Why You Need to Travel to Lisbon

The entire country of Portugal completely blew me away. For our first month of Remote Year, we were based in the country’s capital, Lisbon. Lisbonne, Lisboa, Lisbon; it’s a magical city. Five weeks is not enough time there and I look forward to returning.

It’s not hard to describe what makes Lisbon so magical, it’s a lot harder to stop coming up with reasons. Perched on a river way, that turns into the gorgeous Atlantic Ocean just a short train ride away, the city is a feast for your eyes. With hills galore, buildings stacked on top of each other, creating a colorful mosaic, there is an endless amount to do here.

It’s hard to sum up my favorite things about the city in just ten bullet points, but I’m going to try. 

1. The Street Art

It’s everywhere. It covers the entire city, including the historical monuments. Normally, I get irritated by that, but here it adds such a richness and feel to the city. You get an insight into the climate and culture of the people that have lived here. It ends up complimenting the extremely old and beautiful architecture, with a stark modern contrast.

If you spend some time reading the street art you can really understand what the citizens of Lisbon are feeling and communicating. Many of these pieces are on the subject of resisting gentrification and tourism. I would highly recommend doing a street art tour while you’re here to learn more about the political unrest and the artists today.

Most of the murals in the city are commissioned pieces, but tagging and doing your own art isn’t exactly illegal, or at rarely penalized. 

2. The Seafood

Bacalhau (dried and salted cod fish) is really their speciality in Lisbon. It’s delicious, saturated in olive oil and over simple roasted potatoes. Fish in general is incredible in this coastal city, much to this pescatarians delight.

Coming from America, it’s fascinating to be somewhere where chicken and beef aren’t the center of every meal, but instead, seafood. Octopus salad and grilled octopus, is another traditional Portuguese dish. I had never really eaten octopus before, and now grilled octopus is probably my favorite seafood dish.

Of course, you can’t leave out the sardines. In Lisbon you won’t just find canned sardines (thought they have entire stores dedicated to them, tourist traps no less). You will find sardines bigger than your hands though. Not my personal fave.

If you’re a little skiddish about fish, be warned- it’s more common than not to get the entire fish, bones and eyeballs and all, on your plate. Us Americans don’t typically receive that when ordering fish. I had my first experience scaling and de-boning a fish.

3. The Roof tops

They are everywhere. With such a dense city center, the buildings that surround you on all sides, go up instead of out. Making the rooftop scene absolutely amazing.

Roof tops are the best places to hang out, drink while surrounded by truly magical view points. The old European architecture definitely adds to the magic. 

4. The Emphasis and Importance on Culture and History

The museums, and there are many, rarely cost even two euro, making history and culture accessible to everyone. This is such a stark contrast coming from the U.S. where many museums charge upwards of $40.

The value on history, knowing your history, and academics, can be felt throughout Lisbon. Most Portuguese appear to be well read and well versed people from all walks of life.

People care about art, about where they came from, and about education. The higher education system is also extremely cheap, making getting degrees a viable option for many. Most of the locals I met had multiple degrees, or were continuously studying.

5. The Tiles

Covering the buildings from head to toe are multi-colored tires. The influence came from Spain and Morocco, and you can see that clearly in the designs and color schemes.

Fun fact: there’s a reason for these tiles becoming the center of the city’s architecture. After the tragic earthquake in 1700, the architect who was in charge of rebuilding the city very quickly and efficiently chose tiles. He didn’t do this because they were a cheap option but because they were flame resistant. This was of utmost importance to a city that was not only destroyed via an earthquake, but mostly by the fires in the aftermath.  

6. The Long Lunches, Slow Life Style  

No one does take away. So much so, that when food delivery services started here, no one thought they would ever take off (they only did because of the influx of tourism and expats). Some places even refused to let me take my coffee or food to go.

When you eat here, it is an experience. People at all hours of the day are sitting in cafes, eating, lounging, with what appears to be no care in the world. It’s honestly very hard to get a server to even bring you the bill.

I once went into a very popular restaurant and upon trying to book a table they told me it was not possible. They warned me they only had a two hour window available for dinner before their reservations started. I was shocked that they thought this wasn’t enough time for dinner, but after convincing them to seat me, I was even more shocked that I was still in the middle of my meal, two hours later.

7. The Late Nights

With the long lunches comes siesta and with that comes very late nights. The party culture in Lisbon is completely crazy, with people not even going to to the clubs until 3 am. But this late night culture is definitely not limited to partying.

9 pm is the most popular time to go for dinner in Lisbon. When I would walk home at 11:30 pm, I would see people everywhere. Spilling out of cafes, sipping espresso and wine, eating dinner. People of all ages, many adults, some with their kids, and many who could easily be my grandparents. I felt like such a grandma going home when people 60+ were just eating dinner.

8. The Fado Music 

Fado music is sort of the signature music of the Portuguese. Many bars advertise Fado singers, especially if you are in the old town (Alfama).

Fado is a very slow, beautiful and melancholic style of singing. It’s extremely intimate. When you see a Fado performance, it’s considered very rude to be talking, or really doing anything that isn’t attentively listening to the performer at hand. 

When we saw a performance, we were crammed into this little restaurant, with about four tables. Everyone was dead silent while the singer stood inches away from us, singing. It was unlike any live music experience I’d ever had.

9. The Beautiful People 

There’ s something about Lisbon that feels overwhelmingly familiar and safe. The people feel satisfied. Everyone seems to have a little pep in their step, or a smile on their face. You can always hear someone laughing. I was never really scared.

One man I met summed it up beautifully, “We are very happy because we have everything. We have the mountains, we have the beach, we have the city, we have culture. If you don’t have a problem with us, than we don’t have a problem with you.” 

10. The Wine

It’s cheaper than water. We’re talking one euro a glass in many places. The wine is also everywhere. I’ve never gone to a grocery store and bought two euro wine and actually ENJOYED the taste, like I did in Lisbon.

At lunch, you have wine. At dinner, wine. Night time, of course, wine. You can drink in public as well, on the street, at the bars. It’s probably the answer to why everything about Lisbon seemed so magical.

---