Porto-l to another world and tram-endous food

April 2022 – Lisbon & Porto, Portugal

Booking holidays in March was a great decision as one - the flights were really cheap, and two – less tourists. When we arrived in Lisbon, the weather was mixed, it was pouring down with rain, thankfully near the end of our trip it got much better with blue skies and the sun.

Lisbon

In Lisbon, we decided to stay in a hostel as it was in a convenient location close to transports and also tourist destinations. The downside of this hostel was that it was literally on top of a train station, so in the mornings we could hear train announcements.

One of the main tourist attractions near Lisbon was Sintra. To get there, we needed to get a train, they run hourly but you just need to buy the tickets at the ticket machine. Few of the places to visit in Sintra include: National Palace and Castle of Moors. If you want to travel around in Sintra, I would advice using the shuttle bus near the train station as it allows a hop on and off service for 24hrs, be wary of taxi drivers who try and scam for rides too.

Lisbon itself, could be split into many different areas, e.g. Belem, Alfama district, it’s a great way to split your days up. Within Belem, you have the Belem Tower near the riverside and the Jerónimos Monastery which is a must visit (visit early as there’s always queues). I loved the architecture and design within the monastery.

If you want a glimpse of the golden gate bridge in San Francisco, look no further than the Ponte 25 de Abril and the structure and colour makes it seem like it’s a copy. The bridge gets really busy as it acts like a connection between districts within Lisbon. Another ‘copy’ you can see in Lisbon is the Christo rei monument (saves you the cost of going to Brazil 😊) which is on the other side of the bridge. When sightseeing the touristy places, I suggest getting on Tram 28, as it covers a lot of the places and gives a relaxing feeling instead of walking everywhere.

One for the football fans - Benfica stadium tour – a great stadium inside and out.

Porto

We took a coach to Porto as it was convenient to sleep on the journey and also quite cheap, it took around 3hrs. The first thing we noticed about Porto was, it was less touristy and very different to Lisbon. The cost of food was also cheaper in Porto than Lisbon.

If you’re a big fan of Harry Potter, I recommend visiting the Livraria Lello, which is a book store used as the inspiration for the Harry Potter franchise. I really loved the design on the inside. Another thing I would recommend is doing a boat & wine cellar tour, as you get to see most of Porto by river around the Dom Luís I Bridge (great spot for sunsets) and also taste Porto wine.

Food

Portugal offered a variety of food, being a big fan of chicken, I had to try the peri peri chicken, it tasted really good. Pastel de nata is a tart pastry which you have to try at least once when visiting, I suggest getting it from Fabrica da nata. Other foods to try is the Bacalhau (cod), I’m not the biggest fan of fish. Near our hostel, there was the Timeout Lisbon Market which is like a Boxpark ,where they have various vendors and selection of foods to try.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Portugal and would visit again to go to the south and also islands close by e.g. Madeira.

Shugs