Lisbon Travel Guide: What Locals Want You to Know

Picture this: a city built on seven hills overlooking the Tagus River, where sunshine graces your days about 300 times a year. That’s Lisbon - Portugal’s capital, and the city we call home.

We’re Francisco and Duarte, and we’ve been showing visitors around Lisbon since 2022. This guide covers everything we tell our guests before they arrive: which neighborhoods to explore, what to eat, and how to actually enjoy those famous seven hills without destroying your feet.

Lisbon’s Neighborhoods: Where to Go

Each district has its own personality. Here’s what you need to know:

Alfama - Where Lisbon Began

This is the city’s oldest neighborhood - a maze of narrow medieval streets that miraculously survived the devastating 1755 earthquake. You’ll find the cathedral here, the best viewpoints, and streets so narrow that the only way to see them properly is on foot or in something small like a tuk tuk. The hills here are brutal, but the views are worth it.

Baixa & Chiado - The Elegant Center

Baixa is the organized downtown, rebuilt with wide boulevards and grid patterns after the 1755 earthquake. Chiado, just uphill, is where poets and writers have gathered for centuries - Fernando Pessoa still has a statue sitting outside his favorite café. Together, these neighborhoods blend history and modern energy. Our Historic Heart tour covers both.

Belém - Where Explorers Set Sail

About 15 minutes from the center, Belém is where Portugal’s Age of Discovery comes alive. The monastery, the tower, the monument - they’re all here, along with the bakery that’s been making pastéis de nata since 1837. It’s a bit far to walk comfortably, which is why our Belém tour is popular with visitors who want the history without the hike.

Bairro Alto & Beyond

For nightlife, Bairro Alto is where locals go. For families, Parque das Nações has the Oceanarium and modern architecture. For locals’ favorite neighborhood, try Campo de Ourique - fewer tourists, excellent restaurants.

What to Eat in Lisbon

Being a coastal city, seafood is king here. Some essentials:

• Bacalhau - Codfish prepared in what locals claim are 365 different ways
• Pastéis de nata - Custard tarts invented by monks in Belém. The original bakery still uses the secret recipe
• Bifana - Pork sandwich that locals eat standing up at counters
• Ginjinha - Cherry liqueur served in tiny cups (or chocolate cups you eat afterward)

The Seven Hills Problem (and Solution)

Here’s what nobody tells you before you visit: Lisbon is exhausting to walk. Those seven hills look beautiful in photos, but after a few hours of climbing cobblestones, most visitors are ready to collapse.

Your options:

1. Walk anyway - Great exercise, but you’ll miss distant neighborhoods
2. Take Tram 28 - Iconic, but packed with tourists and pickpockets
3. Use rideshare - Cars can’t access the narrowest streets
4. Book a tuk tuk tour - See everything, skip the climbs, hear the stories

We’re biased, obviously, but our tours exist because we watched too many visitors struggling up hills when they could have been enjoying the views.

Lisbon’s 800-Year Story (Quick Version)

• Before 1147: Moors ruled for 400 years, leaving their mark on architecture and street names
• 1147: Portuguese reconquest begins
• 1400s-1500s: Portugal’s Golden Age of Discovery. Vasco da Gama sails to India from Belém
• 1755: Massive earthquake destroys most of the city
• Post-earthquake: The Marquis of Pombal rebuilds downtown with the organized grid you see today
• 1974: Peaceful Carnation Revolution brings democracy
• Today: One of Europe’s most visited cities, mixing history with modern energy

Each chapter of this story is written into the city’s stones. That’s what makes exploring Lisbon with a local guide so different from reading a guidebook.

Ready to Explore?

Whether you have 2 hours or a full day, we’d love to show you the Lisbon we know and love. Check our tours - from a quick Alfama introduction (1.5 hours, EUR 150) to the complete experience (4 hours, EUR 320).

Questions? WhatsApp us - we respond within hours, not days.