As I said in this post, August is a very busy time for us because our moving date has changed from fall to the end of this month. Thus, it was obvious that there will be no extended summer vacations this year (which is not really a problem, as I much prefer shorter but more frequent traveling throughout the year). We still wanted to get away for a couple of days, preferably to a place where sightseeing and the beach were also an option. That’s why we chose Portugal.
It was my first time visiting Portugal, but after these couple of days, I’m pretty sure it was not the last. Lisbon and Porto are already quite popular tourist destinations, but I feel like the countryside is a little underrated especially compared to Italy or France, even though it’s very beautiful and there are so many things to see and experience.
When it comes to travel posts, I prefer doing visual diary style posts with the odd personal tips instead of very in-depth guides, mainly because there are a thousand posts out there that have already done that job perfectly. If you’re planning a trip to Portugal, I’d suggest checking out these resources:
+ Portugal Travel Guide by Full Suitcase
+ Discover Lisbon by Passion Passport
+ Lisbon Travel Guide for Food Lovers by Migrationology
And if you’re not yet planning a trip to Portugal, I hope these images will inspire you to want to visit this beautiful country.
Lisbon
I had quite high hopes for Lisbon and it didn’t disappoint. It’s just as cool, vibrant, and eclectic as I imagined. I’ve probably never seen such a colorful city as this one – hues of blue, green, yellow, orange, azure, and pink everywhere largely due to the traditional Portuguese azulejos, the painted ceramic tiles that cover most houses. And while the city oozes traditional culture and history, there are modern, vibrant, very design-oriented places and areas as well, not to mention a very vibrant nightlife (the Mediterranean nightlife doesn’t only mean bars and clubbing as dinnertime basically starts after 9 pm).
My tips:
- Get ready for some major walking, as this is the best way to take in the city and its many, many amazing details. But prepare with some good shoes as the city was built on hills and is full of cobbled streets.
- Visit the LX Factory to see the above-mentioned cool, hipster face of Lisbon. It’s a former factory redesigned as a creative hub with unique shops, concepts stores, restaurants, cafés, and the coolest bookstore ever (Ler Devagar)
- MAAT, the Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology is probably one of the most stunning modern buildings I’ve ever seen. It has a beautiful façade right next to the river, it’s very impressive (and very close to the Belém Tower, another must-see sight).
- The most famous Portugal pastry is the Pasteis de Belém, a delicious custard tart. Probably every second pastry shop and café sell them, but there are big quality differences. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth going to Belém to the famous Pasteis de Belém pastry shop as the tart originates from there.
- While the food is exceptional in Lisbon (especially the seafood), if you want to have a good coffee (mainly a latte or cappuccino), try to find a specialty coffee shop, as restaurants and simple cafés only sell very bad, watered coffee with milk. Some cafés to try: Fauna & Flora, Dear Breakfast, Café Boavida, Hello Kristof
- One exception and a coffee specialty that everyone must try is the mazagran – a sweet iced coffee originating from Algeria. It has espresso, ice, lemon, and mint in it – which sounded slightly bizarre at first, but is very delicious and incredibly refreshing.
- There are many viewpoints in the city, but my favorite was the Portas do Sol with an amazing view of the old city center of Alfama.
View from Portas do Sol
Ler Devagar bookshop in the LX factory
Fauna & Flora café and green azulejos
Pink everywhere
MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology
Tower of Belém
On the road
Many awesome places are easily reachable by train from Lisbon, but I’d still suggest renting a car and driving around, as the countryside is very pretty. And if you wanna visit Porto as well, it’s definitely worth taking a day or even 2-days long road trip there, there are so many cool spots along the way.
My tips:
- For an incredibly cute beach city, go to Cascais. The beach will be crowded of course, but the beautiful streets of the city and the main square will definitely make up for that. It’s one of the wealthiest areas of Portugal, so the vibes are very different there.
- We only spent a couple of hours in Sintra, and it wasn’t enough, so if you can, make it a full day trip.
The main square with beautiful Portuguese pavement in Cascais
Colors of Cascais
Cascais beach
Quinta da Regaleira, an eccentric historic castle in Sintra
Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of Europe
Dunes of Peniche
Porto
Many people think Porto is the real gem of Portugal. I’m still firmly in the Lisbon camp, mainly because it’s so much bigger with more areas to discover, but Porto is definitely worth a visit even if just for a day.
My tips:
- We did both the cable car ride and the boat trip and while the former offers a very special view of the city, if you wanna do only one, do the boat ride. It goes from one end of the city to the other and you can see all the beautiful facades along the river.
- The port may be the most well-known Portuguese wines, but the nearby Douro Valley is one of the best wine regions in Europe, so if you, like me, are not too keen on sweet dessert wines like the port, there are plenty other great wines to choose from.
Have you ever been to Portugal?
