Lisbon – 3 places you must see!

Lisbon has recently become a travel hit (which doesn’t surprise us), mainly due to cheap flights in that direction. It is also a great destination for a weekend getaway or a combined trip with, for example, Madeira or the Azores. What are your must-see or must-see experiences in and around Lisbon?

We ourselves have recently (surprisingly!) returned to Lisbon very often. Mainly due to our trips to Madeira or just the Azores (about which we will soon blog). We were also in Lisbon last year during our Babymoon:)

We think that the city itself and its surroundings deserve a longer stay (or maybe especially the surroundings). However, if you’re just a flight here or just dropped in for the weekend, we’d like to recommend these must-see places.

And yes, these may be obvious places for most of you, or conversely, the obvious ones may be missing for you. However, if you have a limited amount of time in Lisbon, we think you should consider our following suggestions for spending time first, as they were particularly memorable for us…. So here we go…

Sintra

Our #1, even though it is not Lisbon. Sintra is about 30 kilometers from Lisbon, so it’s really not far, and you can get there very easily by commuter trains. And it’s worth it, because there are a huge number of attractions for you to admire.

We highly recommend you take a trip to Sintra, as it was the one that impressed us the most during our stay in and around Lisbon.

Many people go from Sintra to Cabo de Roca and Cascais, but in our opinion Sintra is a gem that you absolutely must spend one full day on, without combining the trip with these two places (which are not as attractive as Sintra).

Being in Lisbon for two days, we think it is worth spending one day just in Sintra.

>>> You can read about Sintra here.

Ride the number 28 streetcar or elevators

Note, not all streetcars in Lisbon are beautiful, shiny yellow vehicles climbing sharply uphill. These are just a few! And you can even say that there are none at all, because even the ones that run up hills are run-down, dirty, painted, so you can look with candlelight for a real yellow streetcar. However, it is still a unique attraction to ride in such an elevator, especially if you take an elevator that has a longer route and travels through a very narrow street. Then the impressions are the best!

Since a ride on such an elevator will take several-odd minutes, we recommend you to take another streetcar – No. 28. In fact, the 28 streetcar passes the most important sites in Lisbon. It is a typical tourist streetcar (although within the available public transportation) so it is also popular with pickpockets.

Viewpoints and terraces

Ha, there we have you. I know, you were all waiting for Alfama ;) Go to Lisbon and get lost in Alfama, that’s what all the guidebooks will recommend to you.

And we recommend otherwise. We recommend looking at Lisbon from above, as it’s views of orange-tiled rooftops, tight streets, hills, bridges visible in the distance, murals and St. Peter’s Castle. We found St. George’s more memorable than the Alfama walks themselves.

There are many terraces, and they are very nicely landscaped and maintained – you will find plenty of greenery, climbing flowers, gardens as well as benches where you can just sit and enjoy the view. We especially recommend to you Miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara. There were many food and drink stalls set up here during our stay.

Equally beautiful is the view from St. Peter’s Castle. George.

>>> You can read about streetcars, elevators and viewpoints here.

A longer stay in Portugal?

This is, of course, our subjective list of places that we absolutely recommend you visit in and around Lisbon during a short stay. However, if you have a bit more days to explore all of Portugal, we recommend our 10-day plan of what to see there:)

What are your 3 favorite spots in and around Lisbon?
Let us know in the comments! :)