Lisbon,
Portugal's largest city and its capital is one of my favorite cities
I visited this year. From its pastel- colored buildings to its delicious pastel
de nada,
it's a very tourist-friendly place with tons of history
and photogenic corners. Even though it was pretty cold
when we visited back in April, the city is actually known
for its mild to moderate temperatures throughout the year.
For the five days I had in Lisbon, I tried to see everything I could
in this city.
Here are five things that I loved as a first-time visitor to Lisbon.
Starting with number five.
Number 5: Visit the Time Out Market.
Even though the Time Out Market is on everyone's recommended Must See list,
I was actually a little hesitant
about going because I was worried it would be a tourist trap.
But after visiting, I could definitely see why it's so popular.
The market is a great food destination.
It has all the great foods of Lisbon all in one place, including the famous
Pastel de Nada.
It's a great spot to try all these yummy foods all in one place.
But to me was even better about the Time Out Market is its vibe.
We went on a Tuesday afternoon and the place was packed.
Everyone was friendly and just having a good time.
You never know,
you might just make some new friends from around the world
by the end of your visit.
Number 4:
Take the time to appreciate the artists of Lisbon.
What I didn't expect from Lisbon was seeing all these talented artists
out there performing. When you visit,
I highly recommend that you slow down and just take the time
to appreciate all the artists and art you see along the way.
One of my favorite memories of Lisbon was listening to JGuitarLoop
at this viewpoint.
At the same viewpoint,
there was another artist who was creating art on the spot.
On another night, when we were just walking around waiting for our takeouts
to be ready, we heard live music coming out from this bar.
And we went in and just enjoyed the live performances that
they had.
And we also got to meet the owner.
She was super nice and she even recommended these cocktails that we should try.
All of these experiences are definitely not some things
that I could have planned in my itinerary for Lisbon.
Number 3: Explore Alfama, one of Lisbon's
oldest areas. Without knowing much about Alfama,
we stayed in this beautiful Airbnb there, and boy,
it was definitely a really tiring home base.
Alfama is famous for having these steep, winding, and narrow
cobblestone roads with multiple viewpoints.
Even though it was so tiring, it was so worth it because it was so beautiful.
It's photogenic in every corner and also full of history.
You could also see the famous 28 tram
there as well.
It's a perfect place
just to wander around and getting lost there.
But be careful because I think you could actually get lost in there.
It is home to the famous Fado, which is Portuguese's version of the blues.
At night, you can find all the best places to listen to Fado within Alfama.
The next time I stay in Lisbon, I would definitely choose to stay in
Alfama again.
Number 2: Take a day trip to Sintra.
Sintra is a town about 30 minutes away
from Lisbon.
It's a place full of castles, palaces,
and parks. It's a great place to get away from the city.
It is also where the famous Park and National Palace of Pena is located.
I made a video dedicated to Sintra, so be sure to check that out.
I would highly recommend spending an entire day exploring the town of Sintra.
And lastly, number 1: Join a walking tour.
One of my favorite activities that we did in Lisbon was the walking tour.
There are a ton of walking tours available in Lisbon.
We went with a tip-based walking tour with a fantastic guide, Pedro.
We learned so much within the 3 hours we had with him.
He had so many interesting stories
and we could really tell he was so passionate about the city.
I highly recommend doing this tour on one of your first days in Lisbon
because I think after the tour you'll definitely see the city
in a different perspective. Because of our awesome experience with Pedro,
we ended up trying to book a walking tour in all of the cities we visited.
This is definitely my number one recommendation
If you plan on visiting Lisbon. And that's it.
These are my top five favorite things to do in Lisbon as a first-time visitor.
Let me know in the comments
if you have any questions about my experiences or my itinerary
for Lisbon.
Thank you for watching, and I'll see you in the next one!