We arrived in Lisbon late after a long bus ride from Seville. We took an Uber to our accomodation, and settled in for the night. The next morning, we spent the morning walking around Lisbon, exploring the charming little alleyways and unique Portuguese architecture. We particularly enjoyed seeing the azulejos, decorative ceramic tiles that cover the facades of buildings.
In the evening, we called an Uber to take us to the plaza where the Lisbon Pride festivities were taking place. Unfortunately, despite only being a few miles to the parade, the roads were so blocked off and closed that the Uber ride took almost an hour! Our driver kept getting stuck in traffic and trying to take an alternative route that ended up leading us further away. We eventually just got out and walked the last few minutes.
The pride festivities were hosted in a huge plaza called Placa de Commercial. There was a huge EDM concert headlining the evening, with lots of little food and drinks stalls. We walked around the various stalls, listened to a concert briefly, and got a chicken burgers and wings. The pride vibes were amazing, albeit calmer than most other prides we had been to.
The next morning, we went for a walk and visited Miradouro da Graça viewpoint of the city. This viewpoint in the Graça neighborhood of Lisbon had a magnificent view of Lisbon and its surroundings. We could see the iconic Portuguese orange roofs lining the city’s skyline, the iconic Ponte 25 de Abril bridge, which resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and the castle on the hill!
Despite being in good walking shape from all of our exploring the past 6 months, Lisbon was our first introduction to hills! It was definitely humbling to be left breathless after a 5 minute walk.
Afterward, we found a local restaurant where the owner gave his recommendations, and even gave us a free shot of a local Portuguese aperitif!
We spent the entire afternoon wandering the streets of Lisbon, exploring different neighbourhoods, viewpoints, and taking in the amazing vibe of the city.
The next morning during our walk to town, we stumbled upon an “Oriental Market” that had many different Asian food stalls. Craving a taste of home, we got beef noodle soup. It was delicious!
After lunch, we checked out famous Lisbon Pink Street. As the name suggests, the street is painted a Barbie hot pink, with rainbow umbrellas suspended in the air and lots of cute restaurants and bars lining the street.
We meandered our way towards the waterfront, where we found a shaded spot by the stairs leading down to the ocean and spent the afternoon there, enjoying the beautiful weather.
That evening we tried to go to a gay club, but unfortunately, it was only for gay men. Undeterred, we pivoted to find a rooftop bar – a must do in Lisbon. The rooftop bar that we chose was oddly located on the top floor of a parking garage, but it had wonderful views of the city sparkling in the night.
Feeling the urge to dance, we made our way to a street known for its clubs. After a disappointing drink at a bar filled with bad music and an average age of 17, we decided we were officially too old for this and got pizza and called it a night. We returned home, ate our pizza, showered, and watched a nature documentary before going to sleep.
The next morning was our last full day in Lisbon, so we checked off the last few attractions we wanted to see, including a beautiful viewpoint called Miradouro da Portas do Sol and a second-hand market.
We had lunch at a Portuguese restaurant on the street, which turned into a bit of a tense situation due to an unpleasant encounter with a rude American family. We were sitting there chatting and enjoying a drink after our lunch, when the dad of the family instructed his kids to “go stand near them until they leave”. They obviously wanted our patio table, but there was plenty of seating inside they could’ve had. We were put off by their rude energy so we dragged our feet even more before leaving.
Afterward, we went to the train station to purchase our train to Porto, and ended our afternoon with gelato on a cute street.
We spent the rest of the evening packing and organising our photos. We had heard so many great things about Lisbon, and it really lived up to the hype. The food, architecture, and vibe of the city were all so amazing. We’ll definitely be back.
Next stop – Porto!