Lisbon to Nazare in the Winter

The second day I had to clock in and work, so I spent most of my morning in the hostel's common area. Upon landing I had met a girl from my flight who was a local and she had some friends she was visiting. We ended up hanging out most of the week together which was cool.

My friend invited me to go to LX Factory, which is an old complex tucked right under the 25 de Abril bridge. It's converted into shops and bars with murals everywhere you look. It was raining during my time in Lisbon so the cobblestone was slippery, but nothing could put a dark cloud over the colorful streets. There was a mural or some sort of art piece every corner you turned.

Ler Devagar is a popular bookstore inside, there are two floors of books stacked to the ceiling in an old print hall with a bicycle hanging in the middle of the room. Right after that we found the poster shop full of trinkets and neon lights. We spent till dusk there and stumbled upon the main tunnel. It's a passage covered in murals with neon squiggles hanging from the ceiling. We all ended up having a photo shoot there and then ubered back to our Airbnbs.

Later at night I went to a fado place named Solido right below Bairro Alto, and it's TINY. Downstairs is just the kitchen with no seating at all, so you go up the stairs and through a curtain into one little room with stone walls, so tight you're basically sitting on the performers. Two guys and a woman singing traditional fado, right there. They sit you next to strangers, which sounds awkward and is actually half the fun, so I had a red wine in hand and new tablemates for the night.

The third day I had to clock in for work again. I walked to a cafe to pick up a juice and some food, then worked from the hostel for about an hour. After that I checked out and moved into my Airbnb in Graça, right next to the colorful mural stairs, so I spent the afternoon getting settled in the new neighborhood.

Lisbon is all hills and cobblestones so wear real shoes, my calves were definitely feeling it by day three. Graça is up high too, so every walk home ends with a climb.

In the evening I grabbed food with a friend I'd made when I first got to Lisbon, at a Brazilian spot in Chiado. I got rice and black beans with farofa, a big plate of meat and a cold beer on the side. Lisbon has a huge Brazilian community so if you love that food like I do you'll be happy here.

After dinner we walked maybe 5 to 10 minutes to TOPO Martim Moniz, a rooftop bar with not so scenic views since it was pouring rain. It had an outdoor section up top and an indoor section, and inside there was a vending machine selling cigarettes right next to the tables, which was so random.

If it's cold out I'd pick a rooftop that has an inside part too. You get your view outside and then you can go in and warm up with your drink, which in January is exactly what you want. Chiado and Baixa at night are so nice to walk through. The old buildings are all lit up warm and the streets were still a little wet from the rain.

Day four ended up being my favorite day of the trip, and it started on the stairs right outside my door.

My Airbnb was right next to the Caracol da Graça, which is a staircase painted top to bottom with giant faces and flowers. The area turned out to be Mouraria and there was Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian food on every corner, which I did not expect in Lisbon. It's a lot of climbing but every time I stopped to catch my breath I'd turn around and see rooftops all the way down to the river, with blue and white tiles on the walls and laundry hanging off the balconies.

I stopped for lunch at Yak and Yeti and had a plate of momo's and chicken biryani to go, then kept climbing. I ducked into an antique shop full of porcelain dogs and old plates, and when I came out the white dome of the Panteão Nacional was right there over the neighborhood.

Then I went to the Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora, which I did not plan at all and LOVED, it's stunning. I even bought a beautiful necklace there. The cloisters are long white arched halls with blue tiles along every wall, and there's a sacristy with a painted gold ceiling. There's also a long hall full of huge stone tombs which was a little creepy and very quiet. Then you climb the stairs to the roof and you can see the whole city, Alfama going down to the water and the Pantheon dome right in front of you with the river behind it.

After that I headed home and picked up dinner from a random spot on my way and stayed in for the night watching Netflix, and decompressing from the work day.

