How to spend 48 hours in Lisbon, Portugal
This October, my boyfriend was given a rare weekend off, and as the weather was getting colder and wetter in Manchester, we set off in search of a sunny city break. I’d heard lots about Lisbon and having only ever visited Portugal a few times when I was a child, I thought it would be the perfect place to go and explore. The good weather and the cheap flight sealed the deal for us.
We flew from Manchester on Thursday evening, arriving in Lisbon at around 11pm. The airport is only half an hour or so from the city centre so it was an easy ride to the hotel.
LUMIERES HOTEL AND SPA
We stayed at the Lumieres Hotel and Spa in the Barrio Alto district. There were so many beautiful hotels we wanted to stay at but as we booked the trip last minute, lots were booked up! We were glad we chose this hotel though, as it was really centrally located with so many things nearby. The hotel itself was beautiful, the decor was stunning and every piece of furniture or decor was all from Portuguese designers/stores. We stayed in the loft room as it was the only room left which had so much space. The hotel also has a spa and a rooftop bar, which we got lunch and breakfast at. The staff were so friendly and helpful too. The only downside to the hotel was it is quite noisy at night, but that’s because it is in the Barrio Alto district which is known for having the best night time scene, with lots of people out on the streets drinking, kind of like a bit of a street party! It’s a really fun and safe area, and we didn’t mind the noise but if you are looking for somewhere more quiet it may be better to stay in Alfama.
For dinner on Thursday, we headed to COYO TACO as it was super late and it was just round the corner from our hotel. The food was delicious and the staff were so friendly - would definitely recommend if you are looking for Mexican food!
DAY ONE: A TOUR TO SINTRA AND CASCAIS
I decided I wanted to visit Sintra and Cascais as soon as we had decided on Lisbon, as it looked so beautiful. We decided to book a tour as we were quite short on time and wanted to cover everything in the most efficient way. We booked our tour the day before with a company called Sintra Magik - they were the best reviewed tour group in the city. They were quite pricey but personally I felt it was worth it! Jose, our tour guide, picked us up at 8:15 and took us to our first stop - Pena Palace.
PENA PALACE AND THE VILLAGE OF SINTRA
This Palace was once the home to the King of Portugal and is an amazing combination of so many different types of architecture, from gothic to islamic to traditional Portuguese - something that angered lots of Portugal at the time, particularly the islamic influence as Portugal was such a heavily catholic country at the time. It is also said that this palace influenced some of Walt Disney’s work, as he is said to have visited. It is an amazing place, but it does get very busy, so get there early. It opens at 9:30 so we arrived at 9:15. We just bought the tickets to go outside rather than inside the palace as personally I prefer looking outside. After the palace, we stopped off at the village of Sintra for some lunch and a wonder around. It was a really sweet place with lots of little streets and nice spots to stop for a coffee.
PALACE OF MONTSERRATE
Next we headed to the Palace of Montserrate - this is often overlooked by tourists as its a little out the way but it was my favourite. So much quieter and so much more beautiful. It was a gothic style and the views again were amazing. Definitely go and visit, the pictures don’t even do it justice at all. I also found out you can get married here - how amazing would that be! After the palace, we made a stop at Cabo de Roca, the most westerly point in Europe. This was pretty touristy but a good one to see on the way!
THE VILLAGE OF CASCAIS
We also stopped at the village of Cascais, the second most expensive place to live in Portugal (Lisbon is first). This is a really sweet old fishing village with a nice little beach only 40 mins from Lisbon. Make sure you get an ice cream at Sorbetino, the best ice cream ever! Also, if you are looking to eat, try the seafood restaurant ‘Mar Do Inferno’.
SATURDAY - EXPLORING LISBON
We took the day on Saturday to really explore Lisbon. Starting off with brunch at Zenith. This place was highly recommended to me. It was pretty busy when we got there, but we only had to wait around 10 mins for a table. The menu is massive with lots of sweet and savoury options. We both loved ours and the staff and the atmosphere was great. Definitely one to stop off at for some brunch! Other places we were recommended for brunch were Flora and Fauna, Dear Breakfast, and Stanislav Cafe.
