Hotel – Airbnb – Food – Activities
We will likely be in Lisbon from Monday, 10/2, to Thursday, 10/5. We haven’t chosen our hotel yet and will probably suffer over the choice as there are so many fantastic places. While you don’t need to stay in Lisbon to attend our wedding, it is a great city to explore, and you can cover a lot of ground in a couple of days. Porto, the Algarve, and the Azores are great add-on options for a longer trip.
The airport is 20 minutes from the city center, with cabs costing about €20.
Hotels
Here’s a full list of curated hotel options, saved in Google Maps.
Lisboa Carmo and Lisboa Pessoa (€235 / night) are located right next to each other, in the Chiado neighborhood. They are both convenient launching points for exploring and at a reasonable price. Many rooms have a great view and both hotels have rooftops.
Memmo Principe Real – (€325 / night) is a very cool hotel with stunning views, and it’s in a beautiful area of the city. We enjoyed drinks here when we visited. This is the posh sister of the better-priced Memmo Alfama Hotel (€210 / night), which is also in a great area and is a fantastic option.
Hotel – Airbnb – Food – Activities
Airbnb
As with all major European cities, this is where you can really save and have a unique stay. I’ve compiled a list for you, both one bedrooms and multi-bedrooms, maximizing for savings, location and style. Right now all of these listings are available the days prior to our wedding.
Your Curated Lisbon Airbnb List
Hotel – Airbnb – Food – Activities
Food
There’s no shortage of amazing places to eat! Feel overwhelmed by the options? Use the non-exhaustive list below to save on your map and help you get started, or use our saved map for food and drinks!
Sweets:
Go on a hunt for the perfect Pastel de Nata (Portuguese egg tart)! Eat Phil Rosenthal’s favorite at Manteigaria or at the touristy (but still good) Pastéis de Belém. Just do yourself a favor and don’t look up the calorie content (like Natalie did) in these…we’re all on vacation, OK?!
Dinner:
A Cevicheria – While they don’t take reservations, it’s worth getting there early for a tase of yummy ceviche. Afterwards, visit the strange bar nearby called Pavilhão Chinês.
Ramiro – A highly rated seafood spot.
Palácio Chiado – A unique place to visit for a drink, meat and cheese board, or full dinner. There are four restaurants inside a palace built in 1781. It can be a hip scene and it’s open until 2am.
Sole e Pesca – A laid back spot for seafood.
Oficio – Traditional cuisine in a modern setting.
1300 Taberna in LX Factory – Use this as your pin to guide you to the hip, cool “neighborhood” called LX Factory. If you want to rent a bike and ride along the water, LX Factory makes a great destination.
Fine Dining:
100 Maneiras, Belcanto, and Alma are all great choices if you can get a reservation and want to spend $$$. Reservations typically open about one month in advance. Portugal has 33 Michelin-starred restaurants, 10 of which are in Lisbon.
Bars:
Natalie loves Duque Brewpub and Delirium Cafe, so if you love beer, mark those.
Pensão Amor is an interesting place.
Pavilhão Chinês is a weird place.
If you want a “fancy” bar experience, we recommend picking an upmarket hotel and going to their rooftop. Often these bars are not crowded. Stay away from any bar rated “Best Sunset” as it will be a shit-show and feel like NYC.
Hotel – Airbnb – Food – Activities
Activities
We suggest plotting out a walking tour for yourself on your first day that encompasses a few of the top hits below and several “Miradouros”, or lookout points. Many travel blogs have well planned walking tours you can follow. Feel free to use our saved map for activites and note-worthy places!
Commerce Square and Rua Agusta Arc are two scenic and historic points by the Tagus River.
Santa Justa Elevator is open daily (7am – 11pm) and is an easy activity with a good view.
Ride a street car, like the most famous Tram 28, passing many sights. However, this means it can be crowded — ask your hotel for an alternative tram recommendation to ride, in case.
Castelo de Jorge is open daily (9am – 7pm), but don’t be a hero if you’re not feeling up to walking here. It’s quite the climb; take a cab if you’re tired. Fun first-day activity.
Tower de Belem is closed Mondays, but open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am – 5:30pm.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos is open daily (10am – 6:30pm). This monument makes for great photos, and going up inside of it was really fun! You get a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge copy-cat.
Jerónimos Monastery is closed Monday, but open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm.
Lisbon Cathedral is closed Sunday (open times vary).
Carmo Convent is an activity that Natalie did on her own. Erika was fine to miss it, however, Natalie says “it is picture-worthy” and you are an amazing person if you go.
Park Eduardo VII is a lovely park with manicured hedges that can make for a fun photo-op. At the top of the park you can see all the way to the river.
Hotel – Airbnb – Food – Activities
Nat + Riki 