I highly recommend taking a holiday with some friends from college. It was so much fun exploring Europe with them. Here are the things I would recommend doing during 2 days in Lisboa.

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Where to Stay

We stayed at My Story Hotel- Tejo in downtown Lisbon. The location was perfect for walking around the city and the Metro was close by as well, although, Uber is really cheap in Lisboa so we used that instead. The hotel chain has 5 different locations, all right near each other. From what I can tell, you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Day 1 in Lisboa

Breakfast

Copenhagen Coffee Lab is just a 5-10 minute walk from our hotel and was the perfect little spot for a coffee and quick breakfast. I had a pan de chocolat and an iced latte plus a green juice, which was freshly made right there. Of course, everything was really good. John had a ham and cheese toasted croissant sandwich that I think he would’ve been happy eating every day that week.

From there, we wandered down towards the ocean. Mostly just trying to get a feel for the area. There are a million little squares with different monuments, statues, and fountains around the city. We took some time to enjoy the weather and explore. We even walked to the insta-famous “pink street” which was a huge disappointment. The photo above is definitely the instagram version- it was the prettiest spot. The rest of the street was boarded up, dirty, and just felt kind of sketchy.

It was super hot, so naturally, we stopped in a Gelateria. Normally I would say they all were great you can’t go wrong. But we came across one called Amorino that had a special touch!

Lunch

After some more walking and checking out some of the shops, we found a rooftop bar called Rossio inside Altis Avenida Hotel. The chicken caesar salad was delicious and so nice on a hot day. We had a few beers and relaxed for a bit before heading off to climb the big hill up to Castelo de São Jorge.

The Castelo can be reached by hiring a golf cart/buggy if you would rather not walk it. You can buy tickets online or at the top, it was €15 each. You can also pay extra for an audio tour. The castle was impressive in itself, but the views were also incredible. You can see the whole city, plus the Tagus River, the bridge, and the Christ the King statue.

Dinner

For dinner that night, we decided to find an Italian restaurant. After walking around and climbing some massive hills, we came across Italian Republic. I think this is a chain and obviously not the most local option for food, but it was good! I had a Margherita pizza, John had some sort of meat lovers pizza. Plus of course, we had a few Portuguese beers. Ironically, a lot of places didn’t have Portuguese beer, it was usually Spanish (which I was fine with).

After dinner, while walking back to our hotel, we stopped at a parade and festival. It just so happened that we were in Lisboa during their summer festival honoring St. Anthony. There was live music, lots of beer, and some food stalls open for people to grab quick bites. That includes the traditional Portuguese egg tarts- pastel de nata.

Day 2 in Lisboa

Breakfast

We slept in a bit the second day and grabbed a quick breakfast at A Tentação, a little cafe around the corner from our hotel. They didn’t speak much English here, but we managed to point out what we wanted! Eggs, bacon, sausage, and all the pastries. From there, we called an Uber to take us to one of the nearby beaches. It was €20 each way and only 30 minutes to get to Tamariz beach.

Lunch

Because we hadn’t had a ton of sun exposure before coming on holiday, we decided it would be best to rent beach chairs with umbrellas. There were plenty of options to chose from once you arrive, and it cost about €25 per chair. We stayed a good portion of the day and I felt like it was worth it. There is also plenty of beach, just beware of the rising tide! We were able to order drinks through the hotel/restaurant that we rented the chairs from. I didn’t actually eat lunch that day because the sun makes me not hungry, but there are tons of places around to have a quick bite.

Despite sunscreen and umbrellas, we still managed to burn, so be careful! The sun in Lisboa is intense! As the tide rose, the waves got bigger and it was really fun being in the water. Plus, there is a sort-of pier that you can jump off of! It was a beautiful spot to spend the day and I would definitely go back there if we were in the area again.

Dinner

We took an Uber back, which admittedly, took longer due to Friday night traffic. By the time we got to the hotel, we had to get ready for our dinner reservation. We booked a fancier meal to end our trip, and honestly, it was such a fun experience.

Rocco is a beautifully decorated space with a fun atmosphere. We aren’t used to eating in such nice places, so it was surprising to be waited on as we were. The food was amazing! We could see the kitchen from our table, which was a cool addition to the meal. I ate the lobster linguine and John had a ravioli dish, plus we ordered some appetizers. The shrimp cocktail was to die for, and the veal carpaccio was something a little different! The drinks were also delicious. We were all too full for dessert, but they sounded great.

After dinner, we decided to find a place for some live music. Hotel da Baixa was along our walk back towards the hotel, so we popped in there for a few drinks. This was really nice because the music was calm and recognizable. We were able to have conversation while still enjoying the music. I would recommend it as a good place to end the night.

Overall, I thought Lisboa was a beautiful place. I don’t know that I would go back there having been there now, but I don’t regret making it part of this trip. The rest of the trip was spent in Barcelona. You can read about that trip here! How would you spend 2 days in Lisboa? What have you done that we left out? Let me know in the comments. And be sure to check out SafetyWing for your next trip abroad for your travel insurance needs!