My ultimate guide to Lisbon
The digital nomad haven that you may have overlooked.
I didn’t think I’d go to Lisbon 3x and spend over a month in total there, but here we are! It’s up there on the top European cities list for me, for many reasons:
Amazing food scene — especially coffee and brunch!
The weather!!!! Even when I went in February it was very enjoyable.
Very easy to travel as a tourist/digital nomad: no need to know a single word of Portuguese, transit is easy, and it attracts quite the “digital nomad” crowd with its many long stay housing options and vibrant co-working friendly cafes.
It’s relatively affordable. Emphasis on relative — I am comparing it to the likes of London, etc.
There’s a lot to explore both within Lisbon and its many neighborhoods, and neighboring Sintra and Cascais. Sintra especially was an architectural gem.
Where to stay
Neigbhorhood wise, I recommend staying in Chiado. This is where you will find plenty of digital nomads, trendy restaurants, and airbnb options.
The first time I stayed in Lisbon I was a broke college student living in an airbnb by the famous Tram 28 in Lisbon — I would not recommend since this is where all the tacky tourists on a tight budget live (sorry, not sorry).
The second time I split my stay between The Hilton Curio Emerald House and an apartment by Cais do Sodre (Timeout market) that I found via a local airbnb competitor.
The third time I stayed in an apartment also in Chiado via an airbnb host that I booked off-platform.
I really enjoyed my stays in the apartments I booked. The Hilton at the time was brand new and very affordable. It’s a very nice hotel but too much of a walk out from the main sites I frequented. Since I’m now a Hyatt girlie, the next time I’ll definitely spend a few nights in the Hyatt Regency Lisbon (also a little out of the way but is supposedly a great hotel).
Local off-airbnb listings for apartments:
I had used these sites to book directly for a better deal.
Feels like home listings
Second house apartments (for some reason this site is now password protected)
Other airbnb listings: I did not stay in these listings but I had saved them since they were good enough for me: Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, Option 4, Option 5.
Other solid neighborhoods: Campo de Ourique - more residential and local, reminds me of Fort Greene. Principe Real - more bougie.
Where to eat
Cafe & brunch spots
OK if you’re going to Lisbon be prepared for an insanely good brunch and cafe scene. I even have a separate Gmaps list just for coffee/brunch. Out of that list, here are my top choices:
Comoba - lattes, matcha, juices are great as well as the brunch & lunch food (I had some of the best fish tacos in my life there).
Dear Breakfast - there are multiple locations but the Alfama spot is the vibiest. Get the turkish breakfast there.
Seagull method cafe - the most unique and tastiest brunch menu.
Heim - come here for the 3 cheese grilled cheese sandwich which is so decadent.
For coffee specifically, my husband (who is a coffee fiend) loved The Coffee and Fabrica Coffee Roasters (both have multiple locations).
Lunch/dinner
I surprisingly don’t remember going to many Portuguese restaurants — I’ve definitely ate portoguese food in my time in Lisbon but nothing stood out. But let me tell you about the spots that were memorable:
Soi - asian fusion and they have a great happy hour with baos
A Cevicheria - famous ceviche spot that is pretty good (a tad pricey) with a cool vibe
Vesuviano - italian, great pastas
Yak & Yeti - nepalese
Aura Dim Sum Lab - chinese
Linha da Agua - this isn’t the best spot for food but it’s in the central park of Lisbon and is a casual cafe where you can get freshly made lunch food and sit by the fountain. It’s very calming to eat here.
Finally, sushi in Lisbon is surprisingly great. The omakase spot I went to is now shut down but I’d give sushi a try there. Avoid the Time Out market, but if you’re going to go eat there once anyways, the sushi is probably the best stall.
Dessert
Natas: You will eat Natas in Lisbon, and likely you will try Manteigaria, Fabrica da Natas, Castro, and Pasteis de Belem. Out of those my personal favorite is Castro though they’re also the priciest.
For amazing chocolate cake, go to Landeau Chocolate.
Things to do
Hike up and down the miradouros. Lisbon is a hilly city and miradouros are view points with scenic overviews into the city. I took the tram up to Alfama (hilly neighborhood) and then walked up and down to some miradouros from there.
Day trip to Sintra. Sintra is neighboring town rich in history and palaces. It’s uniquely beautiful so I would strongly recommend saving a full day for Sintra. Out of the top landmarks, my favorite two are Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira. I enjoyed the Moorish Castle too but I’m scared of heights and a big part of the experience is walking through a narrow and high walkway.
How to get there: Either take the train (30 min, around 7 euro per way) or take an uber or bolt (~30 euro per way, about the same time). If you’re taking the train, you’ll need to uber up to the sites in Sintra. Make sure to leave ample time when you’re ubering back from the sites since the roads up are very congested and it can take ~10-12 min to get a car back down.
Skip the food in Sintra or pack food from Lisbon. It’s pretty much a food desert and available places are tourist traps.
1/2 day trip to Cascais. Cascais is another neighboring beach town that is very easy to get to and has a cute shopping district and tons of oceanside restaurants.
Venture out in Belem. Belem is on the east side of Lisbon and has many of the top tourist attractions like Belem Tower and Pasteis De Belem.
Cascais (top left) and snaps from Belem Scooter around. Take a Bolt scooter and ride through Parque Eduardo VII (the central park) or through the southwest part of Lisbon that looks exactly like SF (around the MACAM museum, by the waterside). And yes, there is a part of Lisbon that has a golden gate bridge dupe and tons of people scootering around as if you were in SF.
Shop. There are some trendy shops in Lisbon. The most memorable for me were Jak (common project dupes), A Vida Portugeusa (for cute gifts), and Granado (a local perfume shop where they engrave the bottles!)
Get a massage. OK, this isn’t something unique to Lisbon but when I do go to a relatively affordable city, I also check out the massage parlor scene. I went to Siam Thai Massage and it was pretty good.
Go to Preco or Minipreco for fresh squeezed OJ. This sounds so lame but yes, do go to your local supermarket and there will likely be a fresh OJ machine where you can buy a bottle of OJ for 1 euro. Such a treat compared to the shit we have in the US.
If you found this guide helpful and would like more recs, save my Gmap list for Lisbon (disclaimer: I haven’t been to all saved spots)!
these travel guides are better than gold ✨