TRAVEL LISBON
AND SURROUNDINGS
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Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is a small fascinating city.
Historically being a strongly Catholic country, one evening in 1755, people went to church to celebrate All Saint Days, leaving lighten candles at their homes for this festivity. Suddenly, an earthquake hit the city, dropping the candles and creating an unstoppable fire. There were many casualties due to the earthquake, fire and some survivors ran toward the sea, but a Tsunami caused more destruction. One of the only standing neighbourhoods was the Arab neighbourhood of Alfama since it was far from the sea and did not have candles lighten up. This is now the oldest neighbourhood in the city, and home of the nostalgic Fado, a form of Portuguese singing with guitars performed in restaurants and bars.
But every cloud has a silver lining, this earthquake gave the opportunity for the city to be rebuilt with wide avenues with proper ventilation and lighting. The new buildings had to follow certain regulations to prevent the spread of fires and damages caused by earthquakes. This set in motion scientific attempts to understand the behaviour and the origin of earthquakes.
Where to stay in Lisbon?
The city is small, everything is within walking distance and public transportation is easy to use. Taxis are also very cheap. Hence, I recommend finding a good hotel that fits your needs and it doesn't need to be in the centre of the city. Avoid the Alfama neighbourhood, as it is the oldest part of town, buildings are run down, and streets are narrow and noisy.
Belem neighbourhood
 try the best Lisbon pastry @Pasteis de Cerveja |  Jerónimos Monastery |  Padrão dos Descobrimentos |
|---|---|---|
 Belém Tower |
LX Factory
 Enter the Library 'The Lisbon’s Creative Corner' |  Have an açai bowl @The Food for Real Alcântara |  Take a sailboat from the harbour to see a different perspective of Lisbon. |
|---|---|---|
 Visit 'Village Underground Lisboa' |  Snacks of the sailboat tour |  Eat at the delicious restaurant 'O Maravilhas' |
 Visit a tinned fish store and look for your year of birth tin. |
Center of Lisbon
 Rua Nova do carvalho |  Castello de S. Jorge |  Arco da Rua Augusta |
|---|---|---|
 Praça do rosso |  Stroll through Alfama neighbourhood |  Walk around Chaido & Bairro Alto neighbourhoods |
 Stroll the city and spot the jacaranda purple trees |  Visit Time Out Market at lunchtime (at night it gets too busy). |  Scallops with algae salad and squid risotto @Timeout Market |
 'Cervejaria Ramiro', is very expensive. The crab was around €40. Something worth trying is the best sandwich meat for only €5. |  'O Bitoque da Mouraria' very cheap and delicious restaurant. |
Almada neighbourhood
Cascais
Sintra
Take the train from Lisbon to Sintra, which is only 30min away, but it's worth spending the whole day there.
From the station take a tuk-tuk to take you to 'Castelo Pena'. Do not take taxis/Ubers since they don't know the area and get constantly lost, as Google maps don't know the way to the castle. You can negotiate the price with the tuk-tuk to take you both ways.
In the afternoon, visit the mansion 'Quinta da Regaleira', which takes a couple of hours to explore the stunning gardens.
Sintra has more castells to see, it's worth staying an extra day here to explore properly this town, where the royalty of Portugal and aristocrats used to have their Summer houses, to escape the heat from Lisbon. Take this into consideration when going there, it is colder than Lisbon, but it can get warm from all the walking, so dress with layers.
Setubal
If you have extra time on your hands, why not head to Setubal? and discover this beautiful white sand beach secluded from people.
How to get there?
Take the ferry from Lisbon to Barreiro, take the train to Setubal, and there take a ferry to 'Praia Tróia Mar'. This takes 1.5 hours, so if you rather saving time, you can go by taxi.
Make sure the weather is appropriate: I went in May and it was very windy and cold.
