City Spotlight: Lisbon

When people talk about traveling to Europe, Portugal isn’t the first place that comes to mind. Everyone goes to Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, etc. I want to share my travel experiences with you to bring the less visited cities into the spotlight.

Lisbon, Portugal, is little less talked about but I found it to be one of the most culturally-rich cities in Europe.

Accessibility:

From the States, getting there can be a bit expensive. My trip to portugal was budget friendly. I was living in Barcelona at the time so my round trip cost me about 40 Euros on EasyJet.

Thankfully public transportation in Lisbon is easy to use and inexpensive. I took a bus from the airport to my hostel. There are many hostels in Lisbon. I found a cozy hostel overlooking Lisbon. It was in a residential area and next to a local restaurant. I was able to enjoy traditional Fado music and spend time with locals.

Street Art:

Street art was everywhere in Lisbon.

SIDEWALKS:

Lisbon had perfectly paved, mosaic sidewalks. If you ever visit, enjoy their wonderful sidewalks!

SIGHTSEEING:

Santa Justa Lift:

Praça dos Restauradores:

Trolley Rides:

Trolleys are a fun way to get around Lisbon!

Plaza Del Comercio:

Belem:

Castelo de São Jorge:

Sintra:

Several hours away from Lisbon, in Sintra, there is another castle, the Castle of the Moors. This castle was amazing. It was a very very very long walk through hills and a jungle to get to the castle. This castle was ENORMOUS. You can also take a tour through the rooms in the castle (definitely worth it). I can’t share photos of the inside with you because photos were not allowed.

Porto:

Porto is far north of Lisbon. It’s known for its port wine and my goodness, I have never had better wine than port wine! I was able to tour Taylor Fladgate’s winery. It was amazing, Porto was my favorite city in Portugal.

Thanks to Couch Surfing, I was able to find a place to stay for free. Fernando, our host is probably the king of couchsurfing! He has couchsurfers stay with him almost every night and has had visitors from almost every country! It was a very enriching experience. Fernando introduced us to some locals and other travelers and we all enjoyed dinner at his favorite spot.

Dining: 

The food in Portugal was incredible. We enjoyed wine with almost every meal, or Sangria of course. Portugal also has AMAZING coffee.  I also had the experience of trying rabbit. I fine with eating it until I found the bunny’s head.

Next time you think about taking a Eurotrip, don’t forget Portugal!

Happy travels,

xoxo

Lisa