In March 2017 I went to Lisbon for the weekend for my best friends hen do. The weather was amazing! It is such a beautiful, fun city…
We arrived in Lisbon just before midnight via a Ryan Air flight from Manchester. The flight was fine and it took around 2.5 hours. We got Uber’s from the airport to our apartment and although it was a bit confusing to find where they were to collect us we managed and on the way our driver told us lots of places to visit and see whilst we were there. Something I noticed whilst we were there was just how passionate the Portuguese were about their beloved capital city.
We were staying very central, at an apartment off Bica Grande and the uber driver dropped us at the top of what became known as the ‘tram street’ meaning we had to walk down quite a steep hill to our apartment. After a bit of confusion we found it with the help of a local man and google maps. The area was buzzing with people, it made me wonder if we’d get any sleep whilst we were there!
The apartments we were staying in (Bica 10) were great, a little noisy but they were clean and spacious, with kitchen facilities and wifi. The shower flooded the bathroom every time we used it and the toilet seat broke but otherwise it was great!
Having arrived at the apartment about 12:45am we decided to go to bed and start the next day fresh as we had a lot planned, starting with a walking tour at 11am.
The ‘free’ walking tour was absolutely fantastic – it was through sandemans neweurope. The premise is that at the end of the tour you give a donation based on what you can afford and how much you enjoyed the tour. Our tour guide was Ilena, and she was really enthusiastic and really sold Lisbon to us. She recited poetry from the famous Portuguese poets, told us about the history of Lisbon, about the earth quakes and gave us tips on getting around Lisbon, how to spot decent restaurants and took us to nice view points to see the city. I really enjoyed the tour and urge anyone who visits Lisbon to go on this tour.
Unfortunately as our group was large they split us into 2 groups but it worked out ok as the tours followed a similar route and ended in the same place. It lasted 3 hours but was quite a slow pace and we stopped at a bar for a drink and toilet break about 2/3 of the way through.
We then had a wonder around the streets and came across a wine bar where we went for lunch. We tried green wine which was really refreshing and I had cod fish which was lovely.
After this we went to a supermarket and stocked up on alcohol for in the apartment for the planned antics that evening.
Once we’d dropped those at the apartment we arranged some Uber’s to take us to our afternoon activity: a burlesque dance class with ‘the Spain event’. It took place in a (closed) strip club which was a bit interesting to say the least but the class itself was good fun and everyone joined in and had a go even if it wasn’t their thing. We did a dance routine to Shania Twain’s ‘Man I feel like a Woman’.
After that we went straight to a food tour we’d booked with the same company that we did the earlier walking tour but I have to say it was a huge let down. I have done food tours before where we’d been to little hidden gems of restaurants/food stalls and had amazing food – this was anything but. We went to 3 places: at one we had gizzards, cheese and bread, the second place we had a meat pattie sandwich and crisps and the third place was the only one with decent food – we had a bit of garlic bread and some cod fish. I understand what the guide was trying to do (the sandwich is what the Portuguese have after a night out) but it really didn’t showcase Portuguese food to its best. Nevertheless we had a good time, it was a funny story to tell and we were not hungry (and we’re certainly merry) by the end of it.
Then it was back to the apartment to get ready for our night out. Before we went out we played some hen party games, had some more drinks and headed out around 12:30am.
We headed to Bairo Alto, an area with lots of bars and clubs, intending to go to Pensao Amor, a bar that used to be a brothel but it was too busy for us to go in. We went in a few different bars, having a good old dance and had a fantastic time, not getting to bed until nearly 6am.
The next morning a lot of us were feeling a bit worse for wear (me included) but we forced ourselves up and out and went to a beach at carcavelos, which was beautiful. We did try and get the train but because it was Sunday the queues for the ticket machines at the station were huge, so we decided to just get an uber instead. An uber each way was between €20-28. Split 4 ways it wasn’t too bad at all.
There was a massive main beach and then a few little coves surrounded by rocks but all of them had some decent waves which attracted a lot of surfers. We spent the day just lounging around on the beach, paddling in the sea (it was freezing!) and headed back to the apartment around 6 ish to get ready for our meal that had been booked for that evening.
We first went to Park rooftop bar to see the sunset and although it closed at 8pm (no idea why!) it was breathtaking. It was lovely to see the view over the city and enjoy the sun setting. It is on the rooftop of a multi-storey car park and you have to get to it via the car park’s lift/stairs.
After that we went to Cafe de Sao bento, a steak restaurant but they do fish options too. The party organiser had read about it in the book ‘where chefs eat’. It’s a little gem of a place – you had to ring the bell to get in and the waiters were dressed in red waistcoats and black bow ties. The food was incredible but the service wasn’t great. I had beef carpaccio to start and their signature steak dish for my main. The best steak I’ve had, it was so soft. The sauce got a bit rich and overpowering half way through but I managed to finish!
After that, because some of the group were still suffering we headed back to the apartment, had a couple of drinks and chatted and then went to bed around 1am. We had to be out of the apartment by 11am the next day.
Our final day was spent firstly at the time out food market – another must whilst in Lisbon. Loads of high quality food stalls all in one place. Some do smaller dishes so you can try a few different things. I tried peri peri chicken (amazing), a duck croquette with orange jam and of course a custard tart.
I didn’t expect the amount of croquettes I saw everywhere – they had them in patisseries, cafes and bars as a little snack with your drinks. Amazing!
Finally we got the tram 28 up to the old town (Alfama) and had a little mooc around the streets, stopping in some shops and purchasing some gifts. We then headed to get our cases before going to the airport for our flight home.
I had the most amazing time in Lisbon; missed my kids like crazy but I have definitely fallen in love with the city and will be going back with my family.
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LOU'S TRAVELS 