Lisbon has YOU!!

Rua Augusta, once you arrive in Lisbon, it owns you from that very moment. Even at 3am on a Thursday, you can see crowd walking around as if its 12 in the afternoon, various restaurant and cafe's are serving hot plates of appetizers and alcohol. It is a sight, you won't believe until you see it.

We heard from a friend that people in Lisbon usually eat dinner and go bar hopping till 2am. Starting 2am, people hit the clubs. Restaurant usually open in the morning and quite a few of them remain open until 3pm. The dinner service begins from 7pm onwards. There are some that are open all day long so if you are hanging out and have a place to go for food, do check their working hours.

Rua da Augusta

So much to do and such little time...

• Rossio Square

• Rua August

• Pink Street

• Time-out Market for best Portuguese food

• Tuk-Tuk or Walking tours

• Museums and Churches

• Fado Performance (a must)

• Bairro-Alto, Chiado, Alfama and Principal Real

• Santa Justa Elevator

• Pastel de Nata (try their Nutella ones... Yumm) and the list is endless..

Day 1 - Party has just begun

We landed in Lisbon around 6pm and thought we were too exhausted to go out after a 13hours flight. However, after a few hours of hanging at the hotel and some amazing coffee, we decided to step out and I am so glad we did.

A delicious light red from Duoro

Eggplant bun, Salmon Bulgogi and side of fried Rice

Our first stop was Boa-Bao for Dinner. The place was packed and we had an hour+ long wait. We decided to use their tiny bar and enjoyed our very first Portuguese red wine. Girofle 2018, one sip and we were hooked. The place is so packed and highly rated that we had to try before we could sleep like wood logs (which we did after the meal).

We ordered Salmon bulgogi, side of rice, Eggplant steamed bun and it was enough for 2 people. It was truly one of the best Asian foods I have eaten and their staff was amazing.

Day 2 - what already tired?

Well technically it was not day 2 but it was day 2 in Lisbon for us since we returned from the first leg of our trip.

Here are a few more things to know:

Stay in Lisbon

1. Whether you are staying in Airbnb or hotel, my suggestion would be stay in or closer to Bairro-Alto, Chiado, Alfama or Principal Real areas. These are the areas where you have tons of great restaurants and bars in walking distance. The first night, we stayed at Hotel Avenida which was so close to all the great places. For the remaining time, we split 2 nights in Chiado and 2 nights in Principal Real (Rua Augusta street). Note - Though no cars are allowed on the Rua Augusta street but they can drop you in the street right next or in front of it.

Food

1. Time-out Market is the best place for you to visit and enjoy some Michelin star food at an unbelievable price. The place has about 24+ restaurants and about 6+ bars and the food is to die for. We ordered food from Asian Lab - Veggie Chowmein and from Sea-me Shrimp Tempura, both were so delicious. We picked up a bottle of wine from one of the bars, found a good table and enjoyed some good food and wine. The vibe is so good, you just want to sit and enjoy.

2. We hit multiple Bakeries and Coffe shops and really enjoyed - Almond Torte, flat Almond Croissant (yeah it is a thing) and Pastel de Nata (Nutella version too). In the afternoon, we would walk by the river-front, and find a spot to enjoy a glass of House White wine, or Vinho verde and we were not disappointed. I would recommend:

Breakfast - Dear breakfast, The Mill and Nicolau

Pastries - Paul, A Padaria Portuguese, Ferrari, Fabrica da Nata.

Dinner - Boa Bao for dinner, Sky Loung, Tosca da Chica (Fado Performance here was so good, highly recommend it), Time-Out Market

There are so many restaurants and bars that it is super hard to go to every one of them but we received several recommendations and I am writing a few here for your reference:

$$$$ = 100 Maneiras, Veranda at Ritz, Tagide, Alma and Epur.

$$-$$$ = Boa Bao, Augusto Lisboa, Mercado da Baixa or any restaurant at Time out market really.

Usually, I don't talk about shopping or stores but this one deserves a call out. If you are in Lisbon, go to the store called "Typographia". They have the best graphic T-shirt. I am really impressed with their designs and materials.

Lastly, if there is a day in Lisbon when you don't want to do anything, just talk a walk and enjoy the city...