We then decided to head to Alfama, the only part of Lisbon not destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, and on our way we came across Fabrica De Nata, which I had read was one of the best Pasteis De Nata shops in Lisbon. Pasteis De Nata’s are small egg and custard tarts that are famous in Portugal. This store is really cool as you can see them making them! Definitely not one to miss in Portugal!
On our way up to Alfama (up a lot of steep stairs and even one outdoor escalator), we came across some gorgeous little side streets - we turned the corner in one area to a man grilling sardines on his BBQ outside - the smell was heavenly! As we got closer to Alfama, it started to get busier and busier but also so pretty too.
ALFAMA DISTRICT
Make sure you look out for Tram number 28 in Alfama - it’s route runs through Alfama and is the oldest tram route in Lisbon. We didn’t actually ride on it but apparently the ride is lovely with lots of picturesque views. Try not to get run over when you stop for your insta picture though - we saw a fair few near misses!
Alfama is a beautiful part of Lisbon, very romantic with gorgeous winding streets. As I mentioned it is the only district to have survived the earthquake in 1755 so it is so traditional and authentic. It was one of my favourite areas in Lisbon.
There’s a beautiful viewpoint just by the Porta Del Sol restaurant - sit there and grab a drink and enjoy the view. If you wonder a little further down to the left there is another view point with beautiful ceramic tiles and bougainvillea. There’s also a few other bars and restaurants around those streets so just take time to get lost and enjoy it.
We kept walking further down into Alfama, just getting lost in the little streets. Then we hopped on an electric tuk tuk to head back to Barrio Alto. The driver took us along the sea front where we could see the biggest square in Lisbon, where they used to do all their trading, and also the bridge which very much resembles the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. You can also see a small version of the Christ statue, like the one in Rio Di Janeiro - this was a gift from Brazil after the earthquake in Portugal in 1755. The Christ’s arms are open to face Portugal in order to protect Portugal. I loved this story, so heartwarming!
LX FACTORY
After a quick stop at our hotel for lunch, the LUMI rooftop, we jumped in an uber to the LX Factory. Our uber driver was fab and showed us the Portuguese parliament building on the way. LX Factory was so cool - an amazing mix of restaurants, shops, workshops, art galleries etc in a massive open space. I loved it there - this is somewhere you HAVE to go in Lisbon. You won’t regret it! The food looked amazing and the shops were to die for - I picked up a few little bits in the homeware stores.
BELEN TOWER
After the LX Factory, we headed down to Belen Tower as it is just a short drive along the coast. We didn't go in the tower as it was so busy, but if you get there early in the morning then you will be fine! It is deffo worth a visit if you are down that way as it is beautiful and a UNESCO world heritage site. Belen is also famous for pasteis de nata, so head to Pasteis de Belem for one!
After this, we headed back home for a little nap as we were exhausted from all the walking. Over the whole trip we did over 35 thousand steps!
TIME OUT MARKET
For dinner we headed to Time Out Market, a 15 minute walk from our hotel. This place was incredible. In a MASSIVE hall, with loads and loads of different food stalls, there was absolutely everything you could want to eat here. It was buzzing with such a fun environment. It was pretty busy but it added to the fun of it! We ate prawns, octopus, clams and shared a steak… honestly one of the best meals I’ve had! We were meant to go to Park Rooftop Bar for drinks after dinner but ended up being too tired, but I’ve heard great reviews about that place!
OVERALL…
Overall we absolutely loved Lisbon and I would 100% recommend visiting. We managed all of this in 48 hours, if I was to come back I would probably do 2 days in Lisbon and then drive 2 and a half hours up the coast to Porto, as so many people told me how stunning it is there.
We found the people in Lisbon so friendly and helpful. Every single taxi we got in, including Uber’s, acted as our own mini tour guides - each of them pointed out things along the way, gave us little history lessons and gave us recommendations of places to eat and visit. Everyone seemed so proud to live in Lisbon.
Hope you enjoyed my round up of my trip, and if you want to know any more detail, then head over to my YouTube channel and watch my vlog from the weekend.