Time for a throwback! In May I visited Lisbon for the first time. As promised, here are some of my favorite pictures of  Lisbon’s unique and edgy architecture (tiles, tiles, tiles!) alongside with some recommendations where to go.
Click through the gallery above to look at my favorite pictures.

As I told you before, Lisbon had me from the first moments on. We landed early in the afternoon and had to travel some minutes into the city by bus to reach our airbnb apartment, which was downtown. As expected, we kind of got lost in the narrow street system of Lisboa. But our host was also late. So after one hour waiting in front of the house and fighting off very friendly neighbors, who wanted to offer us coffee more than two times, we finally got rid of our baggage and headed to the nearest supermarket for some groceries. Groceries –  meaning some vegetables and a lot of those sweet pastries they sell EVERYWHERE.

The next days we spent our time discovering the city. And eating natas.  We went to all the tourist places at first but then just let ourselves drift through the city, which is my favorite part of traveling.

A must do

Visiting the best coffee shop in town: Fabrica Coffee. Of course third wave!
We were impressed by their espresso roast, which was soft and fruity with a little bit of white chocolaty taste. Yummy. Also we had a Chemex brewed Ethiopian filter coffee. It hit us with a very floral taste, more like lavender. Pure heaven and perfectly brewed. Definitely a surprise!

Surprised us

A botanical garden in the Principe Real district. Could have spent hours just sitting on that quite bench and watching blue sky through green leaves. We passed it by accident and couldn’t resist. There is also a butterfly garden, where visitors can move in midst of hundreds of butterflies. Very peaceful and quite place if you want to escape the city for a while.

Best seafood

As mentioned before, our host was two hours late for letting us into the apartment. Lisboa traffic, he told us.  But he gave us a great hint concerning seafood. Just around the corner is one of the best seafood restaurants I have ever visited. People were gathering in a queue in front of the entrance to get a table. Inside, the different rooms were packed! There were also very long tables, where you would sit with complete strangers, which cerated a very nice atmosphere. As complete seafood newbies we didn’t even know how to eat most of the dishes, but after a few glimpses left and right, we quickly adapted to the situation. It was great. And the bread, oh my, …

Best view

Of course we visited the St. George’s Castle up on the hill, where you can have a fabulous panoramic look at the city and the harbor. If you want to get good snaps, you definitely have to go there.

Impressed by…

The biggest elevator I have ever seen near Rossi. It was built around 1901 to connect the upper part of the city with the lower parts. It belongs to Lisboa’s public transport net. Quite spooky but very impressive and beautiful.

Disappointing

The harbor was definitely the most disappointing spot we discovered. Maybe there are some areas, where you can get access to the water more easily, but as we experienced it, you always have to walk along a very noisy road for a while before crossing some rails to get a moment of sitting at the harbor front. Naaaah, I didn’t like it.

I think for a short trip, we managed to get a very good impression of the city. Definitely have to come back some time again. There is so much left to see…!