a.viza travel: lisbon

| top:  j.crew | denim: current elliott | boots: rag&bone |

Lisbon really caught me off guard in the best way possible.
I knew very little about Portugal, let alone Lisbon, prior to arriving.
Luckily, all of the locals were so friendly and forthcoming with divulging the city's history.
Honestly, I learned so much from a super friendly tuk tuk driver who explained much of the city's history to us.

WHERE I WENT

Alfama

This beautiful district of the city is full of hills crammed full of amazing architecture with most of it covered in beautiful tiles.  I think I walked the equivalent of 15 miles the day we wandered around but it was so worth it.

There is a cute little café at the top of a hill that overlooks the whole city.

It really is breathtaking.

Praça do Comércio

This plaza was the center of the old royal palace prior to a devastating tsunami that occurred in 1755 that destroyed most of the city.

Today it is a beautiful open square that overlooks the water and has a grand statue of a former king in the center.

It is a must see and hard to miss.

Bairo Alto

The home to the traditional Portugese music genre of Fado.

WHERE I ATE

Time Out Market Lisboa.

We ate at local restaurants mostly but we did end one of our days at this spot.

The options are endless for any type of food you could be craving which is helpful when traveling with a group of people.

HINT: a glass of wine is only 2 Euros (a bottle is only 10) however they have a heavy pour so opt for the glass.

Winery tour:

Another way I learned so much about this city and surrounding areas was due to a winery tour we took.

Not only did we get to drink delicious (and cheap in price!) wine we also got to visit some places outside of the city we would have never seen like the an amazing seaside town a castle, among other things

We visited the Quinta de Alcube and the José Maria da Fonseca wineries.

Both were amazing and planning my next trip back to visit more of the wine country.

WHERE I STAYED

We lucked out and scored a fabulous Airbnb (no longer available!) a few blocks from Praça do Comércio.  This was my first experience with staying in an Airbnb but it really was great.

This location was so convenient to walk around the city, get to restaurants or shops. 

There was a local market a few houses/doors down too that really made us feel like a local.

At least in this city, I would highly recommend doing a little research and staying in one.

WHAT I MISSED

Castelo de Sao Jorge
We had a great view of this amazing castle a few short steps from our apartment but we never made it inside for a tour.

  

 

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