Blog

The sun is shining on us and we are headed to the Rossio Train Station to catch the train for a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra. On the way we walked down this really steep hill that has some colorful graffiti and tram also covered in bright graffiti.  This tram’s only route is to go up and down this hill all day. (That could get old real quick.)

At the Rossio Train Station

You go up a series of escalators before you get to the top where the ticketing booths are located.  There were also some ticket machines, but the booths operated by people seemed to be faster. We got our tickets and then headed out to the train headed for Sintra, Portugal. It was already waiting on the platform. (They have regular departures, so no need to reserve in advance.) Also if you happen to have the Lisboa Card, I believe this train’s fare is included with that card.

Arriving in Sintra, Portugal

The train to Sintra takes about 40 minutes from Rossio station.  When you arrive you will exit the train station and turn right. Pass all the tuk-tuks and walk over to the buses to find Bus 434.  We spent 6.40€ to ride the bus 434 loop that will take you to the Palace of Pena, stopping at the Moorish castle and making a loop back down to let you off by the National Palace of Sintra before returning you to the train station.  It was the best money we spent! Sintra is hilly! And the Palace of Pena is way too far to walk to from town for our day trip.

Originally I had planned on visiting the National Palace of Sintra first, but the bus took us straight up to the Moorish Castle and then to the Palace of Pena. However, it worked out as I learned that getting to the Palace of Pena earlier is really the way to go. There were a lot fewer crowds and the weather was better earlier in the day.

Purchasing Tickets:

The bus drops you off by the ticket offices which are located about a 10-minute walk below the Palace of Pena. We purchased a combo ticket that included both the Palace of Pena as well as the Palace of Sintra.

Alongside the ticket office, you can choose to pay a tuk-tuk, take a shuttle or walk the remaining way up to the Palace of Pena.  We chose to walk and although it is uphill, it was a very scenic walk thru the trees.  If you are in decent shape and the weather is good, I would recommend it. It took us about 10 minutes to walk up to the palace.

Palace of Pena

The Palace of Pena is unlike any other palace we had visited before. This one is so playfully designed and so colorful it is really something special!

For me, it was definitely worth the day trip to Sintra.  However had the weather been really awful and rainy, I probably would not have gone.  There is a considerable amount of outdoor walking and viewing involved in appreciating this castle.  You also get to tour the inside, but the outside is really what most people come to see.

On the backside of the palace, you’ll find the below chapel.

There is also a pathway that circles behind the chapel and leads you along the palace walls.  You can walk all the way around the palace along the wall and catch wonderful views of the Moorish Castle as well as the town of Sintra.

We walked back down the hill from the palace to the bus stop. We caught the next bus (keep your ticket handy to show the driver) and were off to see the Palace of Sintra.

Snack Break

We got off the bus and decided to take a snack break before heading to the National Palace of Sintra.  So we stopped at Piriquita, a bakery that was recommended on the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil.  They have a local style pasteis that are a little different than the kind we ate in Lisbon (click here to read more on that). They were good, but honestly, they don’t hold a candle to Pasteis de Belem.

We tried both the version that was unique to Sintra as well as the regular Portuguese pasteis. They are served cold – which makes a difference, the one that is long and has a flaky sugar-coated crust was pretty good, it sort of reminded me of a strudel.

Sintra National Palace

The Palace of Sintra is unique in its own right.  It has two cone-shaped chimneys and a big open square out front with views of the city below.

We timed our visit just right as we pretty much had the palace to ourselves. Which was very apparent when I would attempt to walk across the floors and my shoes would squeak, squeak, squeak with every step.  It was really funny and annoying at the same time.

The Sintra National Palace has rooms with unique ceilings and wood furniture, walls with beautiful tiling, an enormous Murano glass chandelier, a garden, it’s own chapel and much more.

I know most people will probably come to Sintra to see the Palace of Pena, but I highly recommend also visiting the National Palace of Sintra.

Afterward, we left the palace and walked back down the street to where the bus had let us off before and got on the next bus (showing our receipt again) that soon dropped us off at the train station.

Back in Lisbon

We ended our last night in Lisbon doing laundry.  Yeah I know, real glamorous, but you have to do it sometime!  Also, a laundromat is a great place to meet people. We met a Brazilian man who was in Lisbon studying to get his Master’s degree.  It was great learning about his perspective on living in both Lisbon and in Brazil.

For more on how we spent our first two days in Lisbon read about it here on Things to Do in Lisbon. And if you’re looking for a great place for dinner in Lisbon check out my experience at Cantinho Lusitano.

