Happy Friday! I hope you had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend. Today I wanted to share with you pics of our Spring Break in Lisbon,Portugal.
Rain, rain and more rain ☔️🌧☔️
Our spring break holiday in Lisbon, Portugal was a rainy holiday! Not just light drizzle folks, but full on buckets of rain and stormy with gusty winds! We are talking every day for four days! We had partly sunny skies the day we arrived, then rain for four days, then sunshine the last day we were there.
Day 1 – partly cloudy skies
We arrived on Monday morning (our flight got canceled and we had to leave a day later). After settling into our hotel Anjali and I strolled the beautiful streets of Lisbon and explored the charming neighborhood of Chiado.
We walked for 5 hours up and down steep alleys and steps
Anjali and I love strolling and exploring and we had a lovely time exploring charming neighborhoods with cafes and boutiques. Stopped for a quick lunch and then strolled to a tea shop to buy tea, followed by a stop at the oldest bookshop in Lisbon.
Local cafe for lunch
Oldest bookshop in Lisbon – over 100 years old!
Stopped by local tea shop, patisserie, and boutiques
Followed by Four days of rain and stormy weather ☔️!
Day 6 – sunny skies
Finally the rain took a break and we had sunny skies on the last day of our trip.
How did the rain affect our sightseeing plans?
It changed a lot! Rather than being able to walk the streets of Lisbon and see outdoor attractions, we had to pivot and do mostly indoor activities such as museums and local shopping plazas 😃.
A day of sunshine
Plans for day trips to Porto were derailed because of the storm. We were able to sneak in a quick trip to Sintra outside the city on day six, but it did start raining again cutting our visit short as this little town is meant for walking.
Sintra
What did we see in Lisbon?
Anjali and I visited the National Tile Museum, The New Coach Museum, The original Coach Museum, The Museum of Water, and we did port tasting 🍷.
Museums in Lisbon a wonderful view of Potuguese culture and history
Though most tourists see the popular attractions, the museums are a wonderful way to appreciate and understand the culture of Portugal and its varied and interesting history. Our favorite museums were the Tile Museum and The Coaches Museum. I’ll share more detailed pics of these fascinating museums.
Shopping the local markets
The sun came out for us to be able to check out the local flea market and we even stopped by local boutiques.
When in Portugal Port Tasting Please
Squeezed in a port tasting at Taylor’s port cellar and what a unique experience this was. I do love port, and just like wine, there are nuances in this sweet dessert wine. Also, did you know there is white port?
Few helpful tips:
Wear comfortable shoes as in wear sneakers! The streets and alleyways are steep! Lots of steps everywhere as the streets are very steep. And all walkways are cobblestoned. So comfortable shoes are a must.
Restaurants open at 7pm and stay open till 11pm. Prepare for late night dinners in this city.
Lunches are outstanding so definitely take a break at a local cafe and grab freshly made soup or salad.
Port is everywhere, try them during dinner. Probably the best opportunity you’ll get to try a variety of ports at different restaurants. If you like something ask to take a pic of the bottle, the staff are excited to share their favorite picks.
Uber the affordable way to get around. Uber rides are so cheap here folks! Anywhere from 3EU to 5EU and up, you can get a ride anywhere in town and these cars go on the narrowest of streets and steepest of roads to get you to your destination. Just know that once you get off, you still may have to walk up a flight of steps or down a steep cobblestone alley to get to your destination.
When possible buy tickets in advance to museums and attractions in advance, saves you from standing in line at the museum.
Be flexible. Throw the I must do list out the window. Go with the flow, like we did. If plans change it’s okay, this gives you a chance to do something unexpected and explore the city.
That’s a brief look at our rainy spring break holiday in Lisbon, Portugal. More detailed pics and fun facts about the places we saw coming your way this week.
Wishing you a sunny weekend!
