Lisbon
The next day we were out early to explore what Lisbon had to offer. We chose a fantastic time to visit as it was the championship decider match for the local football team Benfica, and the Eurovision song contest (which Portugal ended up winning!) so it was a great party atmosphere all weekend. It’s a great city for exploring on foot as it’s relatively compact – not in heels though, those hills are steep!
After strolling around the shops (for lovers of beautiful ceramics I would highly recommend Loica ao Kg, gorgeous locally made dishes, vases, plates etc priced by the kilo) we visited the Time Out Market Lisboa. This restored food market is a great place to stop for a browse and a bite to eat. One half of the building is a traditional food market which is still frequented by locals looking for great quality produce. The other half is a stunning food hall, with 24 restaurants, eight bars and a dozen shops – all completing to be ‘the best’. The best burger, the best sushi, the best ham...you get the idea. The market is easily found opposite the main train station of Lisbon, Cais de Sodre and is definitely one for your itinerary.
It was here that we met up with our tour guides for the day. We had pre-booked a walking food tour of Lisbon and it turned out to be the best bit of pre-planning ever! Martin and Juan were our hosts, both born and raised in Lisbon and obsessed with great Portuguese food. Here are a few highlights of the tour and places to visit on your next trip to this fantastic city;
- Portuguese coffee and custard doughnuts at the Time Out Market Lisboa
- A gin & tonic or sour cherry liquor at one of the many ‘Gin Booths’ in downtown Lisbon. Blink and you would miss these, they look just like traditional newspaper stands.
- A hearty lunch at Popular Do Capelo – an unassuming family run casual restaurant with the most delicious food. We tried fishcakes with an amazing slow cooked tomato rice and juicy pork ribs with a stunning garlicky kale dish.
- Pastel de Nata at the glorious Manteigaria. Lisboans constantly argue about the best place to buy these incredible custard tarts but our guides were insistent that Manteigaria should take the prize. It was hard to disagree, wow! They are baked in store and if you walk to the back of the shop you can watch them being made. Prepare to queue!
- By the Wine. After all that walking we were in desperate need of some refreshment. By the Wine is another ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ place but certainly worth seeking out. A huge selection of both local and international wines and a modern cave like structure where the entire ceiling is made of old wine bottles. With lovely Portuguese sparkling wines at just €10 a bottle, you won’t be surprised to hear we spent quite a few hours in here.
From By the Wine, we headed on to a car park. Yes, a car park. We’d heard about a fantastic ‘hidden’ rooftop bar on top of a car park. It took quite a while to find it and after lots of ‘it can’t be here’ and ‘there’s no way it’s up there’, we climbed what seemed like a million steps (probably only about 5 floors) and found ourselves in a wonderful garden party style bar! It was here we stayed until the early hours toasting the bride to be and enjoying the lovely Lisbon views.
Do get in touch if you are thinking of a break in Lisbon or its surrounding coastline – Cascais, Estoril and Sintra are a short train ride away and a multi centre with one of these would be a fantastic holiday.