Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon’s well-known Tram 28
You don’t realize how challenging it is to pick a destination for your honeymoon until you’re faced with planning one. We wanted to go somewhere relaxing, but not boring. And it needed to feel special…unique. Portugal turned out to be the perfect choice. There are atmospheric cities and historic towns with plenty of things to do (but not an overwhelming list that must be checked off), good restaurants, beautiful beaches, cool design hotels, wineries, tranquil countryside…everything we were looking for. Another bonus: Portugal has a great climate. Rarely does it get very cold in winter and in summer (when we we were there) it was warm, but still pleasant. Ultimately, we spent two weeks in three different destinations within Portugal — and it exceeded our expectations.
We began and ended the trip in Lisbon — which quickly became one of our favorite cities. Vibrant and not too-touristy, Lisbon is easy to navigate and extremely walkable (in spite of the hills and cobblestone sidewalks). There are certainly plenty of sites (Castelo de Sao Jorge, the Jeronimos Monastery, the massive Monument of the Discoveries, and more — all worth seeing), but the most compelling site is the city itself. Visiting Lisbon is more about the ambience, walking the city’s hills and exploring its neighborhoods, the beautiful light reflecting off the Tagus River, the pretty red roofs of Alfama (the old town), the omnipresent Portuguese tile-work, having a delicious meal in a cosy restaurant (local celebrity chef Jose Avillez leads the charge on Portugal’s food front), and meeting its friendly citizens.
Lisbon is also a great base for day trips. The charming town of Sintra (about an hour away by train) is a must. Besides the little town itself, there’s also a massive and quirky castle, at least one palace with an adjacent botanical garden, and other ornate villas and lush gardens to explore. We didn’t visit any of the beach towns nearest to Lisbon (our next stop after Lisbon was to the beaches of the Algarve region), but should you want some sun and sand, there are plenty of choices within an hour of the city.
It may not be as vast as Paris, London or Rome, but Lisbon stands on its own as a beautiful, laid-back but still sophisticated city destination. We love it and look forward to revisiting sometime soon (maybe for a second honeymoon?). And we still have Northern Portugal (Portugal’s second city of Porto and the Douro River Valley wine country) as a future gimlet traveler destination!
*This was part of a 13-night trip to Portugal. To see our complete Portugal trip itinerary click here.
The Gimlet Traveler Rundown:
All ratings are based on our experience and are on a 5-star rating system (see Site Info for more details). For mapped locations and links to the places listed here (and more) visit Google Map at bottom of page.
Gimlets: *****
There are plenty of cocktail opportunities in Lisbon. We had great gimlets at our hotel rooftop (Memmo Alfama Hotel), and at the rooftop terrace of the Bairro Alto Hotel (the configuration of which may now have changed slightly given the opening of a new restaurant and terrace bar on their top floor called Bahr), and at Restaurante Cantinho do Avillez (one of the many restaurants of celebrity Portuguese chef Jose Avillez). Aside from one night doing some early bar-hopping around some of the mellower gay bars in town, we otherwise did not do much cocktailing. Some places we’d like to try on our next visit: Avillez’s Mini-Bar, a retro-glam gastropub with an extensive small-plates menu and chic cocktails and Foxtrot, a dimly lit and elaborately decorated 1920’s-era cocktail lounge, along with many others.Restaurants: *****
Our first night in town was a Sunday, and we were exhausted, so the hotel recommended nearby (and old-school) Santo Antonio De Alfama. It’s down the block from Memmo Alfama in the heart of the old town and has a sweet, little courtyard covered with vines and cafe lights. Both the indoor and outdoor tables (we ate outside) are often full, meaning you should book ahead. We had a great, upscale-casual dinner (with great gimlets, see above) at chef Jose Avillez’s namesake Portuguese restaurant Cantinho do Avillez, and an excellent pizza dinner at his most casual spot, Pizzeria Lisboa. If you would like something more “haute,” Avillez’s Belcanto is one of the finest restaurants in the city (if not the finest), in an elegantly modern dining room. Chef Avillez has a few other well-regarded venues, as well as the above-mentioned Mini-Bar which serves small plates and cocktails. If you are visiting the waterfront Belem district to see the Monument of the Discoveries and the Belem Tower, there are several casual options (more now than when we visited); we had lunch at the lovely Darwin’s Cafe, which has a spacious terrace facing the river. Other recently added high-end options include Eneko Lisboa, from Basque chef Eneko Atxa (who has a few Michelin stars in his pocket), which is located in an old warehouse with industrial architecture and iron beams from the 1920’s. And the popular JncQuoi (Portuguese/French/Italian) which opened in a historic former movie theatre on fancy shopping street Avenida da Liberdade, as well as its sister a few doors down JncQuoi Asia. Both have stunning high design, grand scale, and (we hear) very good food.Sights: *****
One of the things we loved about Lisbon is that there wasn’t an overwhelming list of must-see sights to check off during our visit. It is a real walking city (in spite of the hills) and most of its sights are outdoors or simply the beauty of the city itself. Can’t miss: Castelo de Sao Jorge, which has terrific views over the red roofs of the city to the Tagus River, the gorgeous Jeronimos Monastery, the massive Monument of the Discoveries on the riverfront, the charming, winding streets of the old-city Alfama neighborhood (which we found to be a great place to stay), and a ride on Tram #28 (an easy way to see the city). We also visited, as is our normal m.o., the local opera house, the Teatro Nacional De Sao Carlos, and took a tour of it’s beautiful auditorium. There used to be yet another Jose Avillez restaurant in the lobby (Cafe Lisboa) where we had a lovely lunch, but that is no longer open. Lastly, a quick mention of LX Factory, a riverfront cooperative working venue that until a few years ago was an abandoned factory yard and now houses multiple restaurants, bars, galleries, artist studios, at least one popular bookstore and a few concept shops (as well as a bunch of cool street art). Worth a stop if you’re on that end of town, or want an evening drink with a rooftop view of the iconic Pont 25 Abril Bridge. Overall, Lisbon is very attractive and romantic, so just wander and something is bound to catch your eye. You’ll see beautiful azulejo tilework on buildings throughout the city and intricately patterned black and white cobblestoned sidewalks most everywhere you walk. A day trip (about an hour by train) to Sintra is a must, especially to visit the Pena Palace and the Monserrate Palace, as well as other palaces, gardens and villas, though no need to stay overnight.
