sure to taste the local cherry liqueur called Ginja, to me the taste resembled cough syrup more than a cocktail, but to each his own.

Some of our favorite eateries in Lisbon included the rooftop at Memmo Design Hotel for cocktails and ham croquettes over looking the city. We ate lots of prosciutto and charcuterie as small venues around town and really loved the Time Out Market as a place to explore many varieties of local cuisine easily. Brunch + Café is a great spot for breakfast with eggs benedict and giant frothy cappuccinos. Also be sure to hit the Home Hostel for breakfast, they offer acai bowls and avocado toast with poached eggs. This place was a little less authentic, but one of my favorites as fruits and vegetables were hard to come by in great quantities in many restaurants. The Gandhi Café delivered on one of our best Indian meals and Nicola is great stop for a quick sandwich. Overall the food of Portugal was okay to me. I think they significantly lag behind Spain and their Mediterranean counterparts in terms of flavors and the quality of ingredients though the prices are unbeatable.