It’s been a little over a week since we got home from Lisbon, Portugal and we’re finally getting settled. My husband won the trip for work, so we got to explore a new city without having to pay for anything. Here’s the scoop on where to stay, what to do and what to eat in Lisbon, Portugal.
Where to stay:
We stayed at the Ritz Four Seasons, which is hands down the nicest hotel I’ve ever been in. I could have spent the entire week of vacation in the hotel and been totally fine. The lobby is filled with these amazing orchid displays and the food was incredible.
Our room was awesome. The bathroom was floor to ceiling marble, with two sinks on opposite sides of the room, an amazing bathtub and a rainfall shower. Every room has a private terrace with an incredible view of the city. It was so nice waking up each morning and drinking coffee overlooking the city.
What to do:
WaterX River Tour:
One of my favorite parts of the trip was touring the Tagus River on a catamaran. We got to see the Vasco da Gama Bridge (the second longest bridge in Europe), the Belém Tower, and a gorgeous view of Lisbon from the water.
Barrio Alto:
Our travel adventures typically center around food and drinks, and all of my Lisbon, Portugal research led me to Barrio Alto. It’s a cute little area of restaurants, bars, and shops in little alleys and stairways. We spent the better part of a day here, grabbed breakfast and lunch and stopped at The Beer Station, an Aperol Spritz pop-up bar, and Calçada do Duque. The stairs and the cobblestone are no joke, and throughout the day my phone tracked that we had climbed over 29 flights of stairs! My legs were seriously sore for days.
What to eat:
Pastéis de Nata – Lisbon, Portugal is famous for these little pastries and they really are delicious, especially with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top. You can find them basically everywhere, but we went to Fábrica da Nata and would highly recommend.
Hífen – This is about a 30-minute drive from Lisbon, Portugal, but totally worth it. It was by far the best meal we had on the trip, and I would consider going back to Portugal just to eat here again. We went with a group of 10, so we ordered a round of cocktails and a TON of tapas. The drinks were incredible. I had a margarita and a carrot/jalapeno cocktail that were both delicious.
If you’re going, you have to try our favorite tapas from the menu:
Cesar de Frango — Caesar salad, which sounds lame, but it was the best Caesar salad I’ve ever had.
Bis-to-que — Portuguese steak with eggs, so good!
Tataki de Novilho — Veal with mushrooms and Parmesan – this was the best thing I ate in Portugal!
Asparagus Tempura — fried asparagus, with a side of guacamole.
Valdo Gatti
This is a cute little pizza place that uses only natural and organic ingredients sourced locally or flown from Italy right in the Bairro Alto neighborhood. We ordered a beer and rose as soon as we sat down – We needed it after climbing all those stairs! We each got a pizza, ordered gelato and limoncello and had the best time.
So that’s the scoop on where to stay, what to do and what to eat in Lisbon, Portugal. To be completely honest, I think we could have tackled all of the really fun parts of Lisbon, Portugal in a few days, so keep that in mind if you have an upcoming trip. And if you need a party fact for your trip, over half of the world’s cork is from Portugal! So grab some Portuguese wine and a cork souvenier on your way home!
