Two Days in Portugal’s Biggest Cities (Part 2: Lisbon)

Lisbon, Portugal’s capital city is known for its charming old trams, dramatic hills, and delicious food. While studying in Madrid, I spent a weekend in Portugal two largest cities: Lisbon and Porto. Although we stayed in Porto, we spent Sunday in Lisbon with a packed itinerary.

Travelling between Cities

We stayed the night in Porto, but woke up early to catch the bus to Lisbon. The drive takes 3 hours, and we wanted a full day in Lisbon. The round trip cost us 36 euros.

Lisbon’s Monuments

We arrived in Lisbon just before noon, and our first stop was the Belém Tower. This tower was built the in the early 1500s. You can tour inside the tower for 6 euros per person, but there was a significant wait time and we didn’t want to lose our day waiting in line. We settled for photos in front of the tower, then continued along the coast of Belém.

As we headed east, we came across the Monument to the Discoveries. This monument is 52 metres tall, and commemorates the five hundredth anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. It overlooks the coast, alongside the 25th April Bridge (named for the date of the overturn of the dictatorship in 1974). The bridge was designed by the same company as the Golden Gate Bridge, and for those familiar with the San Fransisco landmark, the 25th April Bridge bears quite a resemblance.

Pastéis de Nata

Next on our list was Pastéis de Belém, a café famous for its pastéis de nata (egg custard tart pastry). The walk was only 10 minutes from the Monument to the Discoveries. We followed the pedestrian underpass that passes Avenida da India to the café. The café was busy, with a line outside the building. We waited in the line until we finally got into the café.

While this may not be the best choice for pastéis de nata in terms of atmosphere (the café has become a very popular tourist destination and is often very busy), the pastries themselves were absolutely delicious. We thought they were well worth the wait and ordered enough to call them lunch.

Estrela Basilica

When we finished our lunch at the café, we took an Uber to Estrela Basilica. We stepped into the church and found a choir performing inside. The acoustics were hauntingly beautiful, so we sat in the pews and stayed a while.

After marvelling at the ethereal sound filling the church, we waited for the streetcar. However, the wait time was longer than we had hoped so we ended up taking an Uber to Lisbon’s Praça do comércio.

Lisbon’s Historic Centre

We walked through the square, admiring the young dance crew performing for tourists in the centre of the plaza. Then we continued to the edge of the water and took photos again, this time from the opposite side of the 25th April Bridge and across from the Sanctuary of Christ the King monument on the other shore. This statue was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Then we began to tour Baixa on foot.

The tile work and stone paths in Lisbon are a work of art. Make sure to leave time to admire the architecture in the city, especially the Portuguese tiles.

Our last stop in the city was BytheWine, a bar specializing in wines. We were here for one wine in particular, vinho verde. As someone who doesn’t know much about wine, nor is particularly fond of it, I have to say that vinho verde is by far my favourite of any wine I’ve tried.

After some snacks and the vinho verde, it was time to catch the bus back to Porto and get a few hours sleep before arriving at the airport. We caught our bus at the Oriente Train Station, which is surprisingly a sight in itself. We took the 3 hour ride home, and collapsed into bed for about 2 hours before getting back up and taking an Uber to the airport.

Visiting Lisbon and Porto Summary

Overall, we found it was doable to see both cities in two days, through I would have loved to have more time in both. Make sure to spend time enjoying the food and drink Portugal has to offer. As well, although we didn’t speak any Portuguese (aside from ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’), we found all the people to be extremely kind and welcoming. I loved Portugal and I am counting the days until I can go back and hopefully see some more of its beautiful cities.