This was supposed to be my Nazaré day but I slept right through my alarm. I pushed Nazaré to the next day and went down to the river for the rest of the afternoon. It was grey out but it didn't stop the New Yorker in me from walking.

MAAT is the art museum on the river and it's two buildings side by side. The old one is Central Tejo, a brick power station that's now a museum about electricity. It's two or three floors of giant machines, boilers and pipes and how the power for the city (and the trains) actually got made. One furnace room is lit up glowing red which was cool. The new building is a smooth white wave with a roof you can walk right up and over.

From the top you can see the 25 de Abril bridge and the Cristo Rei statue across the water, a little hazy that day but still a great view. Inside there was a whole wall of colorful word paintings and a room of white neon scribbles hanging from the ceiling. I'd give it a whole afternoon, not an hour, and check what's on before you go because the shows rotate.

When it got dark I walked all the way back along the river in a light drizzle, past Doca de Santo Amaro, the marina tucked under the bridge with all the boats lined up. It was so scenic and it reminded me of walking by the Hudson River back in New York.

Living next to water is my favorite thing in the world and that walk made me want it even more. If you only do one walk in Lisbon I'd do this one, even in the rain. It also might be the flattest walk you take, haha!

I was freezing and wet so I went to pick up some ramen from a spot in the center, then I headed home in a uber once my toes warmed up.

Second try at Nazaré and this time I actually woke up. I was out the door in the dark in my black coat and took the bus north, and it was pouring rain with thunder the whole way there. A umbrella cannot save you under these conditions.

When I got there I had zero cell service. I'd bring cash, water and snacks because once you're in town you can't really look anything up or pay with your phone. It was freezing! The beach was all fog with tractors parked on the sand and the black and white wavy sidewalk running along the promenade. The old wooden fishing boats sit right on Praia da Nazaré, painted green and blue, and the waves were so loud I could hear them before I even saw them. It was worth it, but I definitely wish I brought more layers.

I skipped the funicular and walked up through the back streets, where every house has a tiled saint over the door next to the number, and then a LOT of stairs. At the top is the Sítio da Nazaré, the old town on the cliff. There's a wooden swing at the viewpoint and the tiny Ermida da Memória chapel right on the edge, and the Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré with its twin towers is across the square.

Then I went out to the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo, the red lighthouse fort on the point, where everyone stands in rain jackets watching the ocean smash into the rocks. The waves were huge that day, I think around 40 feet, and I took three steps back without even thinking about it. Wear a real rain jacket up there and not a cute coat, you're getting sprayed either way.

Between the cold and the rain I took the soonest bus back and got into Gare do Oriente, the station with the big white tree-looking roof, by mid afternoon. And of course it cleared up right after I left and apparently Nazaré got really pretty, which was so annoying. If you can, give the weather an hour before you leave.

My last full day was a chill one. I honestly don't remember every detail, it was mostly hanging out and eating around my own neighborhood, which is my favorite way to end a trip anyway.

Mouraria is where a lot of Lisbon's South Asian community lives so of course I went looking for pani puri. I found it, a whole plate of crispy little puris with a bowl of green chutney water on a patterned tablecloth. Lisbon was not where I expected to get my fix and it really hit.

On the way back to the apartment I caught the sunset turning the old castle walls gold up on the hill, and there was a mural of a guy in sunglasses on the yellow wall below. Then I did laundry and packed so I'd be ready for my next stop.

For my last night I went out in Baixa with my friend from the flight and her friends. We went to a bar in a hostel where you go down a spiral staircase that's lit completely red, under a neon sign that says "THE ONLY WAY IS UP." It was a good one to end on.

If you're flying out early I'd pack before you go out and book your ride to the airport ahead of time. Lisbon's airport is close to the city but it doesn't feel close at 6 a.m. on four hours of sleep.

The next morning I was at Lisbon Airport before 7 a.m. with my passport and a carry-on plus a backpack, flying to Marrakech and already wanting to come back to Lisbon.