17 Things to Do in Lisbon I’d Actually Recommend (After a Week in the City)
If you have been Googling things to do in Lisbon, you have probably seen the same recommendations over and over again. Alfama, Tram 28, pastel de nata, repeat.
I wanted to know what was actually worth doing.
On my second trip to Lisbon, I spent a full week exploring the city properly, from food tours and tram rides to sunset drinks at miradouros and plenty of wandering in between.
Some places absolutely lived up to the hype. Others I would not rush back to.
So if you have limited time in Lisbon and want to spend it on the experiences that are genuinely worth it, these are the 17 things I would recommend first.
If you are still weighing up whether Lisbon is worth visiting at all, this list should settle it, and if you are deciding when to come, I would build the trip around the best time to visit Lisbon rather than the middle of summer.
If you are arriving from the north, the bus down was an easy call too, and I have written up exactly how I actually got from Porto to Lisbon.
1. Go on a Food Tour With Eating Europe
This was my third Eating Europe tour, and it’s the best possible introduction to a city you don’t know yet.
Our guide had lived in Lisbon for 10 years, was originally from Brazil, and kept our group of 11 talking and eating our way through spots I’d never have found alone.
Prices shift by season, so check current rates directly, and you can read my full review of the tour here before you book, but I’d do this again in a heartbeat!
If you already know you want in, you can book the same Eating Europe tour here directly.
⏱️ How long you need: About 3.5 hours, and go hungry.
2. Browse Feira da Ladra, Lisbon’s Oldest Market
Feira da Ladra has run since the 12th century, and the name translates to “thief’s market”, most likely because this is where stolen goods once changed hands.
It’s on every Tuesday and Saturday in Campo de Santa Clara, and I saw a warning before I went that stuck with me: don’t buy tiles that look prised straight off a building, since stolen azulejos are a real problem here.
I stuck to new mosaic ceramics instead and felt better about it.
3. Ride a Traditional Tram Through Alfama
If you only ride one tram in Lisbon, do it in Alfama, where the city’s oldest surviving line still climbs streets it has for over a century.
Lisbon’s trams started out horse-drawn in 1873 and were electrified by 1901, and most of the vintage yellow cars still running are “Remodelado” models built in the 1930s, kept in service because modern trams can’t manage Alfama’s tight corners.
This exact route is a known pickpocket spot, packed and slow-moving, so keep your bag zipped and in front of you.
I loved every clattering, uphill minute of it!
Alfama is also one of the best neighbourhoods in Lisbon to just wander on foot, and it is one of the areas where I have always felt safest walking around after dark, more on that in my breakdown of whether Lisbon is safe.
4. Eat as Many Pastéis de Nata as Possible
This is Portugal’s top dessert for a reason, and I will die on this hill!
Crunchy pastry outside, warm gooey custard inside, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top is completely normal, and now non-negotiable for me.
You’ll pass a bakery making them fresh every few steps, and I’ve named my actual favourite in lisbon restaurants.
5. Do a Pastel de Nata Workshop
I didn’t get to do this on my trip, but it’s top of my list for next time.
Real Bakery’s hands-on pastel de nata workshop lets you make your own from scratch, a far better souvenir than a fridge magnet.
6. Take a Day Trip to Costa da Caparica
When Lisbon’s heat gets too much, this is where locals go to cool off, about a 12 euro Uber ride one way.
We paid €40 for two sunbeds right at the front of Cocoa Beach Club, or around €30 further back, and ordered rum mojitos, sushi and salmon tartare that were all good!
It gets chaotic in high season, so book ahead if you’re coming June to September.
7. Try a Mosaic Making Class
Another one I missed but would genuinely book next time.
Lisbon is famous for its azulejo tiles, and there are workshops, like this tile design and painting class, where you design and glaze your own instead of buying a finished piece.
8. Wander Rossio Square
Officially Praça Dom Pedro IV, this is where I met my food tour guide, and it’s a great spot to start any day here.
