How to Spend 2 Days in Lisbon, Portugal (A Foodie’s Guide)

I’ve had the opportunity to visit Lisbon a couple of times now, and I have to say it’s SUCH a cool city – especially if you love FOOD!

My first visit to Lisbon back in 2017 was actually only for a few hours! I’d been staying in the nearby coastal area of Cascais for a surf hostel retreat, and headed over to Lisbon to catch a bus for a 4 hour journey to the Algarve coastline at Lagos.

Then this year (2024) I had the pleasure of visiting for a business retreat with a brand that I affiliate & partner for – Flodesk (an awesome email marketing software company)! Several of Flodesk’s team live and work in Lisbon, so they hosted their first ever partner retreat here and it was so much fun! Full credit to the team for creating an amazing itinerary for us while we were there, which I’ve mixed in a bit here with my own tips too.

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Tips for visiting Lisbon

Before I get started on how I’d spend 2 days in Lisbon, below are a few tips I’ve picked up from both trips that I wanted to share.

• Lisbon is extremely hilly!
  Therefore be sure to pack good walking footwear, and make use of the city’s helpful luggage storage shops if you have a huge suitcase and nowhere to check it while you’re wandering around!
• Book an extra day to explore the nearby Sintra national park
  Sintra National Park is absolutely stunning and well worth a visit, but it’s also pretty large to get around, and takes 40-60 minutes to get to from Lisbon, so you’ll probably want to dedicate a separate day to exploring here.
• No need to pre-book a transfer from the airport
  It’s so easy to get an Uber or Bolt from Lisbon airport into the city centre as it’s only a 20 minute drive, costing less than 20euros. Or alternatively, catch the Metro straight into the city centre for even less (it goes directly from the airport).

Is 2 days enough to explore Lisbon?

Lisbon isn’t an enormous city with tonnes of big, different districts; it’s fairly walkable and I definitely felt like 2 days would be the perfect amount of time to spend here to see all the main things! However, as mentioned above, I’d recommend adding an extra day to your trip to dedicate to Sintra National Park.

How to get around in Lisbon

It’s incredibly easy to get around in Lisbon and it’s one of the reasons why I enjoyed it so much.

• Walking (/hiking!)
  As I say, Lisbon isn’t huge so easy to walk around to see city centre. However it has some extremely steep hills (we literally joked that locals mustn’t need gym memberships because it is a workout walking around, especially in the heat!) so be wary of this.
• Uber / Bolt
  We found the easiest way to get around was with Uber or Bolt as there are loads of taxis available all the time, and they’re pretty inexpensive (all the ones we got around the city were less than 10euro)
• Metro 
  You don’t really need this if you’re staying in the city center, but it is super easy to get to the airport and different districts within Lisbon. With only 3 or 4 lines, it’s very easy to navigate! There is also a good overground train that can take you to the coast (which is what I did to get to Cascais).
• Trams & Buses
  The public transport system in Portugal is way better than ours (in Cornwall, at least!) so getting around by bus or tram is actually a great way to explore the city if you’d rather not walk it!

Where to stay in Lisbon

• HotelHotel (4* boutique hotel with swimming pool in Avenida da Liberdade) £££
  We were lucky enough to be put up in this gorgeous hotel during our Flodesk trip and I would definitely recommend it if you’re wanting a boujie city escape. The food in the restaurant and breakfast was amazing, as was my room and the amazing jungle-like pool area. Loved it!

• Hotel Lis Baixa* (3* hotel in a great location) ££

My 2 Day Lisbon Itinerary

Day 1 in Lisbon

Arrive and take a food tour of the city

We did a walking food tour with Tipsy Tours which was great fun! It was a great way to learn more about Lisbon’s history while exploring, while trying their ‘seven wonders of Portugese cuisine’ at local restaurants in the Baixa neighbourhood.

Pastel de Natas at Manteigaria

Portugal is of course famous for their delicious ‘pastel de nata’ (a kind of custard tart) which I loveeee! One of the best places to try these in Lisbon has to be Manteigaria (although every local has their own fave spot and preference of the way they’re made… kind of like us Cornish with our pasties!).

We got to visit here at the end of the food tour, but just in case you don’t get a chance to go on a food tour, make sure you still add this to your list.

Take one of the old funiculars to Bairro Alto

These iconic funiculars are a fun way to access the steep areas of the city; although not enormously practical as they’re usually pretty busy and take a long time to go up the hills, they still make for a unique experience, and once you’re at the top you can explore the pretty Bairro Alto.

The first time I visited Lisbon I did actually get lost in the cobbled old town streets… but there are worse places to be lost I suppose! With Lisbon being the oldest city in Europe, and one of the oldest in the world, it’s awesome to get a feel of the history by just taking in your surroundings and not worrying about a map.

Small plates dinner at Mona Verde

This gorgeous rooftop restaurant and bar has a 70s bohemian, disco vibe and some of the best margaritas and small plates I’ve ever had! Along with stunning views over the city, you can’t go wrong (I’d highly recommend the tuna ceviche, and the truffle fries).

Day 2 in Libson

Spend a morning exploring Belém

You can easily get the Metro or a taxi over to the Belém district of Lisbon, and it’s worth it for a relaxing morning thanks to its pretty riverside parks, the 16th century Belém Tower, and the large gothic Monastery to walk around.

Get lunch at the Time Out food market

Once you’re back in the city center, the Time Out food market is something you can’t really miss when you come to Lisbon. This large indoor marketplace of delicious food stalls only opened in 2014, but is already the number one tourist attraction in the city!

Be prepared for it to be very busy and overwhelming… the first time I visited it took me a good 30 minutes to walk around and decide what to eat! But the quality of the food here is honestly worth it. Between my two trips I had one of the BEST burgers ever (a ‘philly burger’), a delicious salted caramel eclair (highly recommended – always leave room for dessert, folks!), and some delicious gelato as well.

Dinner at Mensagem

Yes, another boujie rooftop restaurant, but it has to be done if you’re a foodie in Lisbon! Mensagem has wonderful views and incredibly delicious food with great service. We were truly spoiled during our trip with Flodesk as they treated us to a meal here, and the previously mentioned Mona Verde, but honestly they were both fantastic restaurants!

Take a sunset cruise on a catamaran

As someone who is not a fan of wavy seas, a catamaran cruise around Lisbon’s Tagus River* is perfect because it’s basically guaranteed to be flat and relaxing! Enjoy a welcome drink, music, and amazing sunset views over the 25 April Bridge from the water.

Finish the evening with karaoke!

Because late night karaoke is ALWAYS a good idea! During our Flodesk trip we went to Golden Vista Karaoke (a 2 minute walk from the cruise drop off) and I have to say the food was delicious here too.

 

Will you be adding a Lisbon weekend to your travel itinerary?