Lisbon & The Algarve - Portugal

I'm not sure how this happened exactly, but I've been to Lisbon 6 times over the last few years. It's cheap, warm, beautiful, and has great food options. It also has great nightlife and a ton of options for day trips. Portugal is a smaller country, so it feels like a doable trip to really see in a week. I have only been to Porto once on a solo trip during COVID, so I'm going to leave that one out until I have the chance to return again, but I will include recs for the south of Portugal, as it's one of the best parts.

Areas to stay

I've stayed in many different areas in Lisbon, and there are a lot of great options. My favorite for lodging would have to be Barrio Alto, given the convenience of the bars & restaurants and how generally central it is.

• Barrio Alto: This is my top recommendation. This area has a ton of great restaurants, bars, shopping, and just generally a great vibe. It is at the top of a fairly large hill, so be prepared to be out of breath walking there.

• Alfama: Alfama is known as the oldest and most charming neighborhood of Lisbon. Highly recommend walking around this entire area - it's beautiful. You'll find historic and stunning viewpoints here as well. It is super overrun with tourists now though and Moreira is it's slightly off the beaten path sister.

• Moreira: Moreira is the smaller, more local version of Alfama. Views aren’t as good but SO charming and not a lot of tourists. Walk through the streets during the day and listen to fado here at night.

• Chiado: This is the ‘center / downtown’ of the city. As I'm sure you can imagine, it is very touristy, but nice to explore the shops here. There are lots of classic stores too if you need last minute clothes (Zara, H&M).

Things to do

In my opinion, the best thing to do in Lisbon is walk around, pop into shops, grabbing food and drinks along the way. Although the city is very hilly, its lovely to explore in foot, with tons of great architecture, views, and charm.

• Walking tour: Get ready to get your steps in through a hilly city. It’s a good way to see a lot and learn the history, but I much preferred the tuktuk if you are going to do a tour on someone else's pace for an extended period of time.

• Tuktuk tour: We found one on the side of a main road and it ended up being a hilarious day that was great. We saw so much and learned a ton about the history of the city in a fast, efficient, fun way. Highly recommend this - you can wing it, these are all over the city.

• Pastel de nata cooking class: I did this with coworkers on a work trip here and it was honestly great. I’ve never had a better one than straight out of the oven. The process was hard, but doable and a great afternoon activity if you’ve already seen a lot of the city or have bad weather.

• LX Factory: This is a group of shops in cool area to walk around, nice little shops for jewelry and nicknacks. There are not a lot of grab and go food options here. I would recommend coming here to shop and grab a drink. There is a pretty view on the rooftop.

• Sunset boat cruise: I’ve done this twice now and it’s a nice evening activity. Boats are my favorite thing ever, but I’m not itching to do it again here. You are with a lot of people and the views are fine. It’s windy and chilly usually. I prefer daytime boats. It's on the Atlantic versus nice Mediterranean waters, so keep that in mind. You can find for cheap on airbnb experiences.

• Tile shopping: Lisbon is known for their tiles. You'll see ornate tiles all over the buildings throughout the city. There are a bunch of areas with tile shops where you can buy some (or even just one). I enjoyed going through all the intricate designs on the tiles and hearing about how they are made.

Restaurants

• Prado: My favorite restaurant in the city, I've been every trip. It is fine dining, but affordable €68 for tasting menu or you can order ala carte. Must orders are the bread, pork, mushrooms, cockles, and all of the desserts. Chilled red wine is great here. Skip the celeriac and tomato salad.

• Izcalli Antojeria: This is a very close second to Prado. It is by far the best Mexican food I've ever had in Europe. We went back twice in one week on one trip. It is a super small place with 5 seats at the bar and that's it, so it's really just your group. They have 2 seatings per night. This is a must try.

• A Taberna da Rua das Flores: Super small restaurant in Chiado with amazing Portuguese food. It felt like a local experience with a ton of wine and great food. The menu was written on a chalkboard with almost no English.

• Acaso: This spot has solid Portuguese food. It’s not changing your life, but it’s a yummy meal. Order the pot of cheese and the pork.

• Time out market: The best pastel del natas are here. I’ve tried a bunch of spots and all have been good, but it is very touristy. It's worth checking out once if you've never been.

