If you've followed this blog for a while, you might remember that we spent a month in Lisbon in spring 2015, and we loved it. The laid back vibe, the gorgeous weather, the beautiful cobbled streets and quiet but friendly locals made our time there one that we've remembered very fondly. So when we were considering where to go after our recent trip to the US in order to get just a glimpse of sun before returning the endless Berlin winter, a direct flight from New York to Lisbon for a very reasonable price seemed like just the thing. Of course, we would've loved to take a connecting flight and continue on to the Azores, an archipelago of Portuguese islands, or over to Spain. Even with just 10 days, this Spain and Portugal itinerary will ensure you see the best sites.
We actually had very few aims for our time in Lisbon, and even though we spent more than a week in the city, we didn't do all that much…and that's just fine! Our main thing was to spend some time catching up on work, as the previous two weeks we'd taken completely off from working, while attending a wedding and travelling in Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York.
Another big reason to go back to Lisbon was to explore the recently expanded vegan scene and update my very popular guide to vegan Lisbon. When we first visited the Portuguese capital in 2015, there was only one fully vegan restaurant in town; less than three years later, there are almost a dozen!
When we weren't eating, we took some walks around neighbourhoods we had missed last time, including the lovely Cemiterio dos Prazeres. Call me a weirdo, but I really like exploring cemeteries, and this one was a wonderfully calm place to stroll around on a Sunday afternoon.
We also took a trip over the river Tagus to Cacilhas, technically not in Lisbon but only 10 minutes away by a ferry that forms part of the city's public transport network. Though hardly any tourists have made it over to the south side of the river, we were pretty sure that they soon will, with even lower prices than in Lisbon, great views of the city and some areas with pretty cool street art popping up.
Overall, I felt our time in Lisbon was well spent. I learnt that I actually quite enjoy returning to a place I know to see not only how it's changed since my last visit, but also the sense of familiarity (even if slightly distant) is quite comforting. It also reminded me of how much I enjoy travelling slowly, and that really is the way forward for me!
What city have you been back to recently that you once spent time in? How had in changed?
