Lisbon • Portugal

• Day 01 First steps in the Portuguese Capital
• Day 02 City tour
• Day 03 Lx Factory & el Cristo Rei
• Day 04 Torre de Bélem

Day 01 : First steps in the Portuguese Capital

We arrived at Lisbon by bus from Albufeira, which about 4 hours away.

First sight, this city is really cute, a bit busy though. I mean it’s a capital, you can feel it’s more active while Albufeira is more relaxed.
We went to the Time Out Market, (Obviously !). It’s a good spot to have a drink and some snack, but even if the place is beautiful, (the market takes place in an old 1890’s landmark), it’s clearly a tourist trap. The food was kind of expensive and the atmosphere wasn’t typical at all.

We ended our day strolling in the streets.

✨ Travel adventures 🤦‍♀️
Before arriving in Lisbon, my navigation app wasn’t able to find the bus station in Lisbon, so I thought we would arrive pretty close to our Airbnb… Actually we had to walk 4 km with all our luggages. In other circumstances I would’ve said that 4 km is okay, even great for a first visit… Well it is not when you have all your luggages in a city full of hills and stairs…
Adventures !

Day 02 : City Tour

👍 Having a City tour is still the best way to discover and learn about a place and its History. Plus you can spot cute places to come back later.

I spotted a free walking tour on the internet and decided to go with them.
It’s called free tour, but it’s actually based on tip donations. (Be kind and respectful 😉 ). We went for the Alfama and Mouraria Free Tour : History versus Modern Facts. more than 2h walking and learning about the country and the city. We had such a great time !!

The tour ended after lunch time and the weather was really warm ! We went (almost in the first) typical tiny restaurant we found. We were the only tourists and the menu was only in Portuguese. Luckily the only food relative word I know is my favorite dish “Bacalhau” (which is cod-fish).

During our tour, our Guide told us about a night market on the Praça da Figueira. We went for a plate of Portuguese cheese and ham, with spreadable tapas and two cups of Sangria. What a wonderful way to spend the night, this market was really authentic.

Cute places we spotted :
• Praça do Rossio
• Church of São Vicente of Fora
• Miradouro da Graça
• Praça do Comércio
• Covento do Carmo

Day 03 : Lx Factory & el Cristo Rei

Since I’ve heard so much about the LX Factory, we decided to visit it in the morning.

Pros :
• There are a lot of cute Artist’s shops. It’s a good place to buy authentic souvenirs that don’t come from China.
• The place is worth visiting, there is a pleasant atmosphere.

Cons :
• Since the place is clearly “instagramable”, the side effect is that you’ll see a lot of “show off”.
• The place was kind of expensive too, victim of their own success ?

I’m still glad I’ve visited this place, it’s important to make your own opinion. Sometimes depending on your perception and your mood, what you’re experiencing will be completely different. We had lunch there, at Mez Cais LX (Delicious), before heading to the other side of the Tagus river, Almada, more precisely to el Cristo Rei.

✨ Travel adventures 🤦‍♀️
There are buses that go straight from Cacilhas harbor to el Cristo Rei, but not on Sundays, Guess which day it was…

So we took the ferry boat at Cais do Sodré harbor to Cacilhas. Then we took the tram to Almada and then walked about 15 minutes to the edifice. I’m not a religious person, I mostly wanted to visit it because of the view that it offers on the bay. And also because it looks like the one in Rio – Brazil, so I was able to prank my friends.

Fun Fact 🤔
Portugueses say that el Cristo Rei in Lisbon is facing the one in Rio de Janeiro, when in fact they don’t.

Day 04 : Torre de Bélem

We took the tram to go to the famous Pastéis de Bélem bakery. Since I’m not a sweet tooth, I just glanced at the front store and it was already crowded. We headed to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, a memorial built for the famous Portugueses Navigators (Cristobal Colon, was just one of the most famous amongst many others). On the floors you’ll be able to observe a beautiful Compass rose with a giant map into it.
Then we walked following the river’s banks until we reached the Torre de Bélem.

✨ Travel adventures 🤦‍♀️
Unfortunately, an event was planned on the weekend so some of the area was closed. But we were still able to have a great view on the outside.

At sunset it’s nice to enjoy a refreshment by the Tagus banks, near Praça do Comércio.