GT Tip: You should take a ride on Tram #28 at least once. It’s an old wooden tram that traverses various neighborhoods including the old town. Even if it’s crowded, it can still be a pleasant adventure. You’ll see many of the neighborhoods and sights of the city — and it’s fun!Shopping: ****
Avenida da Liberdade is the “Fifth avenue” of Lisbon, but you’ll find many fun, independent shops scattered about the city. We normally love a big-city flea market, but this one wasn’t great (though we managed to find some tile coasters we still use today). There is a very nice shop called A Vida Portuguesa that sells exclusively Portuguese-made products and design items. It’s great if you’re bringing back gifts. Embaixada is a big, new concept-shop showcase filled with individual shops selling Portuguese brands. It’s located in a former palace with everything from fashion to furniture (as well as a restaurant or two). And before we came home, we made a stop at Solar Antiques, which is the place to go to pick up a piece or two of the antique Portuguese tile you’ll see on buildings all around town. You may need to ring the bell for entry. Make sure to check out the basement for ancient pieces from torn-down buildings. It’s fascinating and very tempting (though not particularly cheap).
Review of Memmo Alfama Hotel Rating: *****
This boutique property is tucked away in an historic building on an initially hard-to-find side street in the old-city Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon (the first real hotel to open in this historic neighborhood — with more to follow). Once you find it, though, you will find that it's actually a great, convenient location for exploring the city and you will be very well taken care of by a helpful, knowledgeable front desk staff. We loved the combination of old (the building itself, the neighborhood) and new (the hushed, modern decor, the simple but elegant minimalist rooms, the indoor/outdoor wine bar terrace, the small dipping pool and sundeck). Do check if your room has a view, as its worth waking up to a view over the old city and the river (we had an Alfama Superior room which did have these views). We didn't use the small pool, but we did spend time almost every evening having a cocktail or a glass of wine and some snacks on the outdoor terrace before heading out for dinner. And the breakfast (a self-serve buffet plus eggs/omelettes which they will make to order) is lovely and fresh. If you're looking for a cool, luxe, modern, full-service boutique hotel, we highly recommend the Memmo Alfama.
Date of stay: June 2014
Review of Torel Palace Hotel Rating: ****
The Torel Palace is an intimate boutique hotel hidden away high on a hill, in a slightly nondescript neighborhood. Once you get inside the large gates, you’ll find a pretty-in-pink century old building with a lovely pool and great views. Our room, the Amelia Suite, was spacious and nicely decorated (though we did have an odd issue with flies from the moment we entered, as if a window had been left open before we checked in). The location provided great views, but to reach other areas like shopping street Avenida De Libardade, it meant taking a conveniently-located funicular, which I believe runs at limited hours, or walking down (or up) a long, steep, flight of stairs (which happened to be lined with fun graffiti art). But as most of Lisbon is hilly anyway, this didn’t bother us - just worth mentioning. The breakfast was fine — and if the weather is nice should be taken out on the pool terrace. Overall, a nicely designed renovation (the hotel was fairly new when we stayed there), with a cute pool and great views, but something generally left us underwhelmed (though it might have just been the brevity of our stay at the end of a two-week trip).
Date of stay: June 2014
Other Hotel Choices:
•Bairro Alto Hotel, a classy, mid-century boutique hotel in a central location.
•The new and stylish Verride Palacio de Santa Catarina with a small, rooftop dipping pool.
•The minimalist-luxe Santiago De Alfama, which is in a restored building in the middle of the old town and just a couple of blocks from Memmo Alfama
•The One Palacio da Anunciada has a large, outdoor pool and sundeck.
•A few others are additionally listed on the map below.
Below is a map of hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping and sights found during our research. We didn’t have time to visit all of them during our trip, but all were of interest. Click on the icon at top left of the map to view the legend. Or you can click on the full-screen icon at top right to expand, which will also bring up the legend. The map is best viewed on a computer.
