Lisbon day trip: How to visit the Portuguese city in just eight hours

Eight hours in Lisbon? Welcome to our next microtrip

Brexit Day may have been postponed, but whenever it actually ends up happening, one thing’s for sure: British tourists will still be welcome in Portugal.

Europe’s western-most country has been at pains to emphasise its enduring commitment to UK holidaymakers, even launching a “Brelcome” campaign (tagline: Portugal will never leave you) that offers assurances of free healthcare, visa exemptions, possible mutual recognition of driving licences and even simplified rules for British pets after we’ve left the EU.

What better way to celebrate such unprecedented hospitality than by taking our next microtrip – where The Independent spends no more than a day in a city to experience only its best bits – to Lisbon?

The Portuguese capital’s popularity as a city break destination has skyrocketed over the last 10 years, prompted by a slew of exciting museum and gallery openings alongside its sheer prettiness: think cobbled, winding streets, intricately patterned tiles on the buildings and vintage trams trundling up and down.

Here’s how to see it in just one day:

06.30: At the airport

We’re on the second TAP Air Portugal flight of the day from London Heathrow to Lisbon. At 8am, it’s early but not too early, requiring a 5am wake-up call.

08.00: Take-off

A couple of coffees is all it takes to pep us up for the day ahead – plus an inflight snack, provided gratis by TAP despite the journey being just over two and a half hours long.

Lisbon has skyrocketed in popularity (Getty)

10.40: Touch down

No need to reset your watch: Portugal is on the same timezone as the UK. We’re hand luggage only, so it’s straight through passport control to pick up our 24H Lisboa card at the tourist information desk. Priced at €20, it’s a great-value way to see a lot in a day, offering unlimited free travel by bus, metro and tram and free entry to a heap of the city’s best museums and galleries.

11.30: Uber into town

While catching the metro from the airport is cheap and easy, it isn’t the fastest way of getting into the city centre. As time is of the essence, we opt for getting an Uber instead – the 25-minute trip to the Time Out Market costs €13.

12.00: Get food envy at Time Out Market and Mercado da Ribeira

Lisbon’s revolutionary food court concept is often heralded as one of the city’s must-visit attractions. This expansive hall has myriad stalls, some of which are outposts of Lisbon’s best restaurants, lining the outside; while in the middle long tables provide seating for those gorging on dishes ranging from fresh seafood to gelato. Next door is the more traditional Mercado da Ribeira, where visitors can stock up on fruit and veg.

The Time Out Market offers a host of culinary workshops (Getty) (Getty Images)

12.25: Learn to make a custard tart

Portugal is famous for its pasteis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts to you and me), and how better to enjoy this combination of beautifully flaky pastry and rich custard dusted with cinnamon than by learning how to make one? At Time Out’s Academia, a cookery school offering a range of workshops, we quickly get stuck in, bringing together milk and flour in one pan, sugar, water and cinnamon in another. Once cooked and cooled, it turns out these tasty tarts are even dreamier when you’ve whipped them up yourself.

13.30: Lunch on the run

From dessert to main course… we make a stop at Aura, a restaurant specifically chosen because it offers a buffet – no waiting around to order here. We load our plates high with Portuguese sandwiches, marinated fish and roasted vegetables while enjoying the restaurant’s cool Mediterranean decor: crisp white walls and high, arched ceilings provide the backdrop for a full-size classical statue, perfectly spherical-shaped trees in pots, a line of white animal heads and intricately patterned blue and white chairs.

14.30: Marvel at the Augusta St Triumphal Arch

Out onto the Praca do Comercio, a vast and vibrant square next to the Tagus river, we hang a left to gawp at the majesty of the Augusta St Triumphal Arch, a sumptuous neoclassical arch that marks the entry to the Baixa district. We wander down pedestrianised Augusta Street, thick with tourists and men selling umbrellas to combat the rain showers that accost us every 10 minutes or so. I try (and fail) to get a decent picture of it all.

Augusta St Triumphal Arch is found in the vibrant square of Praca do Comercio (Getty) (Getty Images)

14.45: Tram to Belem

Although it’s not one of the pretty vintage ones, the number 15 tram whisks us from Cais do Sodre square westwards to the historic Belem district.

15.15: Ogle some art

We hop off and head to the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, aka MAAT, which opened to much fanfare in 2017. Before going inside, we take the time to clamber the steps to the top of this gently undulating building: phenomenal views of the Tagus river and Ponte 25 Abril Bridge await. Head inside to discover a diverse selection of exhibitions – we scope out Fiction and Fabrication, which brings together work by nearly 50 artists focusing on the imagery of architecture.

MAAT is one of Lisbon's most eye-catching museums (Getty) (Getty Images)

16.00: Contemplate monastic life

We stride down the road to Jeronimos Monastery, a humdinger of a building that’s worth a look even if you don’t go inside. Built during the 15th century, the sprawling structure has a place on Unesco’s World Heritage list thanks to its impressive Portuguese late gothic Manueline architectural style. We don’t have time to swing by, but not far from here is the historic Pasteis de Belem, a bakery famed for its custard tarts made to a centuries-old recipe.

16.45: Browse some books

Bertrand is a Lisbon legend – it’s Portugal’s oldest bookshop. That alone makes it worth a look, but it also offers beautifully arched ceilings and a wide selection of English-language books that I just wish I had a little longer to browse. Buy one and they’ll even stamp the front page to show that “you woz ’ere”.

The Jeronimos Monastery is an Unesco World Heritage Site (Getty) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

17.15: Grab a drink with a view

One of the benefits of Lisbon being such a hilly city is that bars with smoking views abound. There are plenty of rooftop watering holes to choose from, but we opt for Park. Situated at the top of a multi-storey carpark, it has a grungy, “those in the know” vibe that adds to the pleasure of finding ourselves looking out across the city as the rain finally stops and the sun makes her grand entrance. I plump for one of Portugal’s signature drinks, a white port and tonic, and soak up the rays before a glance at my watch that says it’s time to go…

18.00: Jump in a cab

Another Uber schleps us back to the airport in less than half an hour.

20.20: Flight to London

We take off (thankfully) on time, bleary-eyed after about eight hours on the ground but awake enough to rubberneck the gorgeous city views below.

22.55: Land at Heathrow

In a dizzy, dreamlike state we stumble off the plane and into the Tube. Were we really just here this morning? Did we really manage to pack in pastry-making, port-drinking and Praca do Comercio-wandering in just one day? Looks like it.

Travel essentials

Getting there

TAP Air Portugal flies from London to Lisbon from £81 return.

Visiting there

To plan your trip, visit visitlisboa.com.