Lisbon is a great city for a weekend trip within Europe! We recently spent 3 days in Lisbon with friends and made the most of our days, yet still had plenty of time to relax.
When we travel, we like to have a mix of sightseeing and taking moments to sit with a coffee and day dream. Half of the reason you take a short vacation is to get away from the everyday and relax! So whilst we love being tourists and seeing everything possible in a short trip, we still make time to smell the roses.
Here is my guide on how to spend 3 days in Lisbon, from tourist sights, coffee breaks, and great food!
Day 1
We happened to land in Lisbon at 9am, much too early to check in for our Airbnb. So our first day was a slow day. We spent our morning at a coffee shop having breakfast, coffee and tea, before checking out our little flat in Bairro Alto.
Want to book an Airbnb? I have a discount link at the bottom of this post!
Pink Street
As Bairro Alto isn’t far from the Tagus River, after check-in, we ventured down towards the river, making sure to check out Lisbon’s very own pink street along the way! This street is famous only for it’s painted pink road. At night this street turns into a hot nightlife spot, and in the day time it’s a bit of a quiet place – apart from the tourists getting selfies 😉
After getting our selfie, we headed downhill to the Tagus (forgetting we’d have to come back uphill later!!) and found ourselves a nice spot for some wine overlooking the river and Almada. Here is where we spent the remainder of our day!
Dinner options near the Tagus River include the glorious foodhall TimeOut Market Lisbon, where your foodie dreams come true! With countless food stands surrounding a huge open seating area, you can find all of the best food in Lisbon. Every choice is a good choice at Timeout Market Lisbon. And the wine is fantastic! Trust me, I’ve tried a few 😉
Day 2
Our first morning waking up in Lisbon was the perfect opportunity to go for brunch! One thing you can always count on with Everywhere Bucket List, is that on every trip there is at least one brunch morning! For our Lisbon brunch, we chose the highly regarded Zenith Cafe for our brunch.
When in Lisbon, DO go to Zenith – the brunch was amazing. We had fantastic flat white coffee, the Zenith egg’s benedict (2 breaded poached eggs on sourdough toast, crispy serrano ham, avocado, crispy onion, chives, cherry tomatoes and hollandaise sauce served w/ mix greens), and the banana bread which came with flambéed banana, blueberry jam, mixed berries and banana cream. Simply put. Amazing.
Make sure to get there early as lines run down the street!
After brunch, we walked over to Avenue de Liberdade, where there happened to be a military parade. It was really impressive to see every single battalion as well as all of the fancy machinery! After the parade, we continues down Avenue de Liberdade towards Rossio square which has quite beautiful floor tiles – check them out!
Very close to Rossio square is the Santa Justa Lift. This tower is one of the funkiest spots to visit when in Lisbon, in my opinion! This gorgeous tower connects 2 neighbourhoods that have a steep elevation between them. Within the tower is an elevator which you can take to the top, where you have one of the best views in Lisbon! FUN FACT: The tower was designed by one of Mr Eiffel (of the Eiffel Tower) design students.
With the skies still clear before an incoming rain shower, we headed to Lisbon castle (Castelo de Sao George) for a drink before checking out the castle. Unfortunately, almost straight after we walked into the castle, the downpour began!
Thankfully there is a crepe restaurant near the castle entrance which was the perfect place to dry off and wait for the rain to stop. Make sure you visit the castle on your trip to Lisbon as it has some of the best views in Lisbon!
What’s for dinner? Barrio Alto has some of the hippest restaurants in all of Lisbon. We stumbled upon Boa Bao a Pan-asian restaurant which I highly recommend! Not exactly winning at eating Portugese food in Portugal – but the food was so good here!!
Day 3
The final day in Lisbon means making sure you’ve taken a tram, and eaten the best pastel de nata in the city!
Your 3 days in Lisbon would not be complete without heading to the neighbourhood of Belem. Belem features numerous sights to see AND the best custard tart you’ve ever eaten! If you’ve eaten Pastel de Nata before, this version is lighter, crunchier and just down right the yummiest creation. So much so, I ate 3 in one sitting – ooops!
But to earn your pastel de nata’s, first things first, get on a yellow tram and ride it to Jeronimos Monastary. Jeronimos Monastary is a massive and gorgeous building that spent 500 years as an active monastary – which you can now visit for €10.
After Jeronimos’s Monastary, it’s time to head over to the Exploration Monument, which celebrates Portugal’s importance in exploration and discovery of the world.
A 10 minute walk further along the Tagus river is Belem Tower. Belem tower is a fortified tower and an architectural jewel. Any visit to Lisbon would not be complete without having seen it!
After you have explored these important buildings/monuments in Belem, head back towards where the tram stop is, which is where you’ll find Pasteis de Belem. If you just want to take some pastel de nata away, you may have to wait in a long line – however they have an incredibly large cafe where you can sit and order freshly cooked pastels to your table. I recommend sitting in their cafe as – you may need another pastel de nata before leaving!
Things To Know About Lisbon
- Uber is very present in Lisbon, so if you don’t feel like walking, uber.
- Lisbon is built on seven hills, so expect to get a LOT of exercise!
- Restaurants don’t get busy until 9 or 10pm for dinner! So, if you want to eat at 7 or 8pm you’ll probably have a good chance of getting a table!
- Most people speak some English, but don’t expect everyone to.
- In Lisbon for longer than 3 days? Consider a day trip to Sintra! It’s a magnificent town full of UNESCO listed palaces and castles!
Check these awesome tours to check out while in Lisbon
Want to book your trip to Lisbon?
- Make sure you get the cheapest flights via Skyscanner!
- Need accommodation? Get your hotel booked on Booking.com! Or more of an Airbnb person? Either way I’ve got you covered.
- Find out more about Portugal
- Let me know if you are heading to Sintra and if you have any questions for me!
- Feel free to share your adventure with me via social media – too!
- And above all – have fun!
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Australian expat, married to a Dutch guy, living in Amsterdam. Previously lived in London for 3 years, too! Lover of travel, coffee, brunch, beaches, fresh flowers, and family. Now a new mum, navigating life with a baby!
