So I decided to put together a post to share the Lowdown on Lisbon with you. I want to share where we stayed, a bit about the food, sights and just general information that may help you if you're planning a trip to Lisboa!
You may be aware that we visited Lisbon during a heatwave which made everything a lot more difficult for me at least, somehow it was barely affecting the boyfriend (I'm convinced he's not human after that trip). Temperatures were reaching 45ºC every day and I literally felt like I was going to melt away. I did get sunstroke on the first day and was verrrrry close to passing out as I simply tried to push myself too hard as I didn't want to waste a minute. So my number one piece of advice would be try not to book a holiday during an extreme heatwave if you can at all. While I still thoroughly enjoyed my trip, it would have been much easier on me if the climate was that bit cooler.
Where We Stayed: We found our accommodation via booking.com and couldn't have been more pleased with it. The hotel was called Residencial Florescente. It's so central with everything you could need near by, we couldn't get over our luck with how fantastic the location was! It is located in the historic centre of Lisbon meaning you are surrounded with picturesque old style streets and buildings. The street outside the front door is lined with restaurants each side, leading down to Rossio Square which then leads to pretty much everything you would want to see in Lisbon. It was less expensive than any other central hotel and I think this may be due to the fact that the room decor is that bit dated. However, this is something that didn't bother me in the slightest! The room was super clean and spacious, the bed was comfortable, and we had the all important air conditioning. I would 100% recommend Residencial Florescente to anyone planning a trip to Lisbon and it will definitely be the first place I look if I ever get lucky enough to return.
What We Ate: There are so many restaurants in Lisbon with promo staff ready to pull you in by the hair at each entrance. Most of the restaurants seem to serve both Portuguese and Italian food with what seemed to be very few alternatives. I wasn't complaining with that though as who doesn't love Italian and I was keen to sample some traditional Portuguese cuisine. Paella is a big deal there so of course we sampled quite a few varieties of that. Other Portuguese dishes we tried were Codfish, Stuffed Sardines and Piri Piri Chicken, all delish to be honest with my fave possibly being the Codfish, the boyfriend was a massive fan of the Piri Piri Chicken. We also had to try Pastéis de Nata as I saw them pop up so much anytime I looked up pictures of Lisbon. They are Portuguese egg tart pastries dusted with cinnamon and can be gotten in every bakery throughout the city, while I found them very filling, I also found them very yum! They are a must try for any visitor to the city. The price of food was pretty standard, and drink was very reasonably priced for the most part! A jug of wine for €6?...Yes please.
My overall thoughts: I loved Lisbon, I really did, it was exactly how I had hoped for it to be which was picturesque with a somewhat untouched feeling to it due to lack of the usual city findings (high rise buildings, sky scrapers etc.). As cringey as it sounds it is V Instagramable with a photo opportunity around every corner! I found it not to be a busy city but I do feel that could have very well have been down to the heatwave, with many taking shelter. Any transport we took was very very reasonably priced, including the airport shuttle bus, a taxi and a train to Sintra (check out my Sintra blogpost HERE). There are so many sites to see, so many! One thing you can certainly guarantee from a trip to Lisbon is that you are very likely not to run out of things to see. Overall, I loved the chilled vibes throughout the city, it doesn't have that rushed feeling of more commercial cities, so it is the perfect place for a relaxed city break for sure.. Until next time Lisboa x
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