Gardens of Palacio dos marqueses da fronteira
I truly feel that Lisbon is under-rated compared to many other European cities esp. those in Italy and Spain, yet it is one of the most charming cities I have visited. I have always wanted to visit Lisbon but didn't get a chance, despite hearing some semi-negative comments from friends, I still had high hopes. Luckily, I wasn't disappointed, in fact, I felt that it even exceeded my expectations! My friends were correct about the shabby conditions of the architecture and city in general but this is partly why I like it so much... the unglossines and slightly worn-out qualities make it more appealing because it is such a contrast from its glorious past! I also like the hilly cobbled streets, not easy to walk on but it's very Mediterranean...
Like most Mediterranean countries, it has that laid back attitude and most of all, it has not been invaded by foreign chained coffee shops and fast food joints! There are enough historical sights and museums to keep us busy for days! Although there are many wonderful 'must-see' sights, I actually prefer visiting the 'smaller' museums and palaces. Aside from the museums and palaces, there is also great food, port and wine, so I cannot recommend enough of this city!
Views from Castelo de Sao Jorge
Best time to visit All year round but probably early summer or early autumn when it's not too hot.
Tips: Buy a Lisboa card for free public transport and free entry into museums! Like many European countries, most museums shut on Mondays, so check before you visit.
Must-do
Take the tram (28) and try standing by the window... I felt like I was on a roller-coaster ride! The scenery was very interesting but definitely not for the faint-hearted... or perhaps it was just my driver trying to get home for his dinner!
Must-see sights:
Palacio dos marqueses da fronteira Simply breathingly beautiful... This 17th Century private residence is not as popular as other sights because it is in the suburbs and you can only visit by the 2 guided tours in the mornings! But it's really worth the time and effort, both the garden and palace will make you appreciate the kind of craftsmanships that probably no longer exist nowadays!
Gardens of Palacio dos marqueses da fronteira
São Roque Church - this 16th century Jesuit church is plain on the outside but extravagent on the inside. Who would have thought that one of the Baroque style chapels inside was named the most expensive chapel in the world?! It seems that the phrase, 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies to many sights in Lisbon, I guess this is what makes Lisbon so unqiue...
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Belem A full day is needed to cover all the sights in Belem, but Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and Torre de Belém are probably the most popular due to their World Heritage site statues. Personally, I think the monastary is a lot more interesting than the tower except that you do get a good view of Lisbon from the tower. Yet it is the stunning architecture of the monastery and the church that will remind us of how influencial religions were a few hundred years ago. It's shocking to think how things have changed...
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos
Sintra - It's rare to have a whole town be listed as a world heritage site, so Sintra which lies outside of Lisbon is definitely worth visiting. There is a fairytale style palace, an ancient castle and walls, a 15th century royal summer palace and a Gaudi/Gothic style palace and park... Although the town is quite touristy, the sights are all very interesting and each has its own characteristics. The most memorable one for me has to be Quinta da Regaleira.
Town of Sintra
A view of Palácio Nacional de Sintra from above
Palácio Nacional de Sintra
Fairytale palace - Palácio Nacional da Pena
Castelo dos Mouros - Great wall of Sintra?
Quinta da Regaleira
This has to be one of the strangest and most surreal places I have ever visited! It's almost hard to find words to describe this place! At first glance, the gothic-style palace designed by Italian architect, Luigi Manini, looks pretty interesting but never would I have imagined what lies beyond this facade... I remember this was the last sight we visited in Sintra after a long day of sightseeing, arriving about 2 hours before closing time, there were hardly any visitors left which made the visit more intriguing. What makes this sight special is not the palace itself but the 'theme' park with a chapel, grottoes, tunnels, lakes, fountains and aquarium (now covered in algae)... There is nothing ordinary about this place! It's weird, wonderful, surreal, spooky, enigmatic... just an extraordinary place full of surprises!
A Dali/Gaudi/Tim Burton style palace and park - Quinta da Regaleira
My favourite museums:
There are many unique musuems in Lisbon and it is hard to cover them all within a few days. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit Calouste Gulbenkian Museum nor Coaches museum, but out of the ones I visited, my favourites are: Tile Museum, Fado Museum and Marionette Museum.
