Practicalities
The hills are the transport system
Lisbon is built on slopes, and understanding the vertical layer changes how you move around it.
Coffee in Lisbon — One city, properly
Cafés & Coffee
How to order coffee in Lisbon without overthinking it
The vocabulary is small, the coffee is cheap, and standing at the counter costs less than sitting down.
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Neighbourhoods
Alfama, Graça and the difference two streets make
Neighbourhoods here change character over very short distances, and the guidebook version is usually one street.
Eating
Eating in a tasca without a reservation
The small family restaurants are the point, and using them well takes a little local knowledge.
Day Trips
Sintra in a day, done properly
The day trip everyone takes, and the one most commonly ruined by trying to see everything.
Day Trips
The coast is closer than people think
A short train ride reaches the Atlantic, and the beaches vary enormously in shelter and character.
Practicalities
What catches visitors out
A short list of practical things that are obvious to residents and consistently surprise everyone else.
Neighbourhoods
All neighbourhoods →Neighbourhoods
Alfama, Graça and the difference two streets make
Neighbourhoods here change character over very short distances, and the guidebook version is usually one street.
Neighbourhoods
Viewpoints without the queue
The famous miradouros are famous for good reason and are not the only places with the view.
Neighbourhoods
What a street tells you before you order anything
The cafes on a block are a fairly honest census of who is on it, if you know what to look at.
Cafés & Coffee
All cafés & coffee →Cafés & Coffee
How to order coffee in Lisbon without overthinking it
The vocabulary is small, the coffee is cheap, and standing at the counter costs less than sitting down.
Cafés & Coffee
Roast level is a decision about acidity, not about strength
What happens inside a bean between light and dark, and why the local default sits at the dark end.
Cafés & Coffee
Why the same beans taste different in two cafes
Identical coffee from the same roaster can land completely differently a hundred metres apart, and the reasons are mechanical.
Eating
All eating →Eating
Eating in a tasca without a reservation
The small family restaurants are the point, and using them well takes a little local knowledge.
Eating
Markets, and which ones are still markets
Some are working food markets, some are food halls for visitors, and the distinction matters for what you get.
Eating
How to read a pastry counter
The glass case follows a logic, and knowing it turns a wall of unfamiliar shapes into a set of decisions.
Day Trips
All day trips →Day Trips
Sintra in a day, done properly
The day trip everyone takes, and the one most commonly ruined by trying to see everything.
Day Trips
The coast is closer than people think
A short train ride reaches the Atlantic, and the beaches vary enormously in shelter and character.
Day Trips
Day trips by train that are not Sintra
The regional network reaches several towns that are quieter, cheaper and genuinely different.
Practicalities
All practicalities →Practicalities
The hills are the transport system
Lisbon is built on slopes, and understanding the vertical layer changes how you move around it.
Practicalities
What catches visitors out
A short list of practical things that are obvious to residents and consistently surprise everyone else.
Practicalities
The tourist tram, and what to ride instead
One route is famous, crowded and pickpocketed. Several others do the same thing better.
Living There
All living there →
Living There
Staying longer: the admin nobody warns you about
Beyond a few weeks the city becomes a place with paperwork, and the paperwork has its own rhythm.
Living There
The tourism argument, without picking a side
Lisbon has a real and unresolved tension about visitors, and understanding it is more useful than feeling guilty about it.
Living There
Housing pressure, explained mechanically
Rents in the city rose fast for several connected reasons, and knowing which are local helps you read the argument.