Lisbon is a rare breed of city: stylish but laid back, delicious yet affordable, full of history yet cozy and intimate. Sounds kinda perfect for a honeymoon, doesn’t it? Our biggest surprise with Lisbon was how it managed to remain so welcoming and authentic in the face of so much tourism. People are open and accessible, and if you show genuine interest, they will kindly and graciously open their doors. We were in Lisbon for six days, and in between photo sessions, we turned our cameras to the city and our personal experiences there. Those six days turned out to be the perfect amount of time to scratch beneath the surface and discover Lisbon’s eccentric and delightful little corners.
We stayed in a fabulous Airbnb rental in a part of the city called Castelo, which is an eclectic and interesting neighbourhood featuring a circus school with its own restaurant, a few great little coffee shops that inspire you to spend all day there writing your life memoirs while dunking your pastel de nata in your coffee, and of course, the São Jorge castle, the former home of the royals and from which the neigbourhood gets its name. From here we easily wandered the streets to the slightly more touristy neigbhourhood of São Tomé where we discovered our favourite coffee shop. Whenever we could, we’d hang out on their sunny patio and talk to Rita (a dancer) and Nuno (a photographer), the shop’s owners who managed to create a little hub for the neighbourhood’s artists and passing-by creatives.
São Tomé blends into the well-known neighbourhood of Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood that is now home to many of the city’s Fado bars and restaurants. Near the end of Rua do São Pedro we found a tiny local tavern serving ginjinha (a delicious sour cherry liquor) for just 0.90€ and Pasteis de Bacalhau (cod fish cakes) for a mere 0.70€. Ginjinha is something of a national drink, and you can find many kiosks throughout the city dedicated to selling a wide variety of this sweet liquor. As we were there in the winter, we were also lucky to have freshly roasted chestnuts offered by the many mobile vendors.
Eventually, we took a break from our full-time activity of street-snacking to discover some neighbourhoods on the other side of Lisbon, such as Principe Real, a more upscale neighbourhood housing some of the city’s most innovative boutiques on Rua Dom Pedro V. We were completely enchanted by Mauricio and his flower shop, En Nome Da Rosa and have since adopted the habit of buying fresh flowers while we are travelling…it really makes any temporary place feel more like home. Across the street is the Praça do Principe Real, featuring a restful little park with a few coffee kiosks and even a restaurant. A few minutes away, walking to the end of Rua Dom Pedro, we were greeted with a picture-perfect view of the city at the overlook of Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara. We stayed a while watching the sun set, our senses energized by the sights we’d seen, the delicious treats we’d tasted, but most of all, the people we’d met.
All photos by The Love Studio
Some more info on great places:
Chapitô Circus School & Bar (Rua Costa do Castelo 7, Castelo)
Marcelino Pão & Vinho (Rua do Salvador nº62, Alfama)
Pois, café (Rua São João da Praça nº93-95, Alfama)
Em Nome da Rosa (Rua Dom Pedro V nº97-99, Principe Real)