Tile Museum
It's a bit out of the way but it is a 'must' for 'azulejo' lovers! Housed in the former Madre de Deus Convent (orginally built in the 16th Century), the architecture of the museum is also very appealing. There is a Baroque style chapel and a lovely cafe/ restaurant covered in food-related tiles. Highlight of the museum: the 23m/ 75 feet long 18th century tilework of Lisbon cityscape before the big earthquake.
Tile Museum
Marionette museum
Also housed in a former convent from 18th Century, this lesser-known but lovely museum is home to over 100 puppets from all over the world. The museum layout is well planned and divided, with a lot of attention and effort put in to create a pleasant experience for visitors. I highly recommend this small gem!
Marionette museum
Fado Museum
If you want to understand more about Portuguese culture, music and history, the small but interesting Fado Museum located in the Alfama district is a good place to visit in a late & relaxing afternoon. After touring around and listening to the music, the shop also offers a large selection of fado music (CDs) for you to bring home.
Food & drinks
One of the biggest discovery of my trip was Portugese wine! I never really had much of Portugese wine before and now I would buy one if I see it in my local wine store! Very underrated... probably due to the distribution issue. The best place to learn more about Portuguese wine is to go to Sala Ogival de Lisbois owned by ViniPortugal (a private organisation, partly funded by the Portuguese government and wine producer associations) for some free wine tasting. There are friendly staff who will assist you and all you need to do is to fill a form, score the wine and hand it back to them afterwards. You can also make purchases after the tasting but it's completely optional. We actually got quite tipsy after the tasting, so make you sure you don't go there on an empty stomach!
As much as I dislike liquor, all the guide books recommend trying Ginjinha or Ginja, a liquor made of ginja berries. Hence we queued with locals and tourists alike for a shot of Ginja at the famous hole-in-the-wall, A Ginjinha... And yes, it reminded me of cough medicine but it was better than I expected.
A Ginjinha store
Pastelaria & cafes
Portgual is famous for its pastries, and having had 'Portuguese tarts' numberous times in Macau, we were quite excited to taste the authentic ones. But throughout out pur stay in Lisbon, we noticed that the sweet Portuguese pastries are a lot sweeter than the Macanese versions. Perhaps the Macanese ones had been modified to catered for local tastebuds, but we did find the Portuguese pastries a bit too sweet for our liking! However, I love the salt cod fritters, unfortunately, it's hard to find ones that match the standard outside of Portgual!
Antiga Confeitaria de Belem
No matter how touristy it is, this institution, opened since 1837, is a 'must' on most tourists' list. Everyone is here for their famous 'Pasteis de Belem' (or pasteis de nata, a cinnamon-dusted custard tart), while other customers ordered heaps of them, we had 2 each and tried out some other snacks including some savoury ones... Definitely the best place for 'pasteis de nata' in town, though the coffee and other snacks were pretty good too!
Antiga Confeitaria de Belem
Cafe A Brasileira
Located in the busy shopping district, this famous cafe is bit touristy but you can drop in just to admire the Art Nouveau decor. We didn't stay because it was completely packed, instead we went to another famous but less busy cafe next door, Café Pastelaria Benard.
Café Pastelaria Benard
A laid-back and historic cafe that serves good coffee and pastries, a lot more relaxing than 'Cafe A Brasileira' next door.
Restaurants
During our short stay, we managed to try a range of Portuguese restaurants in Lisbon, from high end to late night snack place... and our verdict is that it's not neccessary to spend a lot to enjoy good decent food in Lisbon. In fact, the most memorable meals we had was at Stop Do Bairro, a local hangout...
Bonjardim
Back in London, I have visited the South African chain, Nandos, countless of times, so it would be odd not to try the original version. Known as 'Rei dos Frangos' (king of chickens), this casual tavern restaurant specialises in spit-roasted chicken and is loved by tourists and locals. Efficient service and reasonably priced, we thoroughly enjoyed the tasty chicken and fries and were glad that we came arrived after the busy lunch hour.
