Lisbon, A Sweet Goodbye To Portugal
Hello from Lisbon! It’s hard to believe we’ve been on the road for three weeks already and have still only scratched the surface of one (very diverse) country. But we’ve finally made it to our last stop in Portugal.
We flew from Madeira to Lisbon, but we hopped in an Uber from the airport straight to Sintra, a charming town just 30 minutes away. With its palaces, castles, estates, and gardens, the entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most people do Sintra as a day trip, but we decided to stay two nights so we could explore at a slower pace. On our first night we met up with my friend Alicia, who just so happened to be visiting Sintra too. Even though we’d both been traveling in Portugal for a couple weeks, our itineraries only overlapped for a day so it was great to be able to catch up over dinner. Traveling has been amazing, but it’s always a treat to see familiar faces along the way.
Sintra: A Real-Life Fairytale Town
On our first full day, we logged 20,000 steps wandering Sintra’s historic center and major sights. There are at least four or five “must-see” sights here, and after scrolling through endless TikToks debating which ones were worth it (and which ones to skip), I’m glad we squeezed in as many as we did. Each had its own personality and charm.
We started with the most popular one, Pena Palace. Perched high above the city, it’s a colorful Romantic palace built in the 19th century. With its bright red and yellow towers and mix of different architectural styles, it was strikingly beautiful and unlike anything I had ever seen before. From there, we walked down through the surrounding park and gardens to the Moorish Castle, an old fortress dating back to the 8th or 9th century. Its crumbling stone walls and steep, winding walkways gave me flashbacks to climbing the Great Wall of China. After many, many steps to the top, we were rewarded with panoramic views of the surrounding area below, as well as Pena Palace perched on the hilltop just above.
We wrapped our tour of Sintra with two lavish estates: Quinta da Regaleira and Monserrate Palace. Quinta da Regaleira felt whimsical and mysterious, with hidden grottoes and secret tunnels. The highlight was descending the spiraling Initiation Well, which drops into a network of underground passages. Monserrate, by contrast, was gorgeous and serene. Its palace is beautifully ornate, the gardens lush and romantic, and best of all it was uncrowded. Out of all four sights we visited, Monserrate ended up being my favorite.
Exploring the Big City!
On Saturday, we took a train to Lisbon. The moment we stepped out of the station, it was clear this city is hilly. Our Airbnb was only a 10-minute walk away, but hauling our 30-pound suitcases and 20-pound backpacks up steep cobblestone streets felt like a crossfit workout we didn’t sign up for. Once we made it, we indulged in a luxury we’d been looking forward to for weeks: laundry! Packing for this trip has been a delicate balancing act - I managed to fit thirteen tops, five sweaters/layers, three jackets, nine pairs of pants/shorts, and a dress into my carry-on. But after two weeks of staying in hotels with no washing machines (though the occasional handwash), we were grateful to finally be able to do laundry.
Lisbon is the largest city we’ve visited so far on this trip, which has its ups and downs. Pros: a plethora of great restaurants, bars, boutiques, street markets, and museums. The main con: so many tourists (ourselves included). But once we wandered a few blocks away from the main tourist hubs, everything changed and we started to get a better feel of the local rhythm, food, and culture.
One of the highlights of our time in Lisbon was dinner at Canto da Atalaia, where we experienced live fado in a cozy, intimate restaurant. Fado is a mournful, melancholic Portuguese folk music genre that expresses themes of longing, fate, love, and loss (what the Portuguese call ‘saudade’), usually performed by a singer with two guitarists. The musicians that night were actually a family: the singer and guitarist were married, and their 8-year-old son played bass. They interacted with the guests throughout the evening, sharing stories about the songs and asking about our lives, which made the whole experience feel personal, warm, and memorable.
Between our main meals, we made it our mission to snack on as many bifanas (juicy pork sandwiches) and pastéis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) as possible. I’ve probably spent over an hour of my life standing in line for bifanas here, but honestly, they’re worth every second. As for pastéis de nata, there’s a never-ending debate about which bakery makes the best ones in Lisbon. Our verdict: they’re all delicious, as long as you get them fresh out of the oven.
We also visited a couple of museums to get a deeper sense of Portugal’s culture and history. At the National Tile Museum, we admired beautiful Portuguese tiles ranging from the 15th century to modern day. It was fascinating to learn about how the different colors are made and see how similar it is to my pottery glazes back home - glaze chemistry honestly feels like magic. Then, at the Museu do Aljube (Resistance and Freedom), we learned about Portugal’s fight against dictatorship leading up to the 1974 revolution. Walking through the exhibits and reading about censorship, policing, and political repression felt eerily reminiscent of current events unfolding back home. Definitely a sobering, thought-provoking stop.
On a much brighter note, we celebrated Hanqing’s birthday on our last day in Lisbon. We spent the afternoon in Belém, a historic district in the western side of Lisbon. Naturally, we started with a pastel de Belém (the birthplace of the pastel de nata!), and then strolled along the river to see Jerónimos Monastery and the Monument to the Discoveries. We watched a beautiful final Portuguese sunset from the steps of MAAT (Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology) overlooking the Tagus River and the iconic 25 de Abril Bridge (which looks like a mini Golden Gate Bridge). We capped the day with a birthday dinner at Canalha, enjoying modern Portuguese cuisine crafted from the freshest ingredients - by far the best meal of the trip.
That’s all for Portugal! Thanks again for following along. See you in Austria!
Talk soon,
Tanya
