Are you traveling for the first time to Lisbon
and don’t know what to do there? Well, here’s a perfect 5-day itinerary for
your stay. People say Portugal is Europe’s best kept
secret, and some say it’s Europe’s California. Well, Portugal is much older than California. Once a powerful maritime empire, Portugal
boasts rich history, culture and stunning nature which makes it a great travel destination for anyone. I love Lisbon In addition, its relatively low prices and
warmer weather are other reasons you must visit Portugal Without further ado, let’s explore Portugal’s
hilly, coastal capital city, Lisbon. Day 1
On the first day of any international trip, you will experience either jet lag or fatigue. The best thing to do on the first day would
be an activity that doesn’t require too many tasks yet gives you an instant preview
of your trip. In other words, you need a tour. Now we're on our way to a walking tour. In Lisbon, walking tours are most common because
the city has a lot of hills and narrow streets. And most attractions are adjacent with each
other, especially in the Baixa -Chiado and Alfama districts. So bring your comfortable shoes, cause you
are gonna walk a lot. I did the chill-out Lisbon free tour. It’s a 3-hour walking tour with a passionate
local guide, so you will learn a lot about the city. The only downside is you won’t have enough
time to take photos and enjoy at your own speed. Also it’s not a free tour sponsored by the
city or organizations but a private business that asks you to pay what you will at the end. Bottom line, if you’re staying in Lisbon for more than 3 days and plan to visit the attractions on your own afterwards, this tour will be worthwhile. That being said, a place you must visit on
the first day in Lisbon is the St George Castle viewpoint. It’s a beautiful scenic spot overlooking
the hills of Lisbon and the Tagus river where you can watch the magical sunset. To cap the day off, stay in the Alfama district
and have authentic Portuguese dinner at a nearby tapa. We went to a place called O Vinhaca, and my
personal favorites were tuna ham and octopus. Day 2. I hope you are ready for a full program, as
we will travel from the past of Portugal to the present day. First stop is the Belem tower, a 16th century fortification
that also served as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon for explorers. It’s a prominent example of Manueline style,
boasting a lavish late Gothic architectural style of the Portuguese Renaissance era. This 4 story tower has narrow spiral staircases
that you can use to go up and down the tower to enter each room. Here’s a tip for an easier trip: buy tickets
online in advance to avoid a long line at the ticket box. Within 10 minutes walk from the Belem tower
is the monument of the discoveries, a huge monument with impressive figure sculptures
on both sides. It was built to commemorate 500 years of the
death of Prince Henry the navigator. You can learn more about its history at the
exhibition on the first floor. If you walk another 20 minutes, you will find a MAAT museum that exhibits modern and technological interactive art. The museum was pretty interesting but I have
to say their museum restaurant was better than my expectations. Not only is their food and ambiance great,
but the direct view of the Tagus River and the famous bridge that looks a lot like the
Golden Gate bridge is really nice. If you spend more than $30 per person, you
will receive a free admission to the museum. You should go here. In the evening, have a drink at the LxFactory,
a historical industrial complex now filled with trendy shops, bars and restaurants to
check out. Day 3 Let’s have a spontaneous day strolling
around Baixa-chiado district while checking out some of the important landmarks. First stop is Santa Justa Lift, also called
Carmo Lift. It’s an elevator, built in early 1900 that
connects the lower streets of the Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo. Remember Lisbon has many hills which makes
getting around more complicated? An elevator like this must have been a huge help. However, now there’s a long line to get into the elevator. Personally, seeing the elevator from outside
was a good enough experience. Now let’s walk towards the Commerce Square,
a vast square built on the site of a former royal palace that was destroyed by an earthquake. In 1755, a devastating earthquake followed
by tsunami and fire hit Lisbon and destroyed most of the city. This is the ruined Carmo Convent, which shows
the aftermath of the earthquake. This monument to King Jose I was to symbolize
the rebuilding of Lisbon. But according to our tour guide Jose, locals
see this statue with a bit of a smirk. Here’s the story. When you see the sculpture, you see the crown
