24 Hours in Lisbon, Portugal
We had the opportunity to have a 24 hour layover in Lisbon and it was our first time there. I think we made the most of our time - while, obviously, not all-encompassing for Lisbon, below are my favorites from our quick trip:
Cervejaria Ramiro - can we say best seafood EVER. Thank you to Anthony Bourdain (and some friends) for this recommendation. Whatever you do, get the gigante prawns, the garlic shrimp and a nice bottle of vinho verde. Go early - we got there at 5 and only had a 15 minute wait. When we left, the line looked to be about an hour wait (no reservations). We are still fantasizing about those prawns...
A Ginjinha - I feel like you have to taste the sour cherry liquor that Portugal is known for. In the center of town, plunk down a Euro and change for a shot sized taste
Rua Augusta - in the city center, this long pedestrian road leads to the water and has tons of shops, restaurants, street performers, and is just generally festive and beautiful
Typographia - upscale Lisbon t-shirts with a vintage feel and unique designs located on Rua Augusta. I don’t usually buy souvenir t-shirts, but bought a bunch here because of they are a far cry from your usual touristy shirts
Sunset overlooking the water - there’s plenty of spots to view the beautiful sunset over Lisbon at the waters edge
Bairro Alta and Bairro Chiado - these two neighborhoods run into to each other and are hilly and quaint. We spent more time at night in Barrio Alta. Around 9 pm, it’s super festive with people eating outdoors and spilling into the road out of bars. Grab a vinho verde, walk around, and take it all in - DID I MENTION NO OPEN CONTAINER LAW?! Around midnight, this area becomes very college rowdy, so we exited at that point
Grapes & Bites - popped in here for a wine tasting in Bairro Alta, which was wonderful. We tasted Portuguese whites, reds, and finished with port. 5 full glasses of wine (!) each, a plate of jamon iberico and a gourmet cheese plate came to a grand total of 70 euro. We were shocked, as we had selected by speaking with the waiter and not from a menu. Definitely a great deal in a cute wine bar
Footwear - Lisbon is hilly and full of old, gorgeous, slippery cobblestones. It’s really uncomfortable to walk in flip flops because you have to grip your toes to keep from sliding. Highly recommended sneakers or sturdy sandals
Lisbon airport - the cab line at departures was the worst I’ve seen at any airport. Had to be a minimum hour wait. I thankfully read a great tip to head up to arrivals and grab a cab someone’s getting out of, which we were able to do within minutes
The cabs to the city center from the airport were only about 11 euro and took about 25 minutes - way easier to figure out changing trains and much more reasonable than most airport cab rides in large cities
We went economical with our hotel choice and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Liberdade. This made a ton of sense because were only in the room to literally change and sleep. It was clean, in a nice area with high end shopping, and a 15 minute walk to the historic center. And those IHG points...
I had considered the Sheraton Lisboa, but cancelled and booked the HI Express because of location and when passing the Sheraton on our cab into town, I was really glad I did so. It’s a significant walk from the historic area - almost halfway or to the airport
Lisbon was the perfect 24 hour connection from Northern Africa back to Philadelphia - what did we miss that we should include the next time we go?!