Origin of Nandos...Bonjardim
A Travessa
Although this restaurant has often been named as 'one of the best in Lisbon', I have quite mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, it has an amazing location, inside a 17th century convent (shared with Marionette museum) with great atmosphere, good food and attentive service. However, we felt ripped off when the bill came because before we even ordered, the waiters started serving us small portions of starters without asking us. We had no idea that they were gonna charge us something like 15 euros each for food that we never ordered! We ended up paying over 150 euro for 2 (including wine) which was quite a lot even by London standard! I wouldn't mind paying that amount for some 'Michelin star' quality cuisine, but this wasn't the case and the feeling of being conned bothered us more than anything else...
Stop Do Bairro
Our experience at Stop Do Bairro was so good that it more than compensated our disappointment at A Travessa the night before! This is THE place to visit if you want to try some unpretenious homemade cooking. Located in a quiet neighbourhood outside of the centre, we took a taxi here and arrived fairly early for dinner to avoid the crowds. But the place was soon filled with locals and since all the tables are communal, it was easy for our Portuguese neighbours to start a conversation with us. By the end of the evening, not only they were pouring their wine into our glasses but we were invited to stay at their villa in Sintra! Apart from the friendly buzzling atmosphere, the food was delicious and generous, we loved the roast suckling pig and arroz de tamboril (rice with monkfish)... If you only have time for one meal in Lisbon, then this is THE place to visit!
Stop Do Bairro
A Merendeira, Santo
This 'late night snack restaurant' is loved by the locals, not only because it opens til 7 in the morning but the home-made style food is quite delicious and affordable. They only serve a few items including Caldo verde (green soup) and pão com chouriço (bread filled with chorizo), which means that the food is always fresh. If you ever need a dose of fast food, skip the American chains and try this place instead. It's a lot more satisfying than pizzas and fries!
Caldo verde at A Merendeira
Shopping
I did a bit of research before my trip on specialty stores for tiles and handicrafts but when I got there, most of the stores on my list had already closed down! I wasn't planning to do much shopping in Lisbon but was hoping to at least buy some unusual Portuguese items to bring back home. Overall, I was quite disappointed and ended up buying tins of sardines and tuna in the 'coolest' store in Lisbon, Conserveira de Lisboa. If you are looking for unique souvenirs or gifts, try the museum shops, they are usually your best bets.
Otherwise, here are some interesting ones:
A Vida Portuguesa - This is a retro style shop full of retro Portuguese products like cosmetics, soap, household products and books. Even if the products don't appeal to you, it's worth just visiting for the nostalgic ambience.
The Wrong Shop - A small gimmicky souvenir shop stocked with fun but a bit useless stuff... I didn't buy anything but I appreciate its unique approach to traditional souvenirs!
Fabrica @ Benetton - This store may look like most Benetton stores but actually there's a gallery/ design store 'hidden' on the top floor where they sell a range of unique design products and design-related books. Cool!
Conserveira de Lisboa - This tiny preserved-fish store has to be the 'coolest' (also in terms of service) store in town. It has been around for about 80 years and it looks as if nothing has changed since... I love their display and packaging but am a bit bemused by their service or attitude. While the shopkeeper was 'serving' us, she ran out of the store and crossed the street to chat to someone from the another store, not just once, but a few times!! While we were were waiting for her to return, the elder lady (the boss maybe?) didn't think to assist us until we asked. Looking a bit annoyed, she reluctantly assisted us until the other shopkeeper returned. I am sure we probably spent about an hour in the shop... just for some tinned fish!! Having said that, it is definitely worth visiting even if you are not into fish!
Colours - Lisbon is a colourful city, and the colours definitely make the city more vibrant! I partciularly like the Alfama district with all the cobbled slopes, narrow alleyways and neighbourhood squares, it is hard not to be charmed by the nostalgic atmosphere and colours here!
Tiles - I love tiles and mosiacs, so Portugal is heaven for tile-lovers because they are everywhere... you just can't avoid them!
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