The ULTIMATE Lisbon Long Weekend Travel Guide!

Currently writing this in the train on my way back from Lisbon. Lisbon is such a beautiful city: full of sunshine, beautiful architecture and delicious seafood. It was only a long weekend to me, but definitely it felt like a sufficient top up of sunshine and seafood! If you are planning to visit this sunshine capital, here’s how to maximise your time in Lisbon and have the ultimate Lisbon experience in a long weekend!

Eat Pastéis de Belém (or Pastéis de Nata)

Pictured fresh, with the shop background!

Crunchy, flaky crust with yellow, creamy filling with a hint of vanilla. Many places have custard tart but only Lisbon has Pastéis de Belém. It’s very similar, but Pastéis de Belém is the OG superior one. The yummy pastry started its humble beginning as a means to process egg yolk by monks and priests, who used the egg white to whiten their robes. The Liberal Revolution in 1820 shut down many monasteries, leaving the priests and monks having to fight for themselves. The monks then sell these yummy pastries to sustain themselves. The monks then sold the recipe to a sugar refinery nearby, and the rest is history. The place now sells 20,000 tarts in a day! It is said that the recipe is kept as a tight secret. Currently, of the 6 people who know the recipe, 3 have retired, and the other 3 don’t eat the same meal in case of poisoning, don’t work the same shift in case of an attack and don’t travel together in case of an accident. The shop is still open where you can try the original recipes! I did think that Pastéis de Belém has a flakier and crispier tart, and the custard is not too sweet – superior to its knock-off Pastéis de Nata.

Take a Free Walking Tour

This is my favourite hack whenever I visit a new European city. Yes, the tour is not completely free as you are expected to provide the tour guide with some tips, but I think it’s only fair. The tour typically takes place for 2.5-3 hours, which is a lot of walking and talking! I took Lisbon tour, Sintra tour and Belém tour which I would highly recommend. Having taken many tour, both paid and “free”, I think that the “free” tour for some reasons are much better. The tour guide are working hard to earn a good tip, so they gives so much insider knowledge.

Eat at Taberna Sal Grosso

The humble place is not obvious to the eye, except that you see a long queue at a certain time. You need a reservation to eat by the way, as the place only have 25 seats, which you can do here. But it’s certainly worth it. Even better, bring a few friends and share some petiscos, Portuguese small dishes. I can highly recommend the oxtail and octopus, with sangria.

The melt in your mouth oxtail
Tender and DELICIOUS octopus!

Sunbathe in Cascais

Easily accessible by train from Lisbon, Cascais offers beautiful sandy beaches and turquoise sea water. In fact, I would highly going by train as the train passes beautiful Portuguese coastline visible from the train. There are a few things to do, such as Boca de Inferno, visiting the most western point of European mainland Cabo de Roca, or Casa de Santa Maria. My favourite is to swim at the scenic point just beside Casa de Santa Maria, and just sunbathe and enjoy the pristine Portuguese beach.

Casa de Santa Maria, and my swimming spot pictured!

Head to Sintra and visit the Palace(s)

Another day trip, Sintra is located outside Lisbon and easily reached by train with a frequent train connection. We only had one day, so we chose to visit Montserrate Palace which is a little outside Sintra. Despite the transportation difficulty, it was worth all the difficulty as Montserrate is truly one of the most stunning buildings, if not the most stunning building I’ve ever seen in my entire life. There is a beautiful garden outside, or should I say gardens, because it consists of different little gardens with theme, such as Rose garden, Mexican garden, vegetable gardens, and many more. Pena Palace is another option (of the many!), which is the most touristy option. You can see a full list here.

Montserrate – truly a gift of inspiration to humanity

Visit Jeronimos Monastery in Belém

Again, stunning architecture to behold. We had a long queue, but it was worth it at the end. Stunning architecture both at the cloisters and the church itself, where you can find the tomb of Vasco de Gama. The place is classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site, which I find to be properly fitting. If you join the free Belém tour that I linked earlier, the visit to the church will be included as well.

Stunning architecture of the church
Jeronimos Monastery!

If you haven’t travelled, perhaps check out my guide on how to travel abroad for the first time! Or maybe how to see the Northern Lights.

Enjoyed the article? Please share with your friends and families, and on social media! Enjoy Lisbon 🙂

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