Adventure Beyond the Spanish Border: Lisbon, Portugal

For my first time traveling outside of Spain, my friends and I made a quick trip over the border to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. 

Things to do:

Sintra - This picturesque town full of castles is located in the mountains, a 40 min ride outside of Lisbon. For 13 euros, you can explore the main castle, the National Palace of Pena, as well as the grounds and surrounding areas. 

If you’re looking to save money, there is public transit that goes to the town; however, we chose to Uber because the castle is all the way at the top of the mountain, and we didn’t feel like walking up it. The Uber wasn’t that expensive, less than 10 euros a person for us.

Time-Out Market - This market full of food stalls is located along the coastline in Lisbon. Here you can get traditional Portuguese dishes like fried cod balls, as well as other things. 

I got the best doughnut ever here! It was huge and mouth-wateringly declicious. The place is called Crush Doughnuts.

Tower of Belem - An old tower that overlooks the Rio Tajo in the south part of Lisbon. You can pay about 13 euros to go inside, but it didn’t look that large, so my roommate and I decided it wasn’t worth it. But it’s still a cool place to check out. 

Praca de Comercio - A giant archway located within walking distance of the Tower of Belem. It opens up onto a large square right on the water, and leads to a main shopping street in Lisbon.

Livraria Bertrand Chiado - This is the oldest operating bookstore in the world. Make sure that you go to the Chiado location, because there are several locations of this chain located within Lisbon. 

They have a decent selection of English books, including many newer ones. If you buy a book, you can get it stamped for free, certifying that you got it in the oldest bookstore in the world.

LX Factory - This part of Lisbon is full of trendy restaurants and shops. There is also a really cool bookstore located here. It's worth exploring.

Pink Street - Officially known as Rua Nova do Carvalho, ii's a road that is paved bright pink. It has many cool bars and tapas restaurants located here. The pink part of the street isn’t that long, but it's worth checking out.

Lisbon Staples:

These next few things aren’t sights or places to visit, but tips and facts that pertain to traveling in Lisbon. 

Metro Cards/Public Transport - I was there for 2 days. The first day I bought a single metro ticket for 1.50 euros to get from the bus station to my hostel. I then spent the whole day in Sintra, a nearby town, so I didn’t use the metro at all. 

The second day, I bought a daily pass for 6.50 which worked for the metro and the trams. I used transit several times that day, so the pass was definitely worth it instead of buying several single tickets. 

Yellow Tram - This is one of the things that Lisbon is known for, it’s all over every piece of merchandise in all the gift shops. I think that the most famous one is line 28, which is the older, more traditional looking tram, but they all have the same function. The daily 6.50 metro pass that I purchased worked for the trams, if you are interested in taking one.

Flori - Here it is, the best gelato that I got in Lisbon. This place is located right on the waterfront, near the Praca de Comercio. They had really unique flavors, like Pumpkin Cheese and Chocolate Vanilla, which were both amazing!