Lisbon, Portugal is likely one of the most colorful and beautiful cities we’ve visited! Every street you walk down is filled with painted tiles and colorful buildings. You could easily spend a few days just walking down the streets of the capital city of Portugal! Here is how to spend 48 hours in Lisbon, Portugal and see the most of this beautiful city!
Getting to and From the Airport
We took Ubers both to and from the airport in Lisbon. It was very easy to request even when we landed later at night. It was a little hard to find the pickup location at the airport as Ubers have a set spot. To go from the airport to where we were staying close to Alfama it cost about 8 Euros. There also were plenty of taxis waiting but the line of people waiting for a taxi was incredibly long.
Is 2 Days Enough in Lisbon?
We had 2 full days in Lisbon, Portugal and while it was a bit quick, we feel like we got a really good feel for the city before leaving. We would say the perfect amount is maybe 3 days so you have a bit more flexibility. But you really can see so much of this beautiful place in a short amount of time!
We spent 3 nights arriving late on the first night which meant that we could wake up the next morning and get started right away! Then we had two full days to explore and then we left the following morning.
- In general we found Lisbon to be so walkable! We walked almost everywhere constantly walking down beautiful streets. It is a very hilly city though! So make sure you wear comfortable shoes and prepare for a hike up every now and then!
Day 1: Explore Alfama & Miradouros
We took this first day to explore the city by foot. Start by walking through the Arco de La Rua Augusta, an impressive archway leading to Praca do Comercio and the coast. The yellow of the building and the detail of the arch make it pretty impressive! You can actually go to the top and see the view from above for about 3 Euros each if you want a different perspective. Walk through the archway into the square and you’ll hit the coast. In the distance you see Ponte 25 de Abril which closely resembles the Golden Gate Bridge in California.
- In the Praca do Comercio square we were approached a few different times by people trying to sell us drugs. At first we were so completely surprised. After looking it up online we discovered drugs are decriminalized for personal use in Portugal so it’s common for this type of thing to happen, although drug trafficking is very much still illegal. Just be prepared if you’re not used to it!
You should definitely venture over to the Alfama neighborhood which is the charming old section. If you’re like us, it might take a little longer to get there because of all the stops to take pictures. Seriously we couldn’t get over all the tiled buildings! There are many restaurants and cafes in this area but there are also many tourists.
Throughout the city of Lisbon you will find countless miradouros or viewpoints. This city is beautiful on its own but because of its location along the coast you get views of both the city and the sea. There are so many different viewpoints you can go to so we made a list of the tops ones we wanted to visit or you can just wander and see which ones you stumble upon.
Miradouro de Santa Luzia gives you the best of both worlds with beautiful blue tiles, terracotta roofs and the ocean in the distance. We went in the late afternoon and it was fairly crowded. We had to wait a little in order to take a picture without a ton of people in it. Theres a small park around it so theres a bit of room to spread out and still enjoy the area. If you’re visiting in summer though it definitely can get hot so bring water!
Just 5 minutes up the road is Miradouro das Portas do Sol. This one is a patio that overlooks the city but allows you better views of some of the beautiful buildings in the distance. The best view is from the one corner of the patio so you might have to wait a few minutes to get the picture you want.
- Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Miradouro das Portas do Sol are essentially right next to each other so they are very easy to do in the same afternoon. We didn’t stay that long but both of these would be great places to try to watch the sunset!
- Another one to check out if you have extra time is Miadouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara.
We actually walked back at sunset to Praca do Comercio to the water to watch the sunset and eat dinner. We grabbed pizza and a pastel de nata, a Portuguese pastry filled with custard, for a quick and cheap picnic dinner and it was so comfortable to eat near the water. There were other people who had the same idea as the sun made the sky soft shades of yellow and pink.
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Day 2: Castelo de S. Jorge & Bairro Alto
The view from our hostel window looked up to the walls of Castelo de S. Jorge. We kept seeing it throughout our first day and couldn’t stop thinking about it especially because there are so many impressive castles in Portugal. So we spent part of day 2 exploring the inside!
We are not usually ones to pay expensive entrance fees to things. It cost 10 Euros per person to go into this castle and for us that was a lot. Students (under 25) get in for 5 Euros so if that’s you definitely take advantage but make sure you have some ID for proof of age.
To get to the entrance we had a little trouble. Our maps app was telling us to go one way but it wasn’t actually the entrance. Make sure to put Arco de Castelo in your phone so you’re not walking around aimlessly like we did. Although we weren’t too upset because the streets in Lisbon are all so cool!
There are numerous lookout spots throughout the castle as well as a staircase going down that all give you incredible views. You can get some really beautiful pictures of the views combined with the castle walls. We both took way too many pictures!
- We spent way more time exploring the castle than we thought we would. It’s actually quite large so there is plenty to see! After about 2 ½ hours we started making our way out to leave.
- It is also pretty spread out so it didn’t feel too crowded even in August. We were worried there would be no shade but there was plenty. As well we had no problem bringing in water, snacks, and even our camera tripod.
We both really enjoyed Castelo de S. Jorge and would definitely recommend visiting it if you’re in Lisbon! It’s very centrally located so you can walk to the entrance and could easily spend a few hours exploring. There are so many really good photo spots so definitely bring your camera.
- The staircase going down on one side of the castle is a really good photo spot! While many people stop at the top to take pictures, very few people walk down to the bottom. We walked down and saw only 2 or 3 other people!
Travel Truth: Online we read the castle closes at 6:00 PM, however, when we got there we saw otherwise. In the summer months it is open until 9:00 PM and we both agreed that it would be a great place to visit at sunset when it’s significantly cooler out!
We always like to explore more than one neighborhood when visiting a new city to see how each area is a little different. So after Castelo de S. Jorge we walked over to Bairro Alto. Bairro Alto borders Alfama and is another well known neighborhood in Lisbon.
This part of the city is known for having the most bars and restaurants so make your way over there later in the day for a drink or dinner. There were so many restaurants, both inexpensive and nicer expensive options, that had outside tables and many people eating and enjoying.
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Other Things to do in Lisbon
If you have more than two days in Lisbon there is still plenty that you can do. A day trip to nearby Sintra is a very popular option. It’s about 30-40 minutes away and there are many beautiful castles there that you can tour.
- After doing our own research, we decided against a day trip to Sintra. Transportation costs combined with admission tickets inside one of the castles was going to be about $40 USD and for us that was a lot. It also was going to take almost one full day out of our two days and we wanted to explore more of the city of Lisbon.
If we had an extra day we would have taken the train over to Santo Amaro de Oeiras Beach which is one of the most popular beaches in Lisbon. It’s a bit farther out from the city in order to truly be on the ocean but has really good reviews!
