Lisbon, Portugal

The second destination of our trip to Portugal was the capital – Lisbon. We caught the train from Porto which was less then 20 euros for those under 25 (about 25 for those older), and took about 3 hours. Our hostel – Lisbon Lounge Hostel was a short walk from the train station we stopped at. This hostel was clean with nice social areas and rooms. We also took part in the family dinner for 10 euros, and the bar crawl for 12. THAT was messy but fun… The breakfast provided included crepes, something I had never experienced at a hostel before!

My favourite thing about Lisbon was the views. This one is blocked by some port wine sangria of ours, but the hilly nature of Lisbon provided us with some amazing spots to enjoy our drinks.

We only had two days in Lisbon so spent it exploring the city, however also recommended is to take a day trip to the nearby Sintra, which also offers amazing sights.

Again with the drink and the views… The local cuisine of Portugal is heavily focused on cod. The street our hostel was on seemed to consist of nothing but cod restaurants. Also a necessity to try is the local natas – an egg custard tart that goes amazingly well with cinnamon.

Before our train to Faro we went up to the castle. 5 euro entry for students and 8.5 euros otherwise. The views from the castle were incredible. The castle itself was small and there was little information, but it was fun to walk around. Also worth getting there early, we did and got in easily but when we left the queue was reaching all the way down the street.

Lisbon is a very small capital, you might even forget it is the capital. But the people were for the most part friendly (like in all the cities), and also like the other cities it was super relaxing to wander around and just enjoy the atmosphere. It has been on my travel bucket list so I am happy to have ticked it off, but also would happily return one day!