01

Enjoy views over the city

As Lisbon is so mountainous, you can always enjoy wonderful views over the city! One very well-known viewpoint is the Miradouro de Santa Luzia. I really liked the view over the rooftops of the city and the water from there. There were also street musicians playing relaxed music, which made the atmosphere even nicer.

Just a little further up, on the way to the Castelo de St. Jorge, you can take in the next view of the city from the Recolhimento viewpoint.

Many tourists also like to go to the Elevador de Santa Justa. However, as we didn't want to wait over an hour for a ride in this spectacular elevator, we took the stairs to the next viewpoint. From the Topo Chiado bar, you have another beautiful view over the city.

In general, there are several rooftops throughout the city where you can enjoy the view with a delicious drink. I'll introduce you to a few particularly cool rooftops here.

02

Insider tip: EmbaiXada and view from the Jardim do Príncipe Real

We were traveling in Lisbon with friends, one of whom had already lived in Lisbon for a while. Perfect if, like me, you prefer to check out the insider tips rather than the tourist hotspots of a city!

Gusti took us to a shopping center with local retailers in a beautiful building! I could have spent hours in EmbaiXada admiring the beautiful things and fascinating architecture.

When we had finished our little shopping tour, we walked through the Jardim do Príncipe Real, at the foot of which the absolute San Francisco moment awaited us: a view of Lisbon's “Golden Gate Bridge”. The image of the steep street with the Ponte 25 de April in the background is something I will always remember!

03

Lisbon's trademark: The streetcar

In addition to its mountainous landscape and imposing bridge, Lisbon is known for one thing in particular: its old, yellow streetcars. You don't have to do much to see them, because you're sure to run into one on your way through the city.

However, if you want to be on the safe side or even take the streetcar, then it's best to walk to Rua da Conceição!

Otherwise, you can of course also go to the famous Ascensor da Bica and get on the steep cable car. Here you have a cool photo spot included!

04

My favorite memory: A trip to the Christo Rei statue

When you are in Lisbon, you can see the Cristo Rei statue from afar, which towers over the city on a hill in Almada. My brother had recommended that we pay Cristo Rei a visit at sunset. So we set off on our way. What we didn't think about: My brother was in Lisbon in winter, we were in summer. The sunset was therefore much later for us. So late, in fact, that the entrance to the statue was unfortunately already closed.

Now, we were standing there and didn't really know what to do. We therefore made our way along a small path to the banks of the Tagus. We enjoyed what was probably the best view of the Ponte 25 de April. But when we arrived at the bottom, we didn't really know what to do next. We found ourselves on an old factory site that looked more like a graffiti-covered ruin: Quinta da Arealva.

Finding our way through here was not so easy. Just before we were about to turn around, we finally found a safe-looking staircase that led us to the banks of the Tagus. We walked a little further and ended up at Cais do Ginjal, from where we watched a beautiful sunset. Afterwards, the route was fortunately a little less adventurous: it took us past the Jardim do Rio to some restaurants, on past old factory buildings, from which some suspicious singing could be heard, to the ferry station in Cacilhas. And so, after a little adventure, during which we laughed a lot, we returned to the better-known corners of Lisbon.

05

The perfect photo motif: the flower wall at the Museum of St. Anthony and the pink Rua Nova do Carvalho

Lisbon is definitely one of the most photogenic cities I know. On the one hand, Lisbon is a great place to shoot expressive street photography. On the other hand, you'll get your perfect Instagram picture here.

A cute spot, where one of my favorite pictures was taken, is the flower wall at the Museum of Saint Anthony. The Pink Road - the Rua Nova do Carvalho - with its colorful umbrellas is a little better known. It's certainly perfect for a photo! In reality, however, I missed the ambience a little. Because here you can see and smell that Pink Road turns into a party mile (mainly for tourists) in the evening.

06

Slightly more alternative: LX Factory

I liked the LX Factory a little better. Where there was once a factory site, you can now find cute cafés, a few restaurants and small boutiques. We walked around for a moment, bought a little souvenir at “Make Up A Mess” and browsed through the cool “Ler Devagar” library.

07

Get to know the corners of Belém

Before we left Lisbon again, we had to make a little detour to Belém! We walked through the Jardim Docas da Ponte to the famous Padrão dos Descobrimentos statue.

Afterwards we had to test which tasted better: Pasteís de Nata or Pasteís de Belém. I chose the winner here. On the way to the famous branch of Pasteís de Belém, we passed the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos monastery. Our trip to Lisbon ended with a view of the Belém Tower.

08

Outside Lisbon: Palácio Nacional da Pena

Once we were in Lisbon, we continued on to Sintra. We really wanted to see the Palácio Nacional da Pena there. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't going to be on our side, so we didn't get to see the colorful palace in the sunlight. However, there was something mystical about the foggy weather. It made the forest around the palace look like a rainforest.

We then walked to the small town center, where we browsed through a few shops selling handmade goods. And that was the end of our excursion, as unfortunately we didn't have much more time. But Sintra has so much more to offer! So make sure you allow much more time than we did to discover the other impressive palaces such as the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, the Castelo dos Mouros or the Monserrate Palace.

Note: We read in a blog that you are not allowed to drive to the palace by car. We therefore left it in a designated parking lot. From there, you can continue by bus (a ticket costs €11.50 per person) or take an Uber (which was cheaper for us). On our way up, however, we saw a few drivers and also parking facilities at the palace. So could we have driven up by car after all? Unfortunately, we don't know for sure. But it might be worth a try.

09

What else to see

These were just my favorites of Lisbon. But the city has much more to offer. For example, you can visit the National Tile Museum to see azulejo art, the traditional tile work of Portugal.

You are also sure to pass by the neo-Moorish palace Chafariz D'El Rei and Lisbon Cathedral, which we also took a quick look at.

The Castelo de St. Jorge is certainly also interesting. However, we didn't go inside, but preferred to stroll through the area around it, which was very beautiful and quieter. Another palace you can visit in Lisbon is the Fundação das Casas Fronteira e Alorna.

I have put together a list of all the places on Google Maps.

You can find the list here.