Lisbon is an amazing city to explore. We would suggest spending 3-5 days there and then taking some time to leave the city and explore the country side. Here is our best suggestion for 3 days in Lisbon
Day 1: Start your day downtown, down Avenida da Liberdade to Rossio Square before strolling through the pedestrianised Rua Augusta to Comercio Square, where you can hop on tram 15 to Belem. Go inside the cloisters of Jeronimos Monastery and take a break at Antiga Confeitaria de Belem to have one of its legendary custard tarts. Then take the underpass from the monastery’s gardens to cross the road to the Discoveries Monument. Walk along the waterfront from there to Belem Tower. Return down the same road and choose among the several museums nearby – the Coaches Museum and the Berardo Museum are two favorites, while the Maritime Museum is a good choice if you become curious about Portugal’s maritime past. For lunch you may want to consider one of the international restaurants in Docas (take the train from Belem station to Alcantara-Mar, and walk in the direction of 25 de Abril Bridge), or if you decide to stay in Belem to explore one more museum or perhaps to visit Ajuda Palace, there are good-value traditional Portuguese restaurants in the pretty row of buildings along Rua Vieira Portuense facing the park between the monastery and Belem Palace.
Back downtown, walk up Chiado and have some coffee or a refreshing drink at Brasileira Cafe or Cafe Benard. Walk up to São Roque Church for its splendid baroque chapels (and if you didn’t decide to stay in Belem for the afternoon, there is still time to visit the gothic ruins and eclectic museum of Carmo Church), followed by a stop at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcantara for the sunset over the city. It is now dinnertime, so step into the cobbled Bairro Alto streets and choose among the various restaurants. After a long, relaxed dinner, join the locals bar-hopping through the neighborhood. If it is a Friday or Saturday night, you will stumble across what has to be Europe’s biggest bar crawl.
Day 2: Take the metro to Parque das Naçõs and visit the Oceanarium. Walk along the waterfront to admire the impressive modern architecture of the surroundings (including the seemingly-endless Vasco da Gama Bridge), before heading to Alfama. Wander around the maze of narrow streets, stopping at the miradouros before walking up to the castle. You may want to choose to visit the Tile Museum (take a taxi) or São Vicente de Fora Church, or go straight to the castle if it is now late afternoon – you don’t want to miss the sunset as you stand above the city. If you did not have lunch at the popular docas when you visited Belem, it is perhaps a good idea to head there for dinner today. Stay for some drinks and dancing at the neighboring bars and clubs, or burn off your remaining energy in style, at Club Lux.
Day 3: The third day could be one of art and culture. Start at the Gulbenkian Museum where you can spend half a day admiring its treasures, relaxing in its pleasant gardens, and ending at its Modern Art Center. After lunch, you may want to continue admiring art, this time at the Ancient Art Museum. Take a tram back downtown, where you can decide where to go for dinner (see our restaurant recommendations, although we’d go for one with a view on this last day – perhaps “Chapitô” or “Bica do