Are you ready to delve into our Lisbon itinerary? Whether you want to see the largest castles in the world or discover the most epic landscapes – look no further than Portugal. With mesmerizing natural scenery, historic sites, soaring mountains, beautiful beaches, and great food, Portugal lures travelers from around the world.
Honestly, we had no idea what to expect out of Portugal but one thing’s for sure, it’s so worth it.
Plan at least on staying four to five days to enjoy the country’s highlights. We guarantee, you’ll love every minute you spend here. We’re sharing our Lisbon itinerary, we tweaked it a little bit and included our tips we would do differently. We are also going to share our day trip to Sintra. You can click here to watch our VLOG in SINTRA. We’ve also been to the Algarve region (South of Portugal), and we are also going to dedicate a post very soon. So stay tuned!
If you are following our recent interview on “Btehla el hayet” on LBCI and the website article we wrote about the top 9 destinations to visit for travelers on budget, you know that Portugal won our hearts when we first visited. We fell in love with the vibes of Lisbon, and the beauty of Sintra and Cascais, and how we wish we could lay on the beaches of the Algarve forever.
Take notes, share it with your friends, and leave us a comment to let us know if you find it useful.
Before you go
Visa: Portugal is in the Schengen area, so a Schengen visa will grant you entry.
Weather:
Summers in Portugal are hot, especially in Lisbon and Porto. All Portuguese go to the West or the South of Portugal to spend their time on the beach. To be honest, the high temperature in Lisbon was not a deal breaker and it didn’t affect our visit in Lisbon and Sintra.
Money:
Portugal is remarkably CHEAP and this is what is important to know in your Lisbon itinerary. The hotel stays, food, and services are very affordable, and your pocket money should not be one of your concerns. It always depends on the level of luxury you are looking for, that’s why we always find it hard to recommend the amount of money to be spent per day. But to put things into perspective, you can dine in a fancy restaurant for as low as 20 euros.
Ticket:
The most expensive part of this trip was the flight tickets. Portugal is cheap in general, but to get there from my side of the world (Middle east), is not that cheap. We paid around 2,000 $ for a round trip Dubai – Lisbon, Malaga – Dubai for two people. We started out in Lisbon and ended up in Andalucía. Click here if you want to check our itinerary for Andalucía. We think it’s a great idea to do Portugal and Andalucía together in one trip if you have lots of days and would want to visit more than one country.
Cities to visit:
Since we only had 6 days to spend over there, we started looking at possible routes and itinerary. After a couple of days of advanced research and a lot of discussions we decided to drop Porto, and go for Lisbon and Algarve.
Porto looks nice, but when we asked around, we were told that it’s very small, and that Lisbon offers almost the exact same views in a more fun way. Lisbon is bigger, has a better night life and is close to Sintra which was on top places to visit while in Portugal.
So, if you are good on time, we recommend you do both but if you are like us and you have to choose, then go for Lisbon.
Where to Stay:
Lisbon and Sintra: Sintra is just 30 minutes away by car from Lisbon. That’s why we recommend you stay in Lisbon and just go for a day trip to Sintra. We booked our stay through booking.com in Design Chiado Flats Rua do Carmo 69, Santa Maria Maior. You can click on this link to get 10% off.
The apartment is clean, modern, and the service is good. The location was perfect, so if you prefer another hotel, make sure it’s in the same area. It was very central and convenient.
Where to eat:
The detailed itinerary
Day 1 – Lisbon – Alfama
Stop 1 – Elevador Santa Justa
This famous elevator was right in front of our hotel and trust us on this, we definitely saw how crowded it gets during the day and around sunset. It’s right in the center of Lisbon, built in 1902, and overlooks the city and its beautiful architecture. We woke up at 6 am to catch the sunrise from above and to skip the crowds and it was REALLY worth it! Truth is, we’re not really early risers, so there is quite a funny story to why and how we woke up early; Watch the Vlog to know more about it. All we can say is that Lisbon is full of viewpoints and the view from this elevator is not be missed.
Stop 2 – Sé Cathedral
The solid and imposing Sé Cathedral is Lisbon’s most important and iconic religious building. The exterior of the grand old church resembles more that of a fortification than religious center, with massive solid walls and two clock towers. Personally, we did find it majestic but is still similar to cathedrals we’ve already been to in other cities, but we thought of visiting since it’s right next to Miradouro das Portas do Sol (your next stop) and on the way to Sao Jorge Castle.
