Portugal Travel Guide: Where to Eat And Things To Do

Y’all. I can’t believe it’s been almost FOUR months since my trip to Portugal and Morocco. Talk about trip of a lifetime! I got to travel with my favorite travel buddy – my mom – and we went to Lisbon, Marrakech, and the Algarve, which is on the southern coast of Portugal. In case you missed it, you can find my Marrakech travel guide here. But today, I’m sharing a Portugal travel guide covering the two areas we visited and all the fabulous things we did and ate.

For our trip, we went to Lisbon – which has an old-timey city feel (similar to Barcelona), and the Algarve – which is more like a beach town. While Lagos – the town we stayed at in the Algarve – was lovely, I wish we had done the Douro Valley instead which is Portugal’s wine country. And not to be confused with Porto which is specifically where Port comes from. We met a couple of travelers who raved about Douro and showed us some incredible pictures. That said, the wine bars in Lisbon aren’t half bad either …

Anyway, I think this will be easiest to go by city since the activities vary widely by region, of course.

Portugal Travel Guide: Lisbon Eats

Let me start by saying I’m a big fan of all things seafood – give me ceviche and tinned fish any day. I’m here for it. So, eating in Lisbon was such a fun experience for me, but you certainly can find more mainstream options if that’s your thing.

A Cevicheria

A Cevicheria was recommended in Lake Shore Lady’s Portugal travel guide and it was the only place I told my mom I really wanted to go to. It did not disappoint. It was the second-best meal of the trip, and the best in Lisbon. As the name would suggest, the food focused on creative ceviche dishes. My top picks were the Portuguese ceviche and the tuna ceviche with beetroot. Other great choices – the tartare beef tacos and the king crab causa.

Ramiro

The same travelers who shared their Douro Valley pics also urged us to hit Ramiro on our second night in Lisbon – and in turn, they went to A Cevicheria! Ramiro has incredible seafood of all kinds, but the real highlight for us, was ordering – and loving – barnacles! I can’t even really describe them except that they were salty and delicious!

Here’s the catch with both A Cevicheria and Ramiro– neither take reservations and both have incredibly long lines. Remember, in Europe their eating times are later, so we went to A Cevicheria around 3:30 and had to wait an hour plus. And at Ramiro we got there around 5:30 – 6 to avoid the rush and still waited almost two hours. In both cases, it was well worth it! Ramiro’s ticketing system is a little confusing until you see the automated box on the right wall next to the front door where you can pick your language and get a number. And both places will serve drinks while you wait, so not bad at all!

Pastel de Nata

I have never seen an entire country with a sweet tooth quite like Portugal. Pastel de Nata (a food, not a restaurant) is the pastry of choice and you can find them almost anywhere for a Euro. The best way I can describe it is a flaky dough bowl baked with an eggy custard inside. The original pastel de nata can be found in Belém which is a 20-ish-minute drive from the heart of Lisbon. We ended up finding one much closer to our apartment – actually, right across the street – at Manteigaria in the Barrio Alto.

Portugal Travel Guide: Lisbon Activities

We were sad to have such a short amount of time in the city itself, but we made good use of our time! We wound up booking a small-group tour through Lisbon Riders which lasted all day and covered a ton of ground. First, we drove out to Pena Palace which is where Portugal’s last monarchy did their summer vacations. It’s a micro-climate, so the temps are much cooler and the plant life is incredible. Plus, the palace itself is crazy beautiful!

We took a break for lunch in the town of Sintra where we were introduced to more popular sweets and had a quick meal. From there, we went to a beach town called Cascais (pronounced cash-kay-sh) and stopped for ice cream and wandered to the water. The bus made a couple other scenic breaks too.

That night, we took a long walk to see some of the squares and architecture. We also went in search of fado – traditional Portuguese folk music and found it, but between exhaustion and a packed restaurant, we listened to a song or two outside and headed home.

On our last morning in town, we woke up early to go in search of the “pink street.” It’s exactly as one would imagine except filthy dirty from all the foot traffic and not even worth a picture. Sad face.

Portugal Travel Guide: Lagos Eats

Moving on to Lagos …

Avenida Lagos

Okay – the Algarve wasn’t wildly impressive to me with the one major exception of this restaurant. We had bread with homemade herbed butters, beef carpaccio, more ceviche, scallops, and a steak! Very seafood forward again, but with an upscale / innovative take. Make a reservation early for this one! Sadly, no mouthwatering food pics because the restaurant was pretty dark!

Other Lagos Dining

I say “other” because there are dozens of random cafes in the neighborhood streets right by the main square. Some are better than others. One we really liked – both mom and I had steak when we needed a break from seafood. Another we really didn’t and even left food on our plates. Unfortunately, all the spots tend to blend together – I’d suggest asking a local for a good spot!

Portugal Travel Guide: Lagos Activities

This was our most active part of our vacation – which is always right up my alley – give me a good hike any day! The first day we were in town, we drove all along the coast stopping in a number of small towns. Our first more significant stop was in Sagres to a school built in the 15^th century to teach navigation. Not much was left of it, but it was a pretty walk along the coast!

After that, we got to the real hiking in Rota Vicentina. Not too strenuous, but gorgeous views that take you from the tops of the cliffs to the shore.

The next day, we did a boat ride with Blue Fleet Tours. The water was freezing, but the tour guides encouraged us to jump in – even if just for a second or two. I stayed in for about 10 seconds and there was plenty of profanity.

On our way out of town, we drove to another town called Monchique and simply drove to the top of Mount Fóia for some spectacular views.

 

So, there you have it. Have you been to Portugal before? If so, what was your favorite part? Tell me in the comments!