Useful Info:

• Rossio Train Station & Oriente Tran Station are the two main train stations for getting to Sintra from Lisbon.  Check out their timetables here.
• Bus 434 in Sintra will take you on a loop starting at the train station going to the Moorish Castle, Palace of Pena, National Palace of Sintra and back to the train station.
• Uber in Lisbon is very affordable, you can check out Uber fares.

What are some things to do in Lisbon, Portugal?  How should you spend your time there?  Well, however, you want of course!  Travel is about the experience, so don’t get too hung up on seeing everything your first time. Enjoy all the new sights, food and culture of your new destination.  

Here’s how I spent 2 days in Lisbon, Portugal to get you started with some ideas.

Day 1

We stayed at the Flores Guest House while in Lisbon and they had the cutest breakfast delivery ever! Each room had a little hook outside the door where they would deliver your breakfast basket by 8:00 a.m. every morning.  Then whenever you were up and ready, you just opened your front door and retrieved your basket.

The baskets are filled with fruit, bread, meat and cheese, juice and a “surprise” item, that usually consisted of fresh baked good.  You could put in requests to tailor the basket more to your preferences. For example, we asked instead of the meat and cheese if we could just have extra fruit for the rest of our stay.

So after enjoying our lovely breakfast, we went to catch the bus to visit the Jeronimos Monastery.  

Jeronimos Monastery  Lisbon, Portugal

The Monastery is 500 years old and is beautiful inside and out.  It is architecturally stunning! The intricate carvings all throughout it will keep you gasping in awe as you walk around each corner and discover something new. It is no wonder that it has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Jeronimos Monastery is constructed out of limestone and took 100 years to build.  I can just imagine them chiseling out the beautiful carvings by hand.  That’s some dedication to detail!

Pasteis de Belem   Lisbon, Portugal

After visiting the Monastery we walked a few blocks up the street to try pastel de nata at Pasteis de Belem.  Pastel de nata (or pasteis de nata for plural) is a Portuguese custard tart and is a must try when in Lisbon. Pasteis de Belem was the top rated place to have pasteis de nata in all of Lisbon.  They use the same recipe that the monks at Jeronimos Monastery created in 1837.

Navigating Pasteis de Belem

It can be a little confusing when you first arrive at Pasteis de Belem.  Outside at the furthest entrance, we found a HUGE line of people waiting to buy pasteis to go.  However, we wanted to sit inside and take a break from the rain.

The first entrance you reach when walking from the monastery is the entrance for those wanting to sit inside.  You’ll see the entrance and the cashier line for those purchasing to-go orders to your right as you walk inside.

When you enter you will want to follow the blue signs (straight and to the right) for “Table Service: Service de Mesa 400 Seats” until you reach another sign that says “Queue for Seating.”  Don’t panic if it seems really long, with 400 seats the line moves very quickly! 

We both decided to get 6 of the pasteis, some hot chocolate (if a cup of thick, molten chocolate is your thing you’ll want to try it too) and a pot of tea.  Hey, this was going to be our lunch and not just a snack, so don’t judge us.

Our plate of pasteis arrived, we each took one and added the obligatory cinnamon and powdered sugar on top.  DON’T SKIP THIS PART. Sorry, don’t mean to yell, but the cinnamon really adds that extra
something special.

Then we bit into the pastry, it had a crispy flaky outer shell with a warm custard filling that made you smile and go mmmm.  For something that appears to be so simple, it was really very delicious. I ate all 6 of mine and drank my whole pot of tea! Oh yeah, that’s how I roll. Moe was the runner up with 4 pasteis, pretty good for her first time. And you can see below that she thoroughly enjoyed them.

After we slowly waddled, I mean walked out of the cafe, we decided since the rain had stopped for the moment that we’d walk over to the Monument to the Discoveries or as it’s also known: Monument to Henry the Navigator.

The Monument to the Discoveries   Lisbon, Portugal

The monument is really impressive!  It is huge and rises up alongside the water.  I loved the beautiful map they had built into the ground using stones and pictures.  From the monument, you can also get nice views (at least when the weather is good) of the April 24th Bridge as well as the large Christo Rei or Christ the King statue (it looks similar to Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer statue).

There’s a great boardwalk where you can watch sailboats pass by or wander over to the marina.  If the weather is nice you can also take the sidewalk along the road to walk down to the Tower of Belem.  Due to the weather, we chose to skip this. But the tower is beautiful and would have lovely views on a sunny day. There is also a viewing area from inside the Monument of Discoveries as well as historical information regarding the monument.

