For your first brunch stop of the trip, make your way to Break Sé. A very popular spot amongst trendy travellers, and for a good reason! This spot serves up some of the most delicious avocado toast and waffles. It also has a great selection of smoothies. If the weather is nice, I’d highly recommend grabbing a table outside so you can watch the world go by and take in the Lisbon vibe.
Make the most of the morning to explore Castelo de São Jorge, a Moorish castle with incredible views of Lisbon. It’s a great way to get your bearings and take in some of the city’s history. The entrance fee is only €8.50.
After exploring the castle and its grounds, head up to Miradoura da Graça. It’s quite a steep climb, but worth the calf workout as the views from this Miradouro are one of my favourites!
Next, walk back down towards Portas del Sol, but take a right down Rua de São Tomé until you hit the narrow streets of Alfama.
No Lisbon itinerary would be complete without a visit to Alfama. Alfama is Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood. This area is famous for its narrow cobblestone streets, colourful buildings and hidden squares. As you wander around, you’ll find many cute traditional cafes serving up delicious custard tarts and pastel de nata (Portuguese egg tart). Stop off at one or two along the way!
For lunch, I’d recommend hitting up Antu Alfama or heading to Rua Cruzes da Sé which is full of great restaurants.
Once you’ve had your fill of Alfama, hop on the 28E tram and take it all the way to Praça do Comércio. This is the “tourist centre” of Lisbon as it’s where the main square is and the streets are filled with restaurants, mainstream shops like Zara, Bershka, Mango etc. The views and architecture surrounding the main square are beautiful to stroll around, but as I said, it is tourist central.
Unexpectedly though, this area does have many truly unique vintage shops dotted around Chiado. If you enjoy vintage and secondhand shopping, you can find some real gems here. The best shops are: A Outra Face da Lua, Ás de Espadas, Humana and Retro City Lisboa.
You can spend the rest of the afternoon vintage shopping or mainstream shopping if you fancy.
However, if you’re a sunset and seafood lover, maybe cut the shopping short or skip it altogether and take the ferry over the river for dinner. The ferry you need to get on is the one to Cacilhas (yellow line) at Cais do Sodre station. Ferry costs €1.30 each way. Tickets need to be bought in the ticket machines in the station.
The other side of Ponte 25 de Abril, in the Cacilhas, has a row of seafood restaurants that offer incredible views of the sunset. One of the most popular ones, and the one I ate at, is Ponto Final. Ponto final is known for its seafood platters, but they also have 2 vegan/veggie options, so it caters to all! It’s a super simple, rustic restaurant, with literally just plastic chairs and tables, but that’s part of its charm. And the people that flock there to queue for a special dinner is a testament to it.
Discussion about this post