The wave-patterned calçada portuguesa paving is some of the most photographed pavement in the country, and the square has a darker past too, it was once the site of public executions during the Portuguese Inquisition.
There’s a lovely ceramics shop nearby, Cerâmicas na Linha, where I picked up a small jug as a souvenir.
9. See the Horse Statue at Praça do Comércio
You can’t skip the waterfront, and this square is where everyone ends up.
The equestrian statue is King José I, erected in 1775 as part of the Marquês de Pombal’s rebuild of the city after the devastating 1755 earthquake, sculpted by Joaquim Machado de Castro.
Grab a coffee at one of the arcaded cafés and just sit with the view for a while.
BUT I wouldn’t eat at any of the restaurants around this area because they are super touristy.
10. Try Ginjinha in a Chocolate Cup (Ginginha da Dona Alice)
I stumbled across this by chance, a woman pouring ginjinha, Portugal’s traditional sour cherry liqueur, straight into a little chocolate cup from an open window.
The place name on Google maps is ‘Ginginha da Dona Alice’. She was tucked near the Alfama miradouros, close to Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol.
It cost around €1.50, and she was so warm about the whole thing that it became one of my favourite five minutes of the whole trip!
11. Catch the Sunset From a Miradouro
A miradouro is basically a viewing terrace, and Lisbon has them scattered across its hills.
I went to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, facing the castle across the valley, with a kiosk right there for a glass of wine while the city turned gold.
It gets genuinely chilly up there once the sun’s down, even in summer, so bring a light jacket, and Lisbon’s official sunset and viewpoint guide has more spots like it.
12. Walk Along the Águas Livres Aqueduct
This is one of the great feats of 18th-century Portuguese engineering, and most visitors never notice it.
Its tallest arches rise around 65 metres over the Alcântara valley, and it survived the 1755 earthquake almost completely intact while much of the city around it collapsed.
We walked it on a Sunday and got in free, which lines up with Lisbon’s museums running free entry on the first Sunday of the month, though it’s worth double-checking.
13. Have a Drink at a Rooftop Bar
Lisbon does rooftop bars properly, and my pick was Limão Rooftop Bar, right at the top of a hotel with sweeping views.
🍽️ What I ordered: An espresso martini and mushroom croquettes, and both were excellent!
Being half Dutch, I have strong feelings about croquettes, and these were good enough to be Dutch-approved.
If you’d rather just stay at the hotel this bar sits on top of, I’ve written about it in where to stay in lisbon.
14. Visit Fronteira Palace
This was one of my favourite things I did in the whole city.
The palace is still lived in by the family who own it, so you choose between an €8 gardens-only ticket or a guided tour inside, and I did the gardens, full of azulejo panels and topiary that felt completely private.
Portugal’s museums and monuments are worth visiting if that’s your thing.
⏱️ How long you need: An hour for the gardens alone but if I had more time and a good book I could easily spend an afternoon here.
15. Do a Kiosk Crawl
Lisbon’s quiosques, little kiosks selling wine, coffee and snacks, date back to the 19th century and nearly disappeared before a city programme revived them.
I ended up at these constantly, mostly just for a glass of wine and a catch-up with a friend.
Not flashy, but one of the most Lisbon things you can do with a spare hour!
16. Eat at a Local Tasca
A tasca is a small, family-run place that often skips a fixed menu entirely and just cooks whatever’s good that day.
My favourite was Talego, and I’ve written the full meal up properly in lisbon restaurants, the kind of spot where the queue outside tells you everything.
17. Take a Day Trip to Sintra
I didn’t make it to Sintra on this trip, and I’d rather tell you that honestly than pretend I did.
It’s a genuinely easy train ride from Rossio station, and I’ve put the distance, timing and the UNESCO history behind it into my 3 days in lisbon itinerary, since that’s where I’d actually slot this in.
If you’d rather skip the logistics entirely, the Sintra and Pena Palace tour takes care of pickup, timings and the palace entry for you.
This is the one thing I’d move mountains to do on my next trip!
