Lisbon - The perfect European city break

I guess Lisbon had always been on my list of places to visit, but as I didn’t know a huge amount about the city, it wasn’t at the top of my (rather enormous) list. I can honestly say, however, that having now visited the city, it is one of the best surprises I have experienced. We only had 2 nights to spare, but the activities we did really made the most of our time in this city and made us feel like we’d really experienced a huge amount. Getting there is easy – with daily flights from the UK with TAP, easyJet or BA which only take around 2 hours and 15 minutes, this city is well accessed and the local public transport is exceptionally cheap and easy to use. We arrived in the afternoon, so it was a quick turnaround at the hotel before we headed towards the main square to meet our guide. We’d booked a ‘Gourmet Food & Drink’ tour for the first evening and this really was a great way to delve straight into the culture and local food whilst getting our bearings with a knowledgeable local. Our group of around 12 people, along with our guide Filipe, experienced a number of different eating and drinking establishments in the centre of the city from a quick stop for a small glass of ginjinha (a sweet red wine) to some local cheese and quince marmalade, a bifana (a bit like a hot pork bap), a cod cake and finished off with some chorizo cooked over ethanol (!), goats cheese and a scrambled egg & sausage mix! Quite a random combination, but good wholesome favourites of the Lisbon locals and experienced in some lovely small establishments that we would have otherwise just walked past and not even noticed. The hospitality and the warmth of the locals was fabulous and to do this on our first night, it really helped to get our bearings of the city, ask our guide any questions we had and also get a few tips from the other people on the tour who had travelled from Iceland, different parts of the US, Ireland and Wales. The following day we had pre-booked booked a cycling tour of Lisbon. Unlike many other cities in Europe, Lisbon isn’t flat. In fact, many of the city people utilise the numerous lifts and funiculars around the city to get them up into the hills as it can be pretty hard going. Luckily, we’d had the foresight to book an E-Bike tour – there is no way I could have got up those hills otherwise! But what a great experience it was. As with the food tour, the guide often makes the tour special, and in our case, Miguel certainly did. Such a character with fabulous experience and knowledge of the city – a place he has lived pretty much his entire life. The tour was of the ‘Seven Hills’ of Lisbon – 4 of which are to the northeast of the city, 3 of which are to the southwest – but all with amazing views of the rooftops below and the riverfront. The tour wasn’t for the fainthearted, nor for those that aren’t too confident on a bike, but as far as fitness levels are concerned, as we used e-bikes, it wasn’t too tough! We got to experience all of the sights, from the Castle, the monasteries, the intriguing Alfama district, the old quaint trams, the endless cobbled streets, those amazing views and of course a few little stops along the way to grab a local coffee or glass of wine if needed. Doing both of these activities really did make us feel like we had experienced a great amount of the city. Unfortunately our stay was only 2 nights, but we could have stayed for another 2 and returned to some of the places that we briefly stopped at. I would highly recommend doing something like this at the start of your stay – it really helps you get a feel for the city, get your bearings and most of all, immerse yourself into the culture and vibe of the city. I can’t rate Lisbon highly enough for a city break – and would be happy to give you a bit of advice about travelling there…