Lisbon

With our base for exploration just outside of Lisbon, we are lucky enough to be able to venture in and check it out fairly frequently.

Our first posts, as full-fledged tourists, about Lisbon catalogued our initial favorite tourist sites and tips. Upon our return to Portugal, we spent a day in Lisbon and hit Ramiro Cervejaria, which is on a lot of lists and for good reason. Despite the ticket machine, it still seems quite authentic to its roots prior to Anthony Bourdain’s visit.

For the history buffs, check out our posts on the Convento do Carmo, destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and never rebuilt, and the Largo de Sao Domingos near Rossio Square. We take visitors on a walking tour starting in Praça do Comercial, up to the Carmo area (Chiado), down across the Baixa area through Rossio and then up into Alfama with stops at some of our favorite overlooks, miradouros (view points) and kiosks along the way.

If you’re here at the winter holidays, definitely carve out some time to just wander the Plazas, squares and streets and check out the lights. Beautiful.

If you’re here in June, check the calendar to see if your visit coincides with St. Anthony’s Day to check out the weddings, parades and sardines. Bring your party hat!

Close by, you can explore Sintra and its National Palace or Pena Palace, both a quick train trip away or take a quick train out to Cascais to explore this little resort town (FYI – you can’t take the same train to both and there is no train which runs between Sintra and Cascais. Taxis or busses do run between the two if you don’t have a car).

The Setubal peninsula is just across the Ponte de 25 de Abril and offers a close-to Lisbon wine region to explore. We spent a couple of days exploring it based out of Palmela and were not disappointed.

With lots to do in and around, Lisbon is near the top of our favorite cities lists.