![\"\"](\"http:\/\/suitcasejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/PortEsp484.jpg\" "\\"Lisbon,")
<\/a><\/p>\nCity.<\/strong>\u00a0 Lisbon, Portugal<\/p>\n When?\u00a0<\/strong> Monday, Sept 3 – Thursday, Sept 6 (3 nights).\u00a0 While I think this was long enough, I wish we could have stayed one more night – to enjoy more food, not feel as rushed in Sintra and Bel\u00e9m, and to visit attractions that we didn’t have time for.<\/p>\n Where?<\/strong> We stayed at the Orange 3 House<\/a> in the Chiado\/Bairro Alto neighborhood area.\u00a0 It was 105 euros per night and included breakfast.\u00a0 We stayed in the top floor room (which we would do again!), but you can save 10 euros a night by staying in the first or second floor room instead.\u00a0 This B&B only has 3 roooms, and is staffed from about 8am-5pm (but they were able to accomodate other schedules).\u00a0 We absolutely loved it and will definitely want to stay here the next time we visit!\u00a0 If all of the rooms happened to be booked, we would want to stay in the same neighborhood (great night life, close to restaurants, close to areas of interest).<\/p>\n Transportation.<\/strong>\u00a0 We arrived and left from the Lisbon airport.\u00a0 We stood in line for a taxi at the airport, but on the way back to the airport we opted to have our hotel arrange a pick-up for us (despite the 2 euro surcharge, the taxi ride was much cheaper on the way back and he picked us up very close to our hotel).\u00a0 We purchased a three-day Lisboa card (more on that in a separate post), which included free transportation.\u00a0 We took advantage of the metro, train, buses, funiculars, and cable cars.\u00a0 Overall they were easy to use and convenient!<\/p>\n Food.<\/strong>\u00a0 Lisbon has a lot of seafood, including a lot of bacalhau (salt cod) dishes.\u00a0 Both Ryan and I agree that are favorite meal, based on the food only, was at Sea Me<\/a>, where we were spoiled with delicious seafood (although no bacalhau).\u00a0 The traditional Portuguese dish with bacalhau or another type of seafood (we tried both octopus and calamari this way) with potatoes, garlic and oil was always fantastic.\u00a0 Overall, the seafood was better than expected and the chocolate cake paired with Port was the perfect indulgence to end our meal each night.\u00a0<\/p>\n Day Trips.<\/strong> We took a day trip to Sintra\u00a0upon arriving in Lisbon.\u00a0 It’s about a 40 minute train ride from Lisbon to Sintra and definitely worth it.\u00a0\u00a0I was worried that with less than three full days in Lisbon we would miss out by going to Sintra, but this wasn’t the case at all.\u00a0\u00a0The next time we’re in Lisbon, we plan on spending time in Sintra to see the sites we didn’t have time for, and spend more time exploring some of the already-visited sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n Attractions.<\/strong>\u00a0 There was a lot to do and see in Lisbon.\u00a0 As mentioned above, we spent a day in Sintra.\u00a0 We also spent part of one day in Bel\u00e9m, which has several interesting attractions, including the Monestary and National Coach Museum.\u00a0 One of the best (and cheapest!) activities is to explore the very walkable neighborhoods in the heart of Lisbon.\u00a0 And finally, Fado is absolutely amazing and a must-see when visiting Lisbon!\u00a0 Ask for recommendations to make sure you find a restaurant with traditional food and an intimate setting.<\/p>\n Language Barrier.<\/strong>\u00a0 No issues with speaking English the entire time.\u00a0 Neither I nor Ryan knew one word of Portuguese, so it was comforting to find that everything I’ve heard was correct – the Portuguese (at least in the Lisbon area) speak English extremely well.<\/p>\n Cost.\u00a0<\/strong> Prior to arriving in Lisbon, I had heard and read that Portugal is surprisingly affordable.\u00a0 I agree that it is somewhat affordable – our hotel was amazing and much cheaper than we might expect to spend elsewhere in Europe – but we had no problem\u00a0stumbling upon expensive restaurants.\u00a0 Our cheapest meal was lunch in the Bairro Alto neighborhood, but even that wasn’t\u00a0notably cheap.\u00a0 I believe the statement “Portugal is cheap” is more true in smaller cities than it is in Lisbon.<\/p>\n Advice.\u00a0<\/strong> Based on our limited exploration of the city, we found that the Bairro Alto\/Chiado is the best area to stay.\u00a0 It was lively after dark and conveniently located close to everywhere we wanted to be.\u00a0 If not in the Bairro Alto\/Chiado, the Baixa and the Alfama (which seemed to be the least touristy, but apparently can be a bit “seedy” at night) are great options for staying in the heart of Lisbon.\u00a0 Also, as mentioned above, make sure to experience Fado.\u00a0 We absolutely loved the restaurant we went to, Guarda-Mor<\/a>, which has Fado on Wednesday nights.<\/p>\n Closing comment.<\/strong>\u00a0 We enjoyed our visit to Lisbon so much that we’re determined to plan a longer trip to Portugal in the future.\u00a0 Everyone we met and talked to was so friendly, the food was delicious, the town was beautiful, and there was so much to do and see.\u00a0 On our next trip, it would be great to spend some time in cities other than Lisbon to become better acquainted with Portugal!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before getting into some of the details about our trip, we decided to start each recap off with a quick overview of the city.\u00a0 First up: Lisbon! City.\u00a0 Lisbon, Portugal When?\u00a0 Monday, Sept 3 – Thursday, Sept 6 (3 nights).\u00a0 … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n