National Archaeological Museum

It began to rain again, so we made our way to the National Archaeological Museum. Its entrance is just to the left (when facing it) of the Monastery.  Since it had only been an extra €2 we had purchased the combo ticket at the Jeronimos Monastery.

The archaeological museum is very small, but it has some nice exhibits on Egyptian and Roman artifacts as well as a small area for archaeological items specific to Portugal.  If you have extra time and are interested in archaeology and ancient artifacts, then the €2 will probably be worth it. If you’re pressed for time or just don’t have any interest, it is definitely not a “must-see.”

We caught the next bus back to our guest house and along the way we enjoyed views of the beautifully tiled buildings and the ancient aqueduct that was built in the 1700s.  It is one of the few structures to survive the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. 

Day 2

Tram 28

It is raining even harder today. We were thoroughly soaked on our way to the historical Tram 28 stop.  Our hope is to get a nice tour of the city as we ride it up to Saint George’s Castle.

We get on the tram and it is very full and the windows are fogged over.  We laugh about our “scenic ride.” Eventually, someone opens up some windows and that does help with the fogging.  However, the tram continues to pick up more and more passengers and at one point there was a ticket officer squeezing through the crowd to check that we all had valid tickets.

That, by the way, is a fairly common procedure that we’ve seen throughout our travels in Europe.  They will pass through on the subways, buses, and trains checking to make sure everyone has paid. Usually, this seems to happen on the weekend vs the weekdays.  So it’s always good to make sure you have a valid ticket or pass. You can be hit with hefty fines or as we saw on one train, the police might even be called in.

Due to the fogging of the windows, I would recommend taking Tram 28 on a sunny day if you’re hoping for a scenic ride. For us, it was mainly a mode of transportation.

Walk thru the Alfama neighborhood to St. George’s Castle (Castelo de Sao Jorge)

We hopped off Tram 28 and took time to soak in the views around us.  We were now in Alfama, the medieval neighborhood in Lisbon that survived the great earthquake, tsunami, and fire of 1755 (talk about the ultimate trifecta of destruction!).  It is a charming neighborhood with smaller streets, shops, and cafes. It has a different feel than the “newer” neighborhoods that were rebuilt after 1755.

We walked up to the Castle but decided due to the rainy weather to not pay to go inside, the castle is mostly outdoors and one of its highlights is walking the old walls and taking in the views — views which we didn’t have on this stormy day.  So I’ll save that for another visit.

The walk to the castle though was an interesting one.  We passed through an area with old ruins that had been turned into an outdoor studio for graffiti artists.  

There was also an outdoor urinal, which as an American, was quite a novelty and the first we’d seen on our travels. So we couldn’t miss that photo opp!

Next up was the LX Factory, so we hopped a bus and headed that way.

LX Factory   Lisbon, Portugal

The LX Factory is an old warehouse district turned artsy.  There are art studios, cafes, bookstores and outdoor art sculptures all inside this old factory area.  Once inside the LX Factory gates, you’ve got warehouses on each side of a small street.  We made our way to the bookstore, Ler Devagar, and stepped inside not a moment too soon. We heard the rain just thunder down on the metal roof and I said to Moe “boy we made it here just in time!”  

Ler Devagar

The bookstore is so cute! It has multiple levels of books, both used and new to search through.  There is also a fairly large selection of English books. Additionally, they have a cafe so you can grab a comfy seat and have a cup of coffee while reading a book – or in our case – listening to the rain.

We spent time looking upstairs where they have their used books selection as well as a small local artist exhibit.  Then we wandered back downstairs by the cafe and found a comfy seat by the window to watch the rain and look through some books.  We even had fun finding Waldo in the “Where’s Waldo Book” we found in the children’s section. Hey, we’re still kids at heart!

We eventually decided that although it is still raining cats and dogs outside that we would quickly dash out and into the adjoining cafe next door.  We go inside WISH Slow Coffee House and put our name on the list. It’s about a 20-minute wait as they are quite busy with all of us trying to escape the rain.

WISH Slow Coffee House

Soon we are seated at a window seat that gives us a view of the main street in front of the shops.  We are warm and comfy as we leisurely sit here and watch the people pass by with their umbrellas or those not-so-fortunate without umbrellas dashing as fast as they can.  Then there’s the guy not looking where he’s going and sploosh he steps right into a puddle. Ahh man!

