26 Nov 2025

Yet another week in Lisbon

Filed under: architecture | life | Lisbon

I spent 5 days in Lisbon from 21st–26th November 2025. This is my fifth trip to the Portuguese capital (and I’ve written about two of those trips in 2017 and 2023).

This was my first time back on my own since 2018 and I wanted it to be as chill as possible whilst visiting some of my favourte places and maybe some new ones.

Friday - Sexta-feira

My flight was at 14:00 but I had a dilemma. I like to be at the airport at least 3 hours before the flight just to be safe. I didn’t even have hold luggage this time (a cost saver—honestly, how easyJet gets away with charging so much for suitcase is beyond me) so I didn’t need to go through bag drop so I didn’t need to be there that early. But following my anxiety-influenced rules meant getting a ticket that was £40 more. I begrudged paying so that meant getting the later train and getting to the airport 2 hours before scheduled take-off providing there were no delays. Bold strategy, Cotton.

Of course there were delays but small ones. The kind that reduced my changeover time for one train to less than 5 minutes. My anxiety levels were high and remained high by the time I got to the Luton Airport Parkway, waiting for the shuttle to the airport because I’d forgotten to check-in on the app and during my struggle to do so at the 11th hour, I missed the cut off. I’d never done that before and I’d forgotten how much time I had to check-in at the desk. An AI Overview gave me misleading information and I got very frightened that I’d missed the cut-off. Would I miss my flight???

Of course not, because the check-in desk closed 40 minutes before the flight and I had about an hour. But tell my body that! Check-in was easy, fast track security was easy, settling down in the departure lounge was easy, my withered nerves still weren’t. The flight was smooth and thankfully quelled my anxiety. What also helped was how smooth Lisbon Airport was getting through. No massive lines, just walking through the electronic passport barriers and straight to the exit where I got my usual Metro train to Alameda and changed to finish as Anjos where my beloved Lisbon City Hotel was.

I’ve stayed there every time I’ve visited and it’s always been great although there was a worrying change—they wanted me to write my bank card number for their file. On paper. The alternative was to pay a €50 security deposit in cash but I didn’t have any cash on me (pandemic cashless gang rise up!). They didn’t seem to get their very insecure method of security as they sat at their very capable computers. I got to my room which looked identical to the one from 2023 and laid down for a bit.

When hunger finally struck, I scoped out a restaurant that I’d looked at before I came. In 2017, it was a Turkish restaurant but now it was an Italian restaurant called Artigiano and the menu was perfect for me as an Italian food lover. I ordered a quattro formaggi (unsurprisingly very cheese to the point that it was dripping off) and tiramisu (light and creamy without the alcohol soaked base) and I enjoyed the ambience. I got back to my room and counted down the hours to my birthday

Saturday - Sábado

Parabéns para mim!

I originally planned to do two things: visit the CCB and go to see Sporting vs. Marinhense at Estádio José Alvalade… in the VIP section. But fatigue got to me and I skipped the first part and just chilled in my room with a few of my presents from my sister that I’d brought and my cards. I made my way to the stadium, ate a Burger King for the first time in 24 years (it was better than when I was a kid and even then it wasn’t as good as childhood McDonald’s so this was a vast improvement and—spoiler alert—no food poisoning this time!), and then made my way to the Silver Seats.

I was one of the first people there and drank in the empty but beautiful stadium before people started filing in. Apparently I was in someone’s seat so had to move (I didn’t argue because there were empty seats around with it being a cup match against a 3rd division team) and watched Sporting win 3–0. I spent much of the second half walking around the VIP area, mentally pretending that I owned the club to enhance the experience. As far as birthday’s go, it was pretty awesome and I got lucky that they played on my birthday again (they played Olympiakos in the Champions League in 2017 and that’s what started my support of the club).

I left about 10 minutes before the end with the results effectively sealed, got the Metro home, and got back to the hotel with no problems. Except what was I gonna eat for birthday dinner? I didn’t fancy Artigiano again. No, had to pace myself there and try different things. I walked around and had 3 options:

1. Fancy Restaurant #1
2. Fancy Restaurant #2
3. The Eatery Formerly Known As Pizza Wizard

Well, readers, Fancy Restaurant #1 didn’t seem to be open for customers anymore (I had my birthday dinner there in 2018) so I opted for Fancy Restaurant #2 which was Anarchia, a spot I visited in 2023. For some reason, the three waitresses who served me didn’t seem pleased to be working so the vibe wasn’t as nice as I wanted it to be. But I had a nice spaghetti bolognese and yet another tiramisu since there was no cake on the menu. A good meal was had. Back to the hotel and winding down for the vestiges of my 36th birthday.

Sunday - Domingo

Sunday was Museu Calouste Gulbenkian + El Cortes Inglés day. For some reason, I woke up feeling sad but determined to not let that colour the rest of my day, I walked to the museum since apparently it wasn’t that far. And it really wasn’t so I may do that next time.

The good news was that they finished the modern art section and the architecture was magnificent. I spent about 10 minutes taking photos and drinking it in. The roof was made of wooden slats, curved like a parabola, and I loved it. Upon entry, I was told I could wait an hour for my ticket to be free or pay €14. I decided to come back after an hour. I went in search of lunch, found a burger spot that was very full, and opted to go to El Cortes Inglés earlier than planned and found a sandwich place (Pans) and got a salmon and avocado sandwich with fries. Pretty good even if it took a long time to come out.

