I was in Portugal a few weeks ago over Easter weekend with my friend Carolyn, who lives in the UK. Easter is my favourite weekend of the year to travel because in Ireland (and many other countries too) we get a 4 day weekend! I’m really tight on annual leave so this is a GODSEND. Last year I went to Berlin.
After some serious deliberations about how we would design our Portugal itinerary, we decided on two nights in Lisbon and two nights in Sintra. That meant we only had one day in Lisbon to explore!
When I’m traveling and I find myself with only one day to spend in one place, I usually go with my two-fold strategy:
1. Lots of research
Research is so important in any sort of travel planning and I probably enjoy it more than most people. As soon as I book flights, I start scouring TripAdvisor as a first point of reference, followed by other travel blogs for insider information and more unique things to do and see. Since I was limited to one day in Lisbon this time, I weeded through all the information I could find to determine what I wanted to see and do the most. Prioritizing is key.
2. Book an organised tour
Tours aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and there are plenty of times when I prefer to wander around a place on my own. But one day is such a short amount of time to see a city like Lisbon; so I’m usually happy to let a tour guide do all the work for me and show me all the best spots. Plus, I always learn so much more than I would on my own. Bonus: For solo travellers you also get to meet people! Win, win, win. I’m preferable to walking tours because they’re a great bit of exercise and I think it’s the best way to get the vibe of a city.
Inside Lisbon Tours (not an ad! I paid in full and views are my own) I found to be great value when I was looking up walking tours of Lisbon It included 3 hours with a local guide, a pastéis de nata, a glass of wine (your choice of red, white, or green), and meat & cheese boards (with loads of bread and Portuguese olive oil too!). Through some parts of the year it also includes a tram ticket. It was all for only €18 per person!
In reality, the tour lasted closer to 5 hours (in a good way!). Our guide was always checking the time but asked a few times if we were ok to continue on or if we had any other plans or places to be. Everyone was happy to follow him around for a little while longer.
So, how did we spend one day in Lisbon?
Well, I think we hit most of the highlights…
We ogled the famous terra cotta rooftops from the Elevador Santa Justa. We didn’t go all the way to the top because you have to pay, but our guide knew of a side entrance for free that allows you into a lower viewing deck.
Pastéis de nata! There’s quite the hype surrounding this local sweet treat. I’m glad to say I found them to be just as nice as everyone said.
We never made it onto the famous tram 28. The queues were so long and all the trams we passed were JAMMED. I sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic in those situations so I’m not too sad that we skipped it. I’d rather stroll around by foot anyway.
We got a lovely spread of meats, cheeses, and bread as part of the tour. There was more food than I thought there would be and plenty to go around for the group. I think my favourite part was the olive oil for dipping the bread… it was divine! I had no idea Portugal had such good olive oil.
Another thing we missed due to time constraints was seeing traditional fado music. When you only have one day, you will inevitably miss out on certain things. We were so tired by the end of the day we didn’t make it out. But I can look forward to it next time.
We swooned over the beautifully tiled and brightly coloured buildings all over the city.
After the tour, the sun was shining and we were ready to continue on exploring by ourselves after a bit of lunch.
The tour didn’t take us to Placa da Comercio, which I was keen to see, so we wandered over for a glimpse. It was just as grand and beautiful as I’d imagined.
Since Portugal is a very hilly city, there are many miradouros, or viewpoints, located across the city. Carolyn and I knew early on that we wanted to end our one day in Lisbon with a sunset from one of these viewpoints. Thanks to a bit of research we had done beforehand, we knew exactly where we wanted to go!
We hopped in a tuk-tuk (I had no idea Lisbon would have so many tuk-tuks!) that kindly drove us up the steep incline to Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Our driver told us that we had chosen the best spot in the city for a sunset, and that most tourists wouldn’t know to go there.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves but the view and sunset were incredible.
I ran down the road and grabbed a couple beers at a small shop for us to enjoy. The man in the shop was very friendly and I made the mistake of asking him which type of beer is the best out of the two he sold. He told me he was a Muslim and doesn’t drink (oops!). He laughed and told me that both beers are local and he recommended I take a few of each so we can try them – a very wise man indeed.
Sunset, travel, beers, catching up with an old friend – Can’t remember the last time I was so happy and in my element!
After the sunset we had decided we wanted to check out a rooftop bar for another drink before going home and getting ready for dinner. Naturally our phones were both dead and we had no idea where we were! We asked a female tuk-tuk driver waiting at the miradouro for a lift to the bar we had picked out earlier. She said she was there driving a private group but offered to ring a friend of hers (another driver) who could come collect us. So helpful!
It turned out the other driver was a little bit creepy in the end but it was all ok. He stopped outside the bar and we paid him and got out. We lingered outside the bar for a minute, finishing the last sips of the cans of beer we had opened earlier before going in. He lingered in the tuk-tuk with the engine running. We could see him in our periphery just 15 feet away, watching us. Eventually Carolyn waved at him. He shouted over asking us if we wanted to have dinner with him. Hard pass! We quickly headed into the bar and out of sight.
The bar, Topo Martim Moniz, was really nice but we didn’t stay too long. I enjoyed one delicious cocktail before we headed back to our accommodation. He’s a terrible photo of it!
We didn’t do much the rest of the night besides a quick bite for dinner. We were absolutely exhausted but pleased with ourselves for covering so much ground during our one day in Libson.
My biggest takeaway from my first day in Portugal was how friendly and helpful the locals were. It seemed that everyone we met went above and beyond to help us, without us even having to ask. That theme continued on throughout the weekend.
Have you been to Lisbon? What are your recommendations for my next visit? One day in Lisbon was a great start but there’s still so much to see!