It was so relaxing and fun to just be sitting there in this refurbished warehouse eating lunch while watching the rain and the people passing by.  I sat there and thought to myself, I am in Lisbon, in a cafe. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t out sightseeing, I was experiencing the city right where I sat. Moe soon turned to me and said, “I’m having a really great time.” It was nice that we both felt the same about this very simple, yet enjoyable moment.

We stayed there for over 2 hours just watching people and enjoying the ambiance and good food.

We tried the carrot cake for dessert and it was some of the best carrot cake I have ever eaten!  Not to mention the Jasmine tea they served us was top notch! I also tried their slow-roasted coffee as they slow roast their beans in house.  They have a variety of good coffee choices to try.

Uber & Making Our Own Adventure at the Mall

The rain had no intentions of letting up, so we decided we’d go watch a movie at a nearby mall (they show them in their original language throughout Portugal). We requested an Uber, which met us at the door so we could avoid getting wet. It was great! Oh and Uber in Lisbon is VERY affordable! I highly recommend using it here, there were a couple of times where it was cheaper for us to split the fare for Uber than take the bus.

At the Mall

The movie we planned to see was sold out, so we went shopping instead! Soon what was just casual browsing turned into a friendly competition of who could try on the ugliest outfit.  Now that was fun! Although not as much fun when we actually saw ourselves in the silly outfits…

We grabbed dinner in the mall and hailed another Uber ride back to the guest house.  

Although Day 2 wasn’t our typical “see it all” style of sightseeing, it was a lot of fun and memorable. And that’s how it should be, don’t hold to tightly to your “to-do” list while traveling, leave room for change and spontaneity.  You never know what memories you might create.

To learn about our visit to the Palace of Pena on our final day in Lisbon, read about it here: Day Trip to Sintra, Portugal.

Final Thoughts on Visiting Lisbon

Everyone here has been so friendly! Really, we’ve met nothing but helpful people, friendly people and they have a great sense of humor here too.  And the food! Not to mention the beautifully tiled buildings!

To say I enjoyed my time here in Lisbon would be putting it mildly.  I hope to return and explore the entire country of Portugal in greater depth in the future. We just touched the tip of the iceberg on things to do in Lisbon, there was so much more to see!

There are amazing, friendly people everywhere and traveling never fails to reveal this to me.

USEFUL INFO:

Getting Around Lisbon, Portugal:

Purchase 24-hour transit passes or single-use passes from any metro station (including at the Lisbon airport). There are also some local stores that sell it as we purchased ours from the newspaper store by our hotel.

We used the Viva Viagem 24 hour carris/metro card. This allowed us unlimited travel on the metro, bus, trams & funicular for a 24 hour period.  Check out this article from Lisbon Guru for more information regarding their metro cards. 

There is also a Lisboa Card which is a sightseeing pass, we didn’t use these on our trip, however, you can check it out and see whether or not it makes sense for your visit.

Uber in Lisbon: https://www.uber.com/cities/lisbon/

Uber was incredibly affordable and often cheaper and more efficient than using public transportation.

Where We Stayed:

The Flores Guest House
https://www.facebook.com/floresguesthouse/ 
Address: Tv. Piedade 38B, 1200-405 Lisboa, Portugal

They have the cutest breakfast delivery I’ve ever had.  They leave a breakfast basket outside your door each morning by 8:00 a.m. for you to retrieve when you’re ready.

I would definitely stay at Flores Guest House again, it is located near excellent restaurants all within minutes of walking and the staff that runs it could not have been more helpful and kind.  We really enjoyed our stay there.

Restaurants we enjoyed:

Cantinho Lusitano – 2020 Update – Cantinho Lusitano is permanently closed
Rua dos Prazeres 52, 1200-355 Lisboa, Portugal
Overall Thoughts: Love the small dining atmosphere, the service was impeccable, food was delicious, I highly recommend it! To read more about our adventures at dinner, please check out this article “Dinner at Cantinho Lusitano.”

Churrasqueira da Paz
R. Paz 80, 1200-320 Lisboa, Portugal
https://www.facebook.com/Churrasqueiradapaz/

Pasteis de Belem
R. de Belém 84-92, 1300-085 Lisboa, Portugal
https://www.facebook.com/pasteisdebelempaginaoficial/

WISH Concept Store & Slow Coffee House
Espaço G 02a, R. Rodrigues de Faria 103, 1300-472 Lisboa, Portugal
https://www.facebook.com/wishslowcoffeehouse/