is actually placed on top of the minister's head, not the king’s. Locals think King Jose 1 doesn’t deserve
any credit for rebuilding the city, because he ran away, abandoning Lisbon and the people. It was the minister at that time who led a
vigorous rebuilding effort. The monarchy in Portugal ended in 1910. And how about learning something fun this time? Like wine? While in the Commerce square, I highly recommend
you check out this wine tasting room. As wine enthusiasts, we were impressed by
the variety and the quantity of the wines we found here. They were all from Portugal. We tried several port wines including vintage
and Late Bottled Vintage (LBV). The staff was knowledgeable about the wines
and kindly answered all the questions that my husband had. And he had a lot of questions. While being a little bit tipsy, we aimlessly
walked enjoying the warm weather of Lisbon and arrived at the Pink street. It’s known for its bustling nightlife and
is a popular spot to snap an instagram photo to many people, myself included. Now it’s time for some food. Head over to the TimeOut market near Pink Street. A spacious food court featuring local food vendors You will find seafood, steakhouse, asian food, full bars and dessert shops here. At night you can often find locals dancing,
and can even join them! Day 4. Let’s explore some of the best Portuguese legacies. First stop is the Coach museum which I think
is one of the hidden gems of Lisbon. They have the finest, historical coaches in
the world. This one right here was used by king Phillip
II of Portugal to travel 6 months from Spain to Portugal in 1619. I have never seen this many carriages ranging
from Royal coaches to a prisoner’s carriage in one place. You will find so many interesting carriages here. Pastel de Nata is a Portuguese style egg custard
tart and it is a must try when you’re in Lisbon. Since the museum was near the Pastel De Belem, it’s a historical pastel de nata store created by catholic monks in the 18th century. I’ll share my review of their egg custard
tarts in my upcoming video. Another historical vendor in Portugal is Taylor’s Port, one of the largest port wine houses, founded in 1692. We went there and tried their tasting menu. Here's the pros. They sell nice souvenirs, and the staff was
very knowledgeable about wines. Cons, their tasting menu was quite pricey. For a small glass, you need to pay 6 to 11 euros. So if you’ve been a Taylor’s Port fan,
it’ll be worth the visit. Finally it’s the last night in Lisbon. I suggest you go for a nice dinner and live
fado music. Fado is a genre of music that originated from Lisbon in 1800. It is known for melancholy and mournful tunes
and lyrics often about the sea and life of the poor. We went to a place called Fado do Carmo for
our fado experience. I can easily see myself coming back to this
venue next time I am in Lisbon. Their food was great. The ambiance was nice. And it was only 39 euros for a 3 course meal
and several sets of live music. I strongly recommend this venue. It will be worth every penny. Day 5 Lisbon’s been great. But maybe it’s time to explore the other side of the Tagus river, because there are a number of good reasons for that. First, to get there, you will finally get
to cross the golden-gate-looking bridge that you’ve been seeing all along in Lisbon. Secondly, you can visit the Sanctuary of Christ The King statue, which was inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue
of Rio in Brazil and get a panoramic view of Lisbon. Thirdly, you can have lunch at this popular restaurant called Ponto Final, which was featured in a netflix’s show “Somebody feed Phill”. And here’s something that the show wouldn’t
tell you but I will. The restaurant is actually located on the
bottom of a cliff. So you need to take a lot of stairs to get
there, and get out of there. That being said, I enjoyed
having the unobstructed view of Lisbon while indulging myself with fresh seafood. I ordered grilled sardines and I'd definitely recommend you try it. It is one of the authentic Portuguese foods, and it is tasty. One thing to note about this restaurant is that there’s usually you need to make a reservation in advance. Otherwise, you might have to wait for an hour or so. Our trip to Portugal actually didn’t end here. After lunch, we drove to Algarve, a southern
part of Portugal that boasts great beaches and stunning ocean caves. I will share all about my experience in Algarve
in my upcoming video. One thing I didn’t add to this 5-day itinerary
is my day trip to Sintra. I will also share my Sintra experience in a new video as well. A lot of new Portugal travel videos are coming
soon, so make sure to subscribe to this channel if you liked this video and want more of this. Please let me know in the comment below which
sightseeing looks most interesting to you. Thanks for watching. See you next week!
