Lisbon & Lagos
January 26-29
January 26-29
Portugal is probably one of the most underrated places I've visited in Europe. The landscapes were straight from a dream, food and wine were top-notch, the cities were relatively inexpensive, nowhere was overrun with tourists, the people were inviting and friendly with great senses of humor and the culture radiated from every crack in every elaborately-painted tiled building.
Scroll for highlights!
Scroll for highlights!
Flight to Lisbon, 4 hour bus to Lagos
Lagos:
Hotel- Tivoli Lagos- 4 star resort, got an amazing deal because it was off season, free breakfast
The Marina- iconic restaurant, authentic Portuguese food
Restaurante O Camilo- get the fish of the day, so fresh, BEAUTIFUL view
Cafe do Mar- overlooks cliffs
Order "vino verde" everywhere- amazing Portuguese wine made from fermenting the grapes half way so it has a natural bubbly taste, but not as bubbly as champagne
Beaches- walk down the cliffs, the most amazing beaches I've ever been to, my favorite was Ponte de Piedade, you can also take a 30 minute bus ride to the tip of Sagres where columbus set sail
Lisbon:
Stay in Barrio Alto- the best place to go out, we rented 5 star apartments on booking.com
The Mill- cute coffee shop, fire avocado toast
Seame- bar/tapas, the best ceviche
Try "pasteis de nata"- signature custard tarts
Club Lux- on the ocean, open until 10am, stay for sunrise
Pub crawls- pay 15 euro for drinks at 3 bars then free cover to a club
Sintra- 30 minute train ride then a crazy scary bus ride up to Pena Palace
Lagos:
Hotel- Tivoli Lagos- 4 star resort, got an amazing deal because it was off season, free breakfast
The Marina- iconic restaurant, authentic Portuguese food
Restaurante O Camilo- get the fish of the day, so fresh, BEAUTIFUL view
Cafe do Mar- overlooks cliffs
Order "vino verde" everywhere- amazing Portuguese wine made from fermenting the grapes half way so it has a natural bubbly taste, but not as bubbly as champagne
Beaches- walk down the cliffs, the most amazing beaches I've ever been to, my favorite was Ponte de Piedade, you can also take a 30 minute bus ride to the tip of Sagres where columbus set sail
Lisbon:
Stay in Barrio Alto- the best place to go out, we rented 5 star apartments on booking.com
The Mill- cute coffee shop, fire avocado toast
Seame- bar/tapas, the best ceviche
Try "pasteis de nata"- signature custard tarts
Club Lux- on the ocean, open until 10am, stay for sunrise
Pub crawls- pay 15 euro for drinks at 3 bars then free cover to a club
Sintra- 30 minute train ride then a crazy scary bus ride up to Pena Palace
|
When we landed in Lisbon, we hopped straight on a bus to Lagos. The 4 hours went by quickly as we caught up on editing and it was definitely worth the wait.
|
|
Even though it was raining when we arrived, we decided to go explore the beaches- umbrella (and wine) in hand.
|
|
As you'll gather from these pictures, this trip involved a lot of wine. Why? Portugese wine is cheap, amazing and for some reason we kept getting free glasses and bottles the restaurants we explored.
The next day was sunny and gorgeous, so we made sure to explore as many beaches as possible. I wasn't expecting the breathtaking views you're about to see in the obnoxious amount of photos below... I couldn't help myself.
|
|
|
|
Trust me when I say that the seemingly-endless flights of stairs carved into the side of beach cliffs was worth it for this view. If you hike to the very tip of Lagos- there's only one direction to go, you can't miss it- you'll find this little oasis of arches, crashing waves and a near-360 view of the edge of the world.
|
|
|
|
P.S. A lot of these pics are of Lindsay- fellow photographer, adventure partner, food enthusiast and the other half of (shameless plug) @ReadySetCiao
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
After a full day of exploring Lagos, we got on the bus back to Lisbon and checked into our hotel in Barrio Alto. We heard the nightlife was insane, so we decided to rest up and wake up early to pack in a full day of exploring before going out the next night.
|
|
|
|
|
|
We walked around Lisbon and couldn't help but stop at every corner to snap pictures of the pastel tiled buildings. When we finally made it to the train station, we got tickets for the 45 minute train ride to Sintra to see the famous Pena Palace.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unfortunately, it was rainy and foggy when we made it to the palace, so we didn't get to see the iconic views. If you can plan ahead, definitely try to visit on a clear day, but the palace was still beyond incredible.
|
|
|
|
We didn't take any pictures at night, but this graffiti definitely sums up the music scene. We decided to hop into a bar crawl that ended at one of the clubs we were told to check out and it did not disappoint. We stayed until the sun rose and watched the sunrise from the roof of the club before crawling home for an hour of sleep before we left for the airport.