Stop 3 – Miradouro das Portas do Sol
When in Portugal, you’ll hear the term “miradouro” a lot which means viewpoint. Lisbon is not like any other European city. It’s built on hills and hence, is filled with many beautiful viewpoints. Each one is special and overlooks amazing views. This one is by far our favorite. To name few more:
- Miradouro de são pedro de alcãntra (next to Tram 28, perfect for watching the sunset with some bottles of beer)
- Miradouro da Garça
- Miradouro de Nossa Senhora do Monte
Stop 4 – Castelo de São Jorge
Used as a fortification to protect Lisbon, this castle is a reminder of the history the city had. It also serves as a great viewpoint of the beautiful red rooftops of Lisbon, one of many! It has more than 10 towers served to protect the castle and Lisbon. Allow two to three hours for the visit as it is so majestic and can be full of people.
Stop 5 – Lunch at the time out Market
Time out Market is an open food court featuring a wide selection of international and Portuguese restaurants with family-style seating. You don’t expect much from places like these, but we went there for the experience and because our time was tight, and we needed a quick bite while touring in Lisbon. If you have some time to spare, I recommend you try any of the restaurants listed below in the food section.
Stop 6 – Praça do Comércio
Located near the Tagus river, the square is still commonly known as Terreiro do Paço, it was the location of the Paços da Ribeira until it was destroyed by an earthquake. This plaza was a commercial hub in Portugal history and has several monument and site to check.
Stop 7 – LX Factory
After we had some rest at the hotel, we headed over to LX factory in the evening: a creative mini-city within Lisbon and one of the city’s coolest spots. It’s full of beautiful architecture, nice music, restaurants, hipster shops, art, fashion and it has the best rooftop bar in town.
It’s an abandoned industrial complex turned into a creative cultural and gastronomic area. The library inside LX factory is something to check out.
The rooftop bar is called Rio Maravilha and overlooks the river Tejo. It’s famous for its colorful lady statue. The tables have multimedia projections, and they also have live music. The cocktails and dishes reflect the Portuguese and Brazilian fusion.
Now you know where to go at night before hitting Lisbon’s clubs, so make sure to include it in your lisbon itinerary.
Day 2 – Lisbon – Belem
Belem is the southwestern and most monumental neighborhood of Lisbon. You’ll need at least half a day to discover all its attractions, depending on what you are interested in.
Stop 1 – Belém Tower
A fortification by the sea that played a significant role in the Portuguese Age of Discoveries. It’s not only great from the outside, but it delivers amazing views from the terrace at the top. You may encounter long queues during the day because of the limited number of people allowed inside.
Tip: Tickets can be bought at the entrance, go super early to avoid super long queue. We literally waited 30-45mins to get in.
Stop 2 – Padrão dos descrobrimentos
A short walk from Belém tower, an enormous monument rises as a tribute to the Portuguese Age of Discovery presenting 32 historical figures from this period. You can go inside and climb up to the viewing platform at the top, but you’ll get a similar view from the top of Belém Tower. So, we skipped the climbing.
Fact: Christopher Columbus stopped here on his way back to Europe after discovering the New World.
Stop 3 – Jerónimos Monastery
Along with the Belém Tower, it’s Lisbon’s only World Heritage Site. We checked it from the outside as the queue was really long. It’s a 10 min walk from Padrão dos Descobrimentos. We learned later that it’s one of the most important sites in the city.
Stop 4 – Pastéis de Belém, a MUST TRY
The original place where the “Pastel de nata” was created and it’s marketed as the best one you’ll taste in Lisbon. Pastel de nata is basically an egg tart with creme, a true delicacy that we wanted to include in Lisbon itinerary.
The place is full of tourists and there’s often a long line that moves fast. Is it worth it? YES! It is the best pastel de nata we had in Portugal. Totally worth the wait.
There are also many museums worth checking that we decided to skip. I’ll list them here:
- National Museum of Coaches
- Berardo Collection Museum
- MAAT
That’s Lisbon in 48 hours, we hope this lisbon itinerary helped. If you like to check out this exact itinerary, you can watch the Vlog we did on Lisbon HERE. Lisbon exceeded our expectations and we fell in love with it. We can’t recommend it enough. Also, you can’t leave Lisbon before checking Sintra which will be up soon!
Follow along!
