Lisbon, or Lisboa in Portuguese, is everything you could possibly want in a city trip. On the second leg of our Portugal trip, we drove back to Lisbon from The Algarve for three days in the “San Francisco” of Europe…and it really is!

My sister splurged and booked The Ritz! After doing some research, we learned that they serve a world class brunch on Sundays…so we reserved a spot outside on their amazing terrace. It is pricey but you will never forget this dining experience!

From the top of The Ritz

While in Albufeira, we kept hearing about this iconic place to get the typical Lisbon sweet, Belem, and knew we had to venture out to see what the fuss was about. To save time, we took a cab (our cab fare was maybe 10 euros) to the cafe instead of public transportation.  After waiting in line for several minutes and ordering in the style of the soup kitchen episode of Seinfeld, we settled down for a tasty, sweet treat! Do not miss this opportunity to sample a bit of Portuguese history.

Luckily, my sister shares my dislike for formal tour groups so we decided to see the city via the number 12 line trolley! You can get on the trolley at Praca de Figuiera and enjoy the main sites of the city. There is one that comes every 20 minutes so you can hop off any stop when you find a square that you like!

Upon arriving in Lisboa, we were told it is an exciting week for the city. Naturally, our intrigue ran high wondering what we stumbled upon! And then we heard…

 Sardine week. The entire city was alive with parades, decorations and stages all in celebration of Saint Anthony and the fish which this city is so famously known.

 This trolley takes you up to where the castle and yet another spectacular view of the city can be found. Several trolley lines, most famous is line 28, can take you up these steep hills. However, we decided to walk it!

Walking to Sao Jorge Castle

Castle Hill

Later that evening, we drank in a gorgeous sunset from the top of Bairro Alto Hotel. Be prepared to get there before the sun begins to set or you will not be able to sit down. Luckily, we had a lovely gentleman from England invite us to join him so we would not miss one of God’s masterpieces.

All in all, three days is not enough for this city!! I would recommend at least a week to see and do everything this city has to offer.