Lisbon, Portugal

 We left Madrid from estacion de sur, the main bus station in Madrid. We were actually there a day before to get bus tickets. There is a few companies that you can choose from depending on comfort, price, and time. We left in the day despite being a 9 hour bus ride, because the price was twice as much for a night bus.

Now onto Lisbon, Portugal! A city that consists of many hills, it is also coastal. The population of Lisbon is around 500,000 people. This bustling city has plenty of history and architecture. I also read in an article that Lisbon was one of the fastest growing food cities in Europe. Due to COVID, some rising restaurants did close, but since this year (2021),Lisbon is on their way to finding a good balance.

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal was much smaller in comparison to Madrid, Spain. Fortunately, it made everything super easy for us regarding public transportation to the city center (Baixa). Our bus dropped us off at Lisbon Oriente, which is the main bus station in this area. From any platform, you can go straight underground where the metro tickets are sold and buy your tickets from the machine or the ticket office. To get to the city center it is 2€ per person (one-way ticket, 0.50€ for the metro card which you are able to reload and use again).

Our hostel was right in Baixa (downtown). We stayed at Rodamòm Lisboa Hostel, it is more of nice boutique hostel with hotel vibes. It offered a few different activities for free, such as walking tours and wine tastings. The hostel also has a bar in the lobby and a coffee machine for use. The staff was also super accommodating and very helpful. We did participate in the wine tasting and it was a great way to meet some other travelers, Highly recommend! 

The riverside right next to downtown!

We stayed for about three days here in Lisbon and we feel like we have seen A LOT of the city. A few people that we met said Lisbon can be seen in two days.

Currency: Euros 

Cost of living: in comparison to Madrid, about 1-2€ cheaper for meals and groceries. The cheapest accommodation we have seen here was about 10€ per night for a mixed dorm bed. We also have came across a 5 star hotel so…  various options, but VERY backpacker friendly!

Highs: Diverse food scene, older crowd (for us we mean less college students and more traveled travelers who were in there careers), various local pastries, easy navigation around town, simple metro system (subway), more fluent English speakers, the hostel we stayed at.

Lows: not a low for us, but be ready to be hiking some hills! Lisbon is a city that has a total of seven hills, we walked 12 miles in one day! Other than that, really Lisbon was awesome!

The view from the top of Santa Clara

Places to see: church of São Vicente de Fora, Miradouro de Santa Clara (a viewpoint on one of the hills), Graça Convent, Igreja do Mention Deus, Comercio Square, Avenida da Liberdade (an avenue that is for mostly tourists, but has high name brand shops all along the avenue), Barrio Alto (an area of hip bars and nice restaurants)

Places to eat: Boutik (our favorite cafe in Lisbon - they started this place for their love of the ocean and food, they are a cafe that serves açaí bowls, poke bowls, smoothies, etc., and local goods!), Time Out Market (where you can find the best of Lisbon under one roof: the best chefs, restaurants, cultural events and cooking workshops), Manteigaria (famous pastel de nata pastry shop), Mercado Figueira (a local market right in Baixa - perfect to pick some fresh fruits, vegetables, and they also have a cafe and a “meal of the day”)

Cod fish cakes

Boutik - A healthy and delicious cafe

We will definitely be back to Lisbon! Our next stop is Sintra, Portugal!