• A cevicheria: There is usually a wait here, but they have amazing ceviche and I think it's worth the wait if you are a big ceviche fan. There are bars nearby you can pop over to wait in.

• Coyo taco: iykyk (if you’re from Miami). Best tacos in Miami, and randomly there is a location is lisbon too. Don't need to go far out of your way for these, but if you are nearby they are yummy.

• Alma: I’ve never been, but multiple of my very trusted foodie friends who went separately said it was not worth the hype or the price. Go to Prado instead.

Bars

• Barrio alto bars: Just walk around this area and you'll find a ton of spots to walk into. If you want to go out, just head to this area. The streets are typically packed with people walking from bar to bar.

• Monkey Mash: This spot is 100% worth the hype. The ‘life is so sad’ (lol) cocktail was incredible and I’m not even a tequila fan (and hate mezcal). I still think about it.

• Rooftop bars: Goa Lisboa, Park Bar, Entretanta

• Lux club: I've been once years ago and it was super fun, but I also was 23 when I went so I can't totally speak to if its a place I would want to go now.

• Fado: This is the popular Portuguese music that they play in bars in the evenings. It's worth popping into a fado bar to check it out. There are a bunch in Moreira.

Day trips

Sintra

Sintra is a super cool castle (picture at the top of this blog is from there). When I went, my mom and I did a self-guided tour, which I thought was sufficient, but I'm not a huge history buff. There is also a forest here that has some cool hikes/walks. It's definitely worth the day trip.

Cascais

If you don't have time to go all the way to the Algarve, but want to see a beach town in Portugal, this is your spot. It's close enough to the city where you can take a train or even an Uber. It's not going to change your life or be nearly as stunning as the Algarve, but it is a decently nice beach and a cute little town. If you are going to the Algarve, definitely skip this one.

Algarve

This should probably be it's own post honestly, but for now it will live here. I have been to the Algarve region 3 times and stayed in a different area each time. It's about a 3-4 hour drive from Lisbon and totally worth it. the landscape is stunning and it's super cheap. The water is less enjoyable than most European beach towns (because it's on the Atlantic, not the Mediterranean), which is probably partially why it has a cheaper price tag. The activities are great here too, but I'll be honest, you are not going here for the food. There are a few good spots out of the way, but it's not a particularly culinary spot.

Areas

• Lagos: This was my favorite one of the towns to stay. Although not life changing food or bars, it has the best options of the towns in my opinion.

• Albufiera: This was my least favorite of the towns. It's full of 18 year old drunk Brits, there is truly 0 food, and no fun bars here.

• Portimao: This trip was with a huge group and more planned for me. I enjoyed the location! It was convenient and had stuff going on. I would recommend after Lagos.

Activities

• Boating: Boat days are always the best days, and the Algarve in Portugal is no exception. This must be on your list of activities if you can swing it.

• Surfing: The Algarve is known for their surfing. Given the tide, you typically have to get up pretty early for this one, but it's worth it. It was really difficult, but fun and nothing beats that feeling when you finally stand on a wave after many, many falls.

• Paddleboarding: This was honestly a hard activity with the current, but it was stunning to paddleboard through the caves. I would 100% recommend this if you're up for the physical challenge.

• Hiking: There are a bunch of hikes around the area. I preferred exploring by water with kayaks and paddleboards more, but hiking is a great option too.

• Beach club: We went to NoSoloDeAgua one day, and it was during covid so I can't speak to how it normally is, but it's definitely way less nice than what you'll find in the South of France or Greece. It was a fun day and we met some Aussie friends there, so our group that turned into ~15 people made it fun, but unsure it's a spot I would return to.

Restaurants

As mentioned above, you aren't going to be having the best culinary trip of your life here. There are some good spots below, but I don't have a ton to recommend, even after multiple trips here.

• Casa Mae: This is a cute boutique hotel. The food and cocktails are great here.

• Canico: The huge platters of fresh fish here are amazing. Afterwards, we went down to the beach below and had such a lovely day. Highly recommend getting a reservation here and planning to spend the day on the beach. Get a bottle (or a few) of wine to take with you after.