12 Best Things To Do in Lisbon

The capital of Portugal has something special and authentic that cannot be described in words. Lisbon is the rooftops of Alfama, the cafes of Chiado, the atmosphere of the Bairro Alto, the facades of the historic center, the gardens of Belem and the banks of the Tagus River.

I will never tire of defending that the best way to get to know a city is to walk its streets and get lost in its corners. For this reason, my first recommendation if you are thinking of going to this city is to take a guided tour of Lisbon.

Lisbon has many neighborhoods and each of them has a special character and personality. Therefore, if you have time, I advise you to book a guided tour of Lisbon through the different neighborhoods of the Portuguese capital.

If, on the other hand, you are short on time or want to try the experience in a general way, you will also find guided walking tours of the most important places in Lisbon.

The yellow wooden streetcars that crisscross Lisbon are a tourist attraction in themselves, but they are also a perfect way to get around the city, reaching in a comfortable and fast way the most distant points of interest of what there is to see in the historical center of Lisbon.

To ride the streetcar you have two options: to take a regular ticket for a trip as if it were a regular bus or to book a streetcar route in Lisbon in advance.

In addition, there is also the possibility of combining tickets for the streetcar with those of the tourist bus, so you can comfortably move around all corners of the city. Here is my practical guide to Lisbon Hop on Hop off Bus Tours so you can organize your trip more easily.

To know a city is also to know its culture and traditions and, in the case of Lisbon, this means discovering Fado. Fado is a melancholic song based on feelings that originated in the poor neighborhoods of Lisbon and is still alive and well in the Portuguese capital.

Scattered throughout the capital, there are different venues where you can enjoy a fado show with or without dinner included and also different packages with which to combine a fado show and a sightseeing tour of Lisbon.

I recommend you to check this article about the best fado dinner options in Lisbon to make up your mind and book a ticket for a fado show that suits your preferences.

If after strolling around Lisbon you think nothing can match the beauty of the Portuguese capital, wait until you see all there is to see in Sintra.

This town, considered a World Heritage Site, is full of beautiful palaces such as the Pena Palace and the National Palace of Sintra, with colorful facades.

Getting to Sintra from Lisbon is easy and will take you just an hour's drive, but if you can I recommend hiring an excursion to Sintra. By taking an organized excursion to Sintra from Lisbon you will be able to forget about the details of the journey and get to know the area with an expert guide.

One of the main sites to see during a visit to Lisbon is not in Lisbon. It is the Pena Palace and it is located in Sintra. If the excursion to Sintra is a "must", entering the Pena Palace is another one.

You can buy tickets to the Pena Palace or take a guided tour of the Pena Palace, but the most important thing is that you reserve at least one morning to see it all, as the Pena Palace also has huge gardens that are worth a visit.

If you go with children to Lisbon this plan will seduce them especially because in the gardens of the Palace they will feel like in a fun fairy tale.

Are you going to leave Portugal without tasting its most typical dishes on a gastronomic tour of Lisbon? For any self-respecting traveler, trying different flavors and textures is part of the trip and in Lisbon you are spoilt for choice.

Being a big city, you will have plenty of restaurants to choose from (I recommend you to book in advance if you are interested in a particular one). But another option is to book a gastronomic tour of Lisbon so that a guide can show you the best flavors of the capital.

There are typical Lisbon specialties that you cannot miss such as cod, green wine, francesinha and the famous Belem cakes. On the other hand, you also have the possibility to do a wine tasting in Lisbon or surroundings, something also very typical of the Portuguese capital.

When you visit the neighborhood of Belem you will be struck by the structure of the Jerónimos Monastery; do not hesitate to book tickets and, if you can, book a guided tour.

Completed in the 16th century in the Manueline style, the Jeronimos Monastery is considered a World Heritage Site.

Not everything is going to be tourism and those who have been in Lisbon in summer know it well. If you stay near the Bairro Alto a crowd of people in the streets will surprise you when you go out for dinner.

Music, partying, drinking, joy and a smile on every corner of the narrow and steep streets that run through this neighborhood are the main characteristics of the Lisbon party.

In the midst of a bohemian atmosphere, the Bairro Alto is the protagonist of Lisbon's nightlife and concentrates a multitude of pubs and bars in many of which, in addition, you can listen to fado. And if you want something a little different, you can book a boat party in Lisbon.

It would have been a sin not to include in the list the wonderful viewpoints that Lisbon has. The Portuguese capital is known as The City of 7 hills and this nickname assures the traveler extraordinary views from different points of the city.

These are some of the viewpoints that you should not miss:

Yes, you read that right. Every evening several sailboats leave from the pier ready to sail the waters of the Tagus during sunset, allowing you to enjoy a spectacular sunset and a glass of wine in the meantime.

The truth is that for me it was one of the best plans I could do during the trip and best of all is that the budget you need is not excessive, since you can book a cruise on the Tagus from about 36 €.

I tell you all the details in my article about the best cruises on the Tagus.

If you are going to be in Lisbon for 4 days or even extend your stay in Lisbon for 5 days, you will probably want to see other parts of Portugal. I recommend two: Fatima and Porto.

Both getting from Lisbon to Fatima and from Lisbon to Porto is quite easy and you can book an excursion to Fatima from Lisbon or Porto.

As for what you will see in each place, you have to know that Fatima is a mostly religious destination that owes its fame to the apparition of the Virgin to three shepherds. As for Oporto, it is the other big city of Lisbon and even many have doubts whether it is better Oporto or Lisbon. My recommendation, of course, is to visit both.

After a few days walking around the city you will have already noticed that many of its buildings were affected by the various earthquakes that have ravaged Lisbon throughout its history. This is the case of the Convento da Carmo, once belonging to the Carmelite order, it lacks a roof.

However, this peculiarity makes it, precisely, one of the favorite places for travelers. On Sundays it is closed, but the rest of the week you can visit it from 10 am to 6 pm and I assure you that it is worth it both for its structure and its views.

The temperatures in the Portuguese capital make it possible to visit at any time of the year; in fact, many people visit Lisbon in winter and, in particular, Lisbon at Christmas.

Although you will have to wrap up warm, the cold is perfectly bearable (more so than the heat that can occur in summer) and that is why the months of January, February, March, October, November and December are among the most popular months to visit Lisbon.

Finally, you are probably wondering how many days you need to visit Lisbon. In my opinion, the ideal is to spend two days in Lisbon or three days in Lisbon, but if you go to Lisbon for only one day you will also be able to enjoy the most important points of a city that is quite manageable.

In case you are in Lisbon for only one day, make sure to book your transfer from the airport to the center of Lisbon in advance to save time and add it to the hours of sightseeing in this beautiful city.

Another tip you may appreciate if you are one of those who prefer to make the most of your travel time is to get a tourist pass that will save you money.

For this destination you can book the Lisbon Card, a pass available for 24, 48 or 72 hours with which you have access to numerous museums and monuments of the Portuguese capital, plus unlimited transportation.