Lisbon – a perfect European City

After Paris, this is probably our favourite European city to date.

Portugal is a popular holiday destination for residents from across Europe, with the southern Algarve region offering countless hotels and beach resorts.

For us, Lisbon was our first experience of Portugal – and as we didn’t know of anyone who had visited the Portuguese capital, we had no expectations whatsoever.

And we loved it – the distinctive yellow trams, the remnants of the period of exploration, the district of Belem set on the banks of the Tagus River and enjoying traditional pastel de nata. We packed a lot into a week, even having time to jump on the train for the 20-minute journey west to the coastal town of Cascais (we visited in October when it was lovely and quiet!).

Must Dos On A Visit To Lisbon

Sao Jorge Castle

Up winding streets, Sao Jorge castle is good starting point to learn some of the history of the city, and with magnificent views across Lisbon from its hill top location, it a good way to get a feel for the layout. Somewhat unexpected were the peacocks that wander freely around the grounds. Originally brought to Lisbon as trophies during the Age of Empire, there are currently around 40 peacocks at the castle.

Jump on a tram or Funicular

Trams, funiculars, cable cars – we can’t stop ourselves from seeking them out wherever we go. And in Lisbon, there are both trams and funiculars, so of course, we had a ride on both! The iconic Number 28 Tram passes through many of the main tourist areas, and as a result, tends to be full to bursting, but there are plenty of other trams that wind around the bends and hills, so its worth jumping on any.

Belem

Just a short tram ride from the main centre, Belem is a district of Lisbon that sits near the mouth of the Tagus River. It is from here that Portugals’ explorers departed for far off lands, with The Monument of Discoveries celebrating this Age of Discovery and immortalising such famous adventurers as Henry the Navigator and Vasco da Gama.

Belem tower was built in the 16th century and served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers. The tower is open to the public with tickets available to purchase on site.

Cascais

Around an hour by train from central Lisbon, Cascais makes a lovely day trip. There is not a great deal in the town, but it’s a lovely journey and its nice to just wander around quieter streets, and also enjoy the lovely sandy beach.

Lisbon Zoo

We’re not huge fans of zoos and tend to avoid them, but Anya was around 9 years old when we visited Lisbon, and so it was a balance between exploring a city and seeking out child-friendly activities. And this zoo was very much about conservation, with good enclosure space for the animals. Favourite part – the little cable car that took you up over the enclosures and around to the different areas (we must have gone on it at least three times!).

Enjoy nata

Pastel de Nata, the delicious custard tarts that are traditional in this part of the world, and actually originate from Belem. Now, while The Pastéis de Belém has been operating since the first half of the 19th century and, as a result, draws the crowds with a long line of visitors waiting to grab a pastry, perhaps controversially, we preferred Fabrica de Nata, which just happened to be on the corner of where we were staying (which was in a one-bedroom apartment in the centre of Lisbon belonging to a lovely hostel that served waffles for breakfast!).

At Fabrica de Nata, the kitchen are was open so you could stand and watch the continual production line of these delicious tarts. And, their ‘special’ was a nata with a small glass of local port, and so our evening ritual became a nata each, a glass of port for me and hot chocolate for Anya, then a short walk back to our accommodation feeling very content!