13 Dec Experiencing Lisbon in 3 days
For me there is always something special in European cities. Each of them has its own spirit imbued with hundreds of stories shaping cities’ unique personality. Warm hearted Lisbon is artist, creative, tradition oriented, and has rich inner world. Iberian Sun and Atlantic breeze was perfect companion travelers during our 3 day stay in Lisbon.
Benefits of Lisbon Card
I like City cards! They’re always a great option when traveling to a destination for the first time. It offers a great value for money and gives me an opportunity to move around the city easily using all the means of transport, and have great benefits while visiting city sights.
On the arrival we picked up our Lisbon Cards at the airport, and during 72 hours we get the most out of our stay in Portuguese capital:
- Free travel on metro
- Free travel on buses, trams, lifts and trains – my favorite transport in Lisbon, city with two dimensions, up and down, were lifts. Lifts are great shortcuts and alternative to daunting hillside stairs as wherever you set out to walk, your journey will end in stairs.
- Sintra – Rossio – Oriente Line
- Free entry to 28 museums, monuments
- 10% – 50% discount at tourist and cultural attractions and services
- 5% – 10% discount in various shops selling genuine Portuguese products
Our Best Experiences in Lisbon
Lisbon Guided City tour
One of the things I like to do when for the first time in a city is an organised city tour. They are a perfect introduction to the city, and a great way to orientate myself. Our guide led us through the story of Lisbon and we saw major sights, and also learned a lot about resilience and tenacity of Portuguese nation.
Through the history the Portuguese have endured mad kings and queens, countless wars with Spaniards, lack of natural resources, poverty, isolation, natural catastrophes, Napoleonic invasions, British interference, Republican turmoil, WWI disasters, dictatorship, meaningless colonial wars, post-revolutionary turmoil, incompetent elected leaders, the Troika, until very recently, never winning a major international Football tournament till 2016, and the curse of holding the record for the most appearances in the Eurosong contest without a win until 2017.
For those who prefer playful and interactive ways of storytelling I highly recommend a visit to Lisbon Story Center. You’ll get the audio guide which will take you on an experiential journey in time and in space while respecting the historical accuracy. The story will lead you from once the world’s most prosperous trading center through all the major historic events to the today’s city that unveils its glorious charm, and attracts visitors from all over the world. Entrance fee is 9€ per person, and if you have Lisboa Card is Free.
Get Lost in Labyrinthine Alleyways
If you don’t follow so called standard routes, there is a good chance you would like to lost a bit and follow all the picturesque houses and its details in Moorish alleyways, old fashioned stores and maybe end up in one of the kind bars. And that’s the beauty of discovering new places.
Sunset in Rooftop Bar and Genuine Sea Food Experience in Lisbon
Rooftop bars are quite popular last years. The last evening in the city we decided to spend at place recommended by one of the locals who told me – I’m sure you’ll like this place. And he was right! Vitor thanks for recommendation. Rooftop bar Park is a place where you come to enjoy in spectacular views of the city and Tejo river, drink great cocktails, move slowly in the rhythm of music and soak the atmosphere. It’s a charming place, which looks like a garden and with its natural ambience and casual comfort makes you feel like you’re at friends place.
We enjoyed the sunset at Rooftop Bar Park, and we were getting ready for the dinner experience at restaurant Ramiro. We knew there is a big chance to wait quite long to get the table as there is no reservation. Despite it we decided to wait, and have spent 1,5h in front of the restaurant. Someone might think, oh no, why should anyone do that? But, there is a bit a charm in it, and I can describe the whole “process” as a part of experience to remember. And that’s what we’re all looking for in our lives. On the arrival we got the number like the one you get in a bank, and then we started to wait. The numbers went randomly on the screen, and we started to mingle with other people waiting, had couple of drinks, my husband partly watched the football game on the TV, and we were amazed by reactions of other people when they heard their number. In other words, waiting can be fun if you make it like that.
The restaurant is a place where you probably won’t take someone on a first date, but if you want to have amazingly delicious sea food (no fish, only shrimps, lobsters, crabs, clams, and a pork sandwich) and enjoy in easy going service and approach, you’ll enjoy it at least as we did. Even though we though it’s too much for two of us, we ate everything and lick the plate clean.
I was very happy to end our trip here, and had a feeling that possibly I don’t have to eat ever again. Our journey has just started and during next days we enjoyed, among other things, some more local delicacies.
Until some next time, we had to say goodbye to Lisbon and welcome Our Next stop – Porto.
Photo credits: magic4.club, Martina Lucic Canak