A Week in Lisbon for First Time Visitors

Portugal has recently been featured regularly on the internet expounding on the virtues of visiting and/or moving there. Sorting out the details when planning to visit a new, unknown place can be challenging. If you’ve never been to Lisbon, we’re here to help you with some insight into your first visit. A week in Lisbon for first time visitors is an excellent choice. Lisbon is a wonderful introduction to Portugal. If you are anything like us you probably have questions like what part of town to stay in, what sights to see, do I need a car to get around, is there anything good to eat and drink, etc. Hopefully this post will help not only put you at ease, but get you excited for your upcoming adventure.

Where to Stay in Lisbon

There is a lot of information on the web about the best neighborhoods to stay in Lisbon: Alfama, Baixa, Bairro Alto, Cais de Sodre, Chiado, and more. We spent 10 days in December 2023 in the Baixa neighborhood and loved our time there. We would choose to stay in Baixa again for several reasons. Unlike many of the neighborhoods in Lisbon, Baixa is flat. It is also organized on a grid that makes it very easy to navigate. Baixa is a lively area with a variety of cafes, restaurants, and shops. This was especially evident during December with holiday lights over the streets and Christmas markets in the public squares.

Baixa is the historic center of Lisbon. The area was destroyed in 1755 by a tragic combination of earthquake, fire, and tsunami. It was rebuilt in a very structured manner with neo-classical buildings featuring amazing tiled exteriors, wide roads and sidewalks, and large open plazas. If you’d like to get a little nerdy with the reconstruction following what is still considered one of earth’s greatest natural disasters, check out this in-depth analysis of the reconstruction of Lisbon.

The Baixa district is home to some of the most iconic sights in Lisbon. There is the Santa Justa Lift built in 1902 in the style of the Eiffel tower. Wander down to the riverfront and visit the beautiful, open Praca do Comercio. Leave the commercial square through the Rua Augusta Arch to enjoy a walk along the bustling pedestrian friendly Rua Augusta which eventually takes you to the famous Rossio Square. We found the area to be a perfect location for walking the town, enjoying an outdoor cafe, or catching one of the many public transportation options to other areas.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with any of these neighborhoods. They are all fairly close to each other and each have their own charm. You’ll find that as you move away from the river you encounter steep hills, which is something to consider. We chose the Baixa area and loved it. We stayed at a charming apartment on Rua da Prata that we found on Booking.com. We liked it so much that we’ll likely stay there again when we go back.

Lisbon Sightseeing

There is plenty to keep you entertained and amazed no matter which neighborhood you choose to make your base. We love to explore on foot and found just walking through Alfama, Barrio Alto, Chiado, and along the Passeio Carlos do Carmo to be delightful. Lisbon is a gorgeous city and just made us smile exploring its many sights.

We spent one of our first days in Lisbon on a free guided walking tour. Our guide, Guilherme, made it a really fun, low key experience while providing historical background, dining recommendations, and subtle otherwise hidden experiences like tasting locally made ginjinha from a tiny local vendor tucked down a narrow easy to miss staircase. The guides do these tours with passion and work on straight tips. They really make the tours personal and worth a nice payout at the end.

Of course you’ll also want to spend time at the more well known, famous locations around Lisbon like the Lisbon Cathedral, the Monument of Discoveries and Sao Jorge Castle. We used the Lisbon City Card which provides entry into places like Belem Tower, the Santa Justa Lift, the Pilar 7 Bridge Experience at 25 de Abril Bridge, Jerónimos Monastery, and the National Tile Museum. Here’s a complete list of what the Lisbon City Card offers. You can walk the Avenida de Liberdade, do a Pink Street Pub Crawl, explore Fado music, enjoy the city views from places like Miradouro da Senhora do Monte, stroll through Parque Eduardo VII, and visit countless other museums. There is just so much to see and do in Lisbon!

Tasting Lisbon

The food and beverages of Lisbon will keep you happy and satisfied. Cod and sardines are common fare everywhere in Lisbon. We marveled at the stores that specialize in sardines. Comur had the appearance of a magical library of sardines in a diverse display of color. Perhaps the most well known Lisbon specialty is a salted cod known locally as bacalhau, which you’re likely to find in some form on every menu. Whether you are simply walking the streets of Lisbon’s iconic neighborhoods or visiting trendy food spots like LX Factory or Time Out Market, there are amazing restaurants everywhere! Some of our favorites were:

• Restaurante O Portas for traditional Portuguese fare, Dragon recommends the bacalhau a bras
• Nono HK for surprisingly authentic Asian dishes, try the mapo tofu
• Los del Rio for margaritas and tacos right on the riverfront
• Magokoro Ramen for an adorable ramen atmosphere
• Cerveja Canil for unique and elevated pub fare
• Moona Chicken for crispy, decadent Korean fried chicken

One of the first things we were introduced to in Lisbon was a rich, creamy, semi-sweet egg custard called pastel de nata that you will find literally everywhere. Dog seemed to make it his personal mission to sample as many as possible. You’ll have to decide for yourself, but some of our favorite locations for pastel de nata were Manteigaria, Fabrica de Nata, Pastelaria Santo Antonio, and Pasteis de Belem. While you’re deciding on your own personal favorites Dog will be at the gym working on his decision making.

There are plenty of tasty beverage options in Lisbon to suit your palate. You can try the many inexpensive, delicious Portuguese wines, sip the sweet, syrupy ginjinha, sample the refreshing Brazilian influenced caipirão cocktail, or explore some Lisbon craft beer. During the holiday season, they served Gluhwein by the liter! Lisbon has a budding craft beer scene that includes both local and international craft breweries. Some of our favorite craft beer spots were the heavy metal Canil brewery, the Crafty Corner tap room, and the Lisbon transplant Delirium Cafe. You’ll find there are several other local craft breweries as well. You can find your beer style in Lisbon no matter what type of beer you prefer.

Getting Around

Public transportation in Lisbon is abundant and easy to navigate. All of the neighborhoods discussed above have access to a wide variety of options including buses, trams, and the metro. The aforementioned Lisbon city card also provides free or discounted access to most of those services as well. Remember to check the discounts here.

It turns out that Lisbon is a perfect base to visit other great spots around the country without needing to rent a car. It was just a short walk to Rossio square to meet up with our guided tour of Sintra, Regeilera, Pena Palace, and Cascais. We were also able to take the metro from a number of locations over to the Oriente station where there were buses to other cities. Our time in Lisbon included explorations of Porto, Peniche, Sintra, and Lagos.

Verdict on Lisbon

Dog and Dragon discovered Lisbon to be one of our favorite cities. It is a beautiful, clean, safe city full of friendly people, many of whom are English speakers. Like most places, you’ll endear yourself to the locals by learning some Portuguese and making an attempt to speak the local language. We’ve found the locals appreciate that no matter where you go. We found Lisbon to be quite affordable with so much to do. Whether you are simply admiring the amazing timework, taking in the world renowned sights, soaking up the fantastic weather, trying the bacalhau, or sampling the delicious Portuguese wines we’re confident you’ll love your time in Lisbon.