Our Honeymoon- Lisbon

Jarrad and I are mid-way through a five week honeymoon in Europe, and we have been lucky enough to experience some pretty incredible places already. When I was researching and booking this trip- and believe me I clocked HOURS of research, travel blogs were my biggest help as I felt like it was advice from people who had actually experienced these places first hand. I thought I would pay it forward and put our recommendations in a blog post or two. First stop- Lisbon.

We flew into London and spent a week roaming around, walking through neighbourhoods and eating many an afternoon tea and pub lunch. Because we had both been to London and done a lot of the major sights before, Lisbon, our next stop, was the first place we felt like we really played tourist.

Lisbon at a glance-

Where we stayed

Alegria, A Lisbon Boutique Hotel

Food recommendations

Pastel de Nana from Pasteis de Belem
A Nossa Casa for dinner

Must-do activities

The Lisbon Tile Walk
Watch the sunrise from Miradouro de Santa Luzia
See the Monument of Discoveries and Belem Tower

One of my favourite things to do in a new city is to get out and explore it on foot. You see so much more than you ever would on public transport, and can really get a feel for the place and the people who call it home.

I had read about the Azelujos, or tiles, that decorate the facades of buildings all around Lisbon, and I wanted to see as many of the as I could whilst we were there. I found this fabulous guide, and so early one morning, before the rest of the city had woken up, we caught an Uber to the starting point and began to walk. It took us about 3 hours, including a stop for breakfast, and by the time we were done we felt much better acquainted with Lisbon. The walk takes you past some beautiful look-outs, and right through Aflama, the old town, so you certainly get to experience a few different sides of the city. One thing I will say about Lisbon is that is is incredibly hilly, so if you want to do this walk, wear a comfortable pair of shoes!

When we had finished, we walked down towards the water to admire the Praca de Comercio and Arco de Rua Augusta, and then decided it was time to tick something else off our bucket list- Pastel de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts). The internet will tell you that Pasteis de Belem is the inventor, and holder of the original Pastel de Nata recipe. I’m not a lover of custard, but I had heard so many good things that I thought we’d better try them out. We were not disappointed. The tarts are like a little cloud, encased in flaky, crunchy pastry, and only to be eaten fresh and slightly warm. Sitting on a park bench, stuffing our faces full of custard tart proved to be one of our Lisbon highlights.

After walking around The Monument of Discoveries and Belem Tower, we decided to call it a day.

On our second day in Lisbon, we took a day trip to Sintra, famed for its several historical palaces, castles, parks and gardens. Pretty much every tourist site you can get your hands on mentions Sintra as the top tourist activity in Portugal. Right off the bat I have to say that although we enjoyed seeing the beautiful palaces and reading about what life was like for their occupants, we were not as enthused about Sintra as we thought we would be.

The main reason is that even if you get there before everything opens, the queues and sheer number of people- many of who are hot, tired and incredibly pushy, make it far less enjoyable. In fact, we likened it to a theme park, where you spend most of the day in lines and a few seconds actually getting to experience what you came for. Regardless, learning more about Portugal’s rich history and monarchy was enlightening. We found this guide to be especially helpful. I would also recommend booking your tickets for the palaces a few days in advance. We tried booking Pena Palace two days before, in order to go as soon as it opened, and the earliest time slot we could get was 3pm.

Although we did love our time experiencing a city that was so unique and different, and felt that we really squeezed the most out of our few days there, we both agreed that the city is probably more suited to people who have an affinity for the nightlife and party culture that Lisbon offers in spades.

Heidi xx