A short trip to Lisbon – relaxing in the Portuguese capital

View from the Alfama, Lisbon. Copyright Gretta Schifano

I went to Portugal for the first time ever last August. After a stressful week (read my post The one where I forget to renew my son’s passport, and you’ll understand), I was relieved to make it to Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, with my husband and two teenage kids. We stayed in the city for two nights, and it was a great way to start our holiday.

Lisbon is built on seven hills overlooking the Atlantic, and it’s a gorgeous, ornate city. As we were only there for a couple of days, we decided to try to get a feel for the place by walking its cobbled streets, taking some tram rides and finding some good places to eat, while relaxing into holiday mode. We didn’t go to any museums or galleries, although I’d like to do that if I ever return to Lisbon. It was hot, but not too hot to walk around during the day.

Station. Lisbon. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Fontecruz Lisboa

We stayed at a hotel which I’d definitely recommend: the Fontecruz Lisboa. The Fontecruz is a 5-star boutique luxury hotel in a great location on Avenida da Liberdade in the city centre, and it suited us perfectly. We had two adjoining rooms, and they felt very comfortable and welcoming, and offered everything that we needed for our stay. The wifi was good, and the kids were happy to relax at the hotel sometimes while my husband and I were off exploring.

Double room, Fontecruz Lisboa. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Lisbon trams

Apart from walking, we found that an excellent way to explore the city is by tram. As part of its public transport network, Lisbon has some marvellous vintage wooden trams and funiculars which plough up and down some of its steepest streets. The most famous tram route is number 28, and we saw long queues of tourists waiting to join it at the tram stops. We tried route number 12 with the locals instead, because we didn’t fancy queueing – it took us on an interesting tour around the historic castle area. Some of the streets are so narrow that it felt like the tram was going to touch the buildings (it didn’t), and once a car had to reverse up a narrow cobbled street to make way for our oncoming tram – it was all very exciting (but not for the car driver, who looked pretty stressed!)

Funicular, Lisbon. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Time Out Market Lisboa

On our first evening in Lisbon we ate at a restaurant near the hotel, which the concierge recommended to us. It was fine, but nothing special. I’d heard that dining out in Portugal can be hit and miss, and for our second evening we wanted to be sure of eating really well. We ended up at Time Out Market Lisboa, which had been recommended by a friend. I’m so glad that we went there, because it’s a fantastic place, and it was definitely the best foodie experience of our whole Portugal trip. Housed in an old market building, this gourmet food hall offers high quality Portuguese specialities of every kind. It was perfect for us: my daughter and I are vegetarian, but my husband and son are omnivores, and eating out as a family is sometimes tricky. At the market, each of us chose what we wanted to eat from different stalls, then we all ate together at one of the central tables. Perfect!

Time Out Market, Lisbon. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Pastéis de nata

Pastéis de nata are custard tarts, a celebrated local speciality which is on sale all over the place in Lisbon. We tried some freshly baked ones for breakfast at one of the cafes near our hotel. I wasn’t hugely keen on them (I prefer chocolate pastries) but my husband and son liked them.

Next stop

Our next stop after Lisbon was the city of Porto, which I’ve written about in this post: Our trip to Porto, Portugal’s second city. To get there, we booked a hire car from the airport, an easy air-conditioned bus ride away from our hotel. From Porto we went on to the coast – check out my post about Praia D’el Rey Golf & Beach Resort where we stayed.

Hotel Fontecruz Lisboa. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Verdict

I really enjoyed our trip to Lisbon, and would love to return and spend more time exploring the city. The Fontecruz Lisboa hotel was an excellent base for us, and I’d definitely recommend it.

Over to you

Have you ever been to Lisbon? Do you have any recommendations of things to do in the city?

More on Portugal

You can read more about our trips to Portugal in these posts:

Praia D’el Rey Golf & Spa resort

A short trip to Lisbon – relaxing in the Portugese capital

A four-day trip to the Algarve, Portugal

Ria Formosa Algarve bike tour

Vidamar Resort Hotel review

My free downloadable Portuguese language sheet is here:

10 useful things to say in Portuguese

I used these guidebooks to help to plan our trip:

The Rough Guide to Portugal

Lonely Planet Portugal (Travel Guide)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you clicked through and booked I may receive a small commission. All opinions, images and words are my own, as ever.