Lisbon, where to begin.

If you’re planning a couple of days in Lisbon, there’s one thing you need to know before you book a single restaurant reservation: Lisbon is famously called the “City of Seven Hills” because its historic center is draped across seven elevations overlooking the Tagus River. That’s the postcard version.

Here’s the real version.

You find an amazing spot for lunch. You pull out your phone, punch it into the map app, and it cheerfully tells you it’s 15 minutes away. What the map conveniently leaves out is that those 15 minutes are almost entirely vertical. That stroll becomes a 30-minute hike, and somewhere around minute 22, calves burning, you start doing quiet math on whether lunch is really worth it.

It is. Every single time. But you will earn it.

So pack comfortable shoes. You’ve essentially booked a week at a stair-climbing gym with significantly better views. This city is a genuine leg burner, and it does not apologize for it.

That said, tucked into those brutal hills is some of the most rewarding travel Lisbon has to offer. Here’s exactly how we spent our time there.

Where We Stayed in Lisbon

The drive from Lagos took a breezy three hours. Once in town, we dropped our bags at 54 São Paulo Exclusive Apartment Hotel.

Here’s where I’ll go ahead and give you an actual, no-strings recommendation: book this place if you’re traveling with a group.

The apartment-hotel format is the entire reason it worked so well for the four of us. We had two full bedrooms and two full bathrooms, plus a proper living area and kitchenette. After a long travel day, having your own space to spread out, unpack, and not trip over someone else’s suitcase makes a bigger difference than you’d expect.

It’s tucked into the Bica neighborhood: a few minutes from the Time Out Market, a 10-minute walk from Chiado, and 15 minutes from Baixa and Rossio. Close enough to everything, far enough to skip the noise tax of staying right in the thick of it. We slept well every night, which — after a full day of climbing Lisbon’s hills — you will absolutely need.

If you’re two couples, a family, or just want more room than a standard hotel gives you, this is the move.

Afterward, the four of us returned the rental car together and walked back. It was a brutally hot afternoon by Lisbon standards, and let’s just say a couple of us had a rough time of it.

No names. We know who we are.

Day 1 in Lisbon: A Grand Square The Best Lunch Experience of My Life

The next day was shopping, sightseeing, and, hands down, the most romantic, delicious lunch I’ve ever had in my life.

A Morning at Praça do Comércio

We started the morning with a quick visit to Praça do Comércio, Lisbon’s grand waterfront square and one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Rebuilt after the devastating 1755 earthquake, the square is framed by elegant yellow buildings and opens directly onto the Tagus River. Once the site of Portugal’s royal palace, it’s now a lively gathering place where visitors can admire the towering Arco da Rua Augusta, watch ferries glide across the water, and soak in some of the best views in the city.

From there, we made our way to lunch on foot, which in Lisbon is really just a polite way of saying “on foot, uphill, with regrets.”

Lunch at Estaminé Art Food Drink

My neighbor had recommended a little bistro run by a husband and wife called Estaminé Art Food Drink, tucked away on Calçada do Monte in the São Vicente neighborhood. Here’s the thing: the entire place is two tables. Two. Founded in the mid-2010s, Estaminé started as a spot where Joice and Luís combined their love of art and homemade food, and it has since built a genuine cult following. Regulars don’t just visit once; people come back every time they’re in Lisbon, and reservations often book out weeks or even months in advance. We got lucky.

The moment you walk in, it’s clear this isn’t a restaurant in any traditional sense. It’s their kitchen. The walls are hung with Luís’s own ceramics, watercolors, and photography, so you’re essentially eating inside a tiny gallery while Joice and Luís cook a few feet away, chatting with you the entire time.

Joice and Luís welcomed us into their space so warmly, and the lunch felt so intimate, that they made us feel like family within minutes. From the appetizer to the shared plates to the wine and cocktails, nothing was out of place — not the food, not the conversation, not the general feeling that we’d stumbled into something we didn’t quite deserve. Everything is made to order, which is part of why there’s zero rush to any of it. You’re not just fed here. You’re hosted.

Honestly, as we hugged and said our goodbyes, I felt a wave of pure love and joy that got me a little emotional. On the inside. Obviously.

This is an experience I will hold onto forever, and I will recommend it as an absolute MUST DO if you ever find yourself in Lisbon.

One note if you want to go: book as far ahead as humanly possible. With only two tables in the entire restaurant, this is not a walk-in-and-hope-for-the-best kind of place. Some travelers report booking three months out just to snag a table on their dates.

Secret Garden: The Highest Bar in Lisbon

After lunch, we walked roughly 50 meters. Up, naturally, because this is Lisbon and nothing is allowed to be flat. Our destination was Secret Garden, and the vibe there is hard to pin down — somewhere between reggae and the Grateful Dead, with a view that makes the climb feel like a fair trade.

It also happens to be the highest point in all of Lisbon, which retroactively justifies every single step it took to get there.

We had a cocktail, snapped a few photos, then convinced Maurisa to take a one-way Tuk Tuk down the hill so the ladies could shop.

Side note: Maurisa and Briana shopped. David and I got a t-shirt — two for me, one for David.

Three t-shirts. Between the four of us. This became the running joke of the entire trip, referenced approximately every four hours until we flew home.

Embaixada Concept Gallery

We also stopped at Embaixada, a concept gallery housed inside a 19th-century neo-Arab palace in the trendy Príncipe Real neighborhood. Even if shopping isn’t your thing, it’s worth wandering through for the building alone — it looks like it was designed by someone who’d never once heard the word “budget.”

Day 3: Belém Tower and One Hard Lesson

On our last full day in Lisbon we had timed entry at 9:45am for Belém Tower, officially the Tower of St. Vincent and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From there, we walked upriver to the Monument to the Discoveries, which commemorates the Age of Exploration. We skipped going inside, but standing beneath those towering sculptures was impressive enough on its own.

We paused for a mid-day sangria on the riverside — highly, highly recommend — before heading to our timed entry at Jerónimos Monastery.

And here’s where I have to be honest with you.

This was the one genuinely disappointing stretch of our entire two-week trip. Our timed entry was 11:30. It took over an hour to actually get inside. We spent that hour standing in blazing sun with zero shade, slowly turning into rotisserie chicken.

Apparently “timed entry” just means “the time you start waiting.”

So I’ll say it plainly. This one is a big PASS.

Recovering in Chiado

We grabbed an Uber to Chiado so Maurisa and Briana could squeeze in one more round of shopping and the rest of us could finally, mercifully, eat something.

We landed at Café A Brasileira, one of Portugal’s oldest and most famous cafés, dating back to 1906. The food was fine, the drinks were good, and it runs a little pricey — but you’re paying partly for the history, and partly for the privilege of sitting somewhere with that much old-world atmosphere.

Is Lisbon Worth a Few Days?

Even without a single day trip outside the city, Lisbon on its own easily fills a couple of days between the neighborhoods, the food, and, yes, the hills. If you want to add Cascais, Sintra, or more time wandering Alfama, build in extra days for those.

Lisbon makes you work for it. Every great view, every incredible meal, every hidden bar seems to sit at the top of something.

But that’s sort of the point, isn’t it? The best stuff usually is.

Pack the comfortable shoes. Book the tiny bistro. Take the Tuk Tuk when your legs finally give out. And maybe, just maybe, skip Jerónimos.