Getting there

Fly into Humberto Delgado (LIS). The Aerobus to Rossio is €4 and takes 25 minutes if traffic is quiet. Four of our interviewees preferred it to a taxi. Uber runs around €12 to central Lisbon; skip it at rush hour, the ring road backs up.

Take the Aerobus. The metro means one change with a suitcase and the elevator at Saldanha was broken both times I tried it.
Ana R., product manager, Lisbon, six-month stay

Staying

Alfama, Bairro Alto, and Estrela came up most often in our interviews. Alfama is charming and stairs; Estrela is quieter and flat, a real factor if you are moving in with a suitcase. Rents ran from €1,050 for a one-bedroom in Estrela to €1,400 in Chiado during our 2025 interview window.

Estrela is where I would move next time. Same distance to everything, half the tourists on my street.
Miguel L., freelance developer, Lisbon, four-month stay

Eating

Padaria Sao Roque in Alfama for morning pasteis. Cervejaria Ramiro on Avenida Almirante Reis for shellfish, cash-friendly, expect a wait past 7pm. Time Out Market is fine once, twice if you are meeting a friend; three of our interviewees said they never went back.

Ramiro is the meal I still think about. Order the tiger prawns and one steak sandwich to finish.
Deniz K., photographer, Lisbon, three-week visit

Practical tips from our interviewees

Named editors, real bylines.

Elena Martz

Editor in chief

Ten years at Roads and Kingdoms and Afar. Runs interviewing cadence. Based Brooklyn, New York.

Priya Bhandari

Destinations editor

Former Lonely Planet contributing writer. Writes the destination deep-dives that cite our interviews. Lisbon-based.

Jonas Reid

Planning editor

Digital-nomad visas and practical planning. Filed the Portugal D8 himself in 2024. Verifies every visa page every six months.

Editorial photograph of the destination signature scene at golden hour

Destinations · Portugal · Lisbon

Things to Do in Lisbon, According to Travelers Who Went

Aggregated from six of our interviewees, most on the D8 digital-nomad visa route.

Travel Dialog editors · Updated July 2026

Destinations · Portugal · Lisbon

Things to Do in Lisbon, According to Travelers Who Went

Aggregated from six of our interviewees, most on the D8 digital-nomad visa route.

Travel Dialog editors · Updated July 2026

Destinations · Portugal · Lisbon

Last verified: July 2026 · Next review: January 2027

I keep coming back to Lisbon because six of our interviewees do too. This guide pulls their neighborhoods, their bakeries, and their route out of the airport into a single deep-dive. I have been three times myself; the notes below cross-check what they told us against what I saw.

Getting there

Take the Aerobus. The metro means one change with a suitcase and the elevator at Saldanha was broken both times I tried it.
Ana R., product manager, Lisbon, six-month stay

Staying

Estrela is where I would move next time. Same distance to everything, half the tourists on my street.
Miguel L., freelance developer, Lisbon, four-month stay

Eating

Ramiro is the meal I still think about. Order the tiger prawns and one steak sandwich to finish.
Deniz K., photographer, Lisbon, three-week visit

Practical tips from our interviewees

Buy a Viva Viagem card at any metro machine for €0.50. Load €6 zapping; it works on the tram 28 too.
Rua da Bica is a photograph, not a walking route with a suitcase. Take Calcada do Combro instead.
Coworking: Second Home Lisboa (Mercado da Ribeira) runs €260 a month for a hot desk. Two of our nomad interviewees based there.