We’ve been to Lisbon more than once, and it still starts the same way: hills, cobblestones, and a view over red roofs you didn’t earn by sitting still.
The first time, late March 2022, it was the two of us. We wandered the old neighborhoods until the light went blue, looking out toward São Vicente de Fora from a rooftop, then down steep streets that feel more like stairs. One of us still had a mask hanging off a hand. That was just how travel looked then.
We went back in September 2025, this time with our daughter. A selfie in the terminal, 1:34 PM, Lisbon. We didn’t linger the way we had in 2022. From here we were heading to the Azores.
Lisbon is not a city you knock out with a checklist. You walk until your calves complain, you stop for a drink with a view, and you still have not seen half of it. Comfortable shoes are not a suggestion. We wrote the packing list separately.
If you are building a Portugal trip from here:
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