I made my way back to the Gulbenkian and explored just the modern art section. There were two floor of exhibits but my favourite was Carlos Bunga’s “Inhabit the Contradiction”. After that I went back to El Corte Inglés to do my Christmas ritual of listening to festive music while walking around the department store. Rather than listen to my Christmas playlist, I had a Christmas beat tape on loop which worked just as well and all the sadness of the morning had gone.

Dinner was at Artigiano’s again. The electricity was out so I opted for pasta with chicken. It was quick and tasty and so was the blackcurrant cheesecake. Overall a good day to raise my spirits

Monday - Segunda-feira

Monday was a very lazy day and I only went to one place rather than my planned two—Centro Vasco da Gama, where I wanted to try and get a new Switch controller. I found one I thought was right but when I got back… it wasn’t. I was sad and planned to take it back the next day (more on that later).

That’s pretty much all I did that day other than peel myself off the bed to get dinner (I had a terrible headache all day). I decided to try the restaurant that replaced Pizza Wizard, which was now called Italian Bites. It was certainly different and I worried that it wouldn’t be nearly as good. But it was better than I anticipated, even if it didn’t have the charm of Pizza Wizard. I went for a quattro formaggi again and a brownie. Pizza was delicious and the brownie felt more like a ganache; very dense and a struggle to finish.

I went back to my hotel room and try to stave off the headache by doing absolutely nothing about it.

Tuesday - Terça-feira

My last full day and I decided to make the most of it by finally visiting the Jerónimos Monastery which I’d missed in 2023 since it was shut on Mondays. I made my way to Belém and walked to what I thought was the ticket office but, of course, it was online purchase only. Why they had an open ticket office with a sign saying it was closed I don’t know but I paid the €18 for a QR code, made my way through and experienced the building in all its splendour.

It was certainly spectacular and I took lots of photos. I only paid for a tour of the Clausura and went round it in 40 minutes. Wasn’t 100% it was worth €18 given other places I’d paid less and spent more time in but I can say I’ve been.

My next stop was LX Factory which meant walking back to the train stop to get to Alcântara. On the way, I got another Burger King(!), made friends with a pigeon who flew in, and eventually got the train to Alcântara and walked to LX Factory to the sound of Prince’s Strange Relationship on repeat.

LX Factory is like a cultural village full of concept shops, alternative art, and restaurants so it was very cool and very trendy but also very expensive so I didn’t buy anything but the things were pretty. Actually, that wasn’t strictly true. I did buy something—a slice of chocolate cake and a hot chocolate from Landeau Café at the recommendation of my sister. Possibly the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Light and moreish, bitter and sweet in the right ratio, it left me wanting more. Same for the hot chocolate to be fair.

Once I was done, I got the train back to Cais do Sodré and for the brief journey I felt totally at peace for the first time on the trip. Typical that it had to come on my last full day there but I’m glad I felt it.

Sadly no dinner that night because I just didn’t feel hungry and, once again, tired and headache. I have no idea what that was all about and when I finally decided to try and sort it out, all the nearby pharmacies were shut so I tried a shower and laid down for bed.

Wednesday - Quarta-feira

And so to my last day in Lisbon.

I had my last continental breakfast (a light one as my stomach was tapping out after so much decadent food it seems), packed, and got out 15 minutes before check-out time.

Remember that Switch controller? Well, I decided to take it back to the original store since Vasco da Gama mall was on the way to the airport. Somehow it took 30 minutes of waiting in line, being told to get a ticket via tapping a sign in Portuguese that I didn’t understand after saying I didn’t speak Portuguese (I could have figured it out but I was in crash out mode from the waiting), went to talk to someone else who sent me back, went back in line with a ticket, and finally got a refund. Who knew taking back a controller could take so long.

I left and had KFC for lunch, had some more time to kill and found a café to sit and charge my phone and laptop, and made my way to the airport with those coveted 3 hours to spare. I decided to pay for fast track security and well that was a waste because the regular line was empty but you live and you learn. I didn’t feel like dinner so I got some snacks from a vending machine and some water and got on the plane where I’m writing this travel log now.

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People will ask how Lisbon was and I’ll say it was good because it was. They might expect me to regale stories of all the wonderful places I visited and all the food I ate but I don’t really do all the touristy like that anymore. I go to Lisbon because it’s like a soul hub to me. I can merge in with everyone and feel like I live there; just going to places I want to go and enjoy them and the atmospheres they bring. I haven’t been to Alfama yet, I didn’t go to MAAT this time (I planned to go on Tuesday but it was closed—seriously, stop closing things when I want to go, Lisbon!), and I still haven’t tried bifana or bacalhau which is because I didn’t end up going to Chiado this time.

The headaches and waking up feeling supremely low were unexpected and a little disheartening but being on my own ironically helped in a way as I could go at my own pace and slowly work through it by going places or not. I just wish they hadn’t been there in the first place. Who needs that, right?

So yes, I enjoyed it and I was sad to go as I was getting my second wind towards the end which is always the case. I’m sure I’ll be back next year and maybe I’ll have that bacalhau in Alfama as the sun sets like a rom-com novel. Wouldn’t that be something.