Lisbon and Porto: The Best of Portugal in One Unforgettable Trip

“Portugal is a country of colors, of flavors, and of endless stories — a place where every sunset feels like a promise, and every street holds a secret.”

Storytime

How many reasons do you actually need to travel to Portugal? 1? 10? A thousand and one? NONE. But just for the fun of having a purpose, I had two. First one was the amazing, world renowned, incredibly busy and expensive Web Summit conference and the second which is probably even more important and I think this is why they host this event in this period is … my birthday. My lovely little self was going to spend her day, flying to the land of pastéis de nata, with a yellow balloon from my friend( that made the return trip also), to have a bite of this gorgeous treat in a metro station on the way to the opening event of the Web Summit.

Since the time we had here was quite short ( approx a week) we focused on what was truly important. I have to mention that this is not my first time in Portugal and fun fact, Portugal was the destination for my first commercial flight back in 2011 during a Cultural Exchange in Porto. Some of the things experienced back then I will try to resume in this short story because things have changed, the rhythm of travel has changed and also what is important for me has changed, except two things: I like to walk a lot without a map to discover places on my own and I still like beer.

What to discover?

Getting around and the first pastel de nata

Finding a central and cheap accommodation during Web Summit

During the Web Summit finding cheap flights and a decent accommodation can be quite a hassle, luckily I consider this a challenge and this is how we got a nice room for 4 with a bathroom, in a hostel, with breakfast and I think I saw a kiddy pool somewhere on the terrace ( and a beer on the house) at the WOT Lisbon Nomad. It was cheap, central, walking distance to some of the nice spots in town and it was quite nice to eat a pastel de nata on the balcony next to the coffee in the morning. So I declare myself satisfied.

Cool places in Lisbon

First things first, since the first time I set foot in Portugal and tried the incredible pastry that tastes like a million sunrises, this was THE FIRST THING I wanted to do this time. And there are so many places where you can try eat, eat it, fall in love with it. So we tasted a few.

First ones were a batch of Lidl pasteis de nata, that were cheap, but kinda stale and I couldn’t taste the happiness.

In the end I have to confess I know the place that makes the best ones. Pastéis de nata tarts are pastries inspired by an original recipe called Pastéis de Belém, which were created before the 18th century by Catholic monks at the Jerónimos Monastery. In 1834, the monastery was closed and the recipe sold to the sugar refinery, whose owners opened the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém in 1837. The descendants own the business to this day. Since the opening of Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém, the original recipe that inspired pastel de nata varieties is kept in a secret room. Therefore, the only place in the world that produces the original pastry that inspired many variations commonly known as “pastéis de nata“; the shop is located just a short three-minute walk from the Jerónimos Monastery. The shop offers both takeout and sit-in services and sells over 20,000 pastéis a day. The tart is often sprinkled with canela (cinnamon).

In 2009 The Guardian listed pastéis de Belém as one of the 50 “best things to eat” in the world. In 2011, following the result of a public vote, the pastry was announced as one of Portugal’s Seven Wonders of Gastronomy, further cementing it as one of the country’s most popular national dishes.

Cool places in Porto