Dan and I traveled to Porto, Portugal earlier this year after some Lisbon-area wedding planning, and our visit reaffirmed my decision that I absolutely love Porto! It is really one of my favorite places in Europe. Maybe its the beautiful scenery, maybe its the old school buildings and Vespas, or maybe its the delicious food and wine. But in any case, I just love Porto!
Who doesn’t love this scene?
If you ask me what my favorite restaurant is in the entire world, 100 Maneiras in Lisbon, Portugal would certainly come up in the conversation. While I am not ready to declare it my absolute favorite restaurant, it is most certainly one of my favorites (and Dan may be ready to declare it his favorite)!
100 maneiras.
Baixa is the center of tourist Lisbon and one of the oldest parts of the city, although you wouldn’t know that by looking at it! Baixa was totally destroyed by the infamous 1775 earthquake (now everything is earthquake-safe!) and rebuilt under the direction of the 1st Marquis of Pombal, who insisted that Baixa was rebuilt in a modern style, with wide boulevards and many public squares. Very much in a Parisian style!
Baixa.
Lisbon is a city of many interesting neighborhoods, each with its own character and flavor, and Belém is one of those neighborhoods! Belém is located southwest of Lisbon-tourist proper (i.e. the Alfama, the Barrio Alto, etc.) at the mouth of the Tagus River, and, unlike much of Lisbon, Belém is modern, flat, and super tourist-oriented. Aside from tourist sites, Belem is home to upscale residential streets and the Belem Palace, the official home of the Portuguese president (which is pink!).
Ercieira is a small seaside town on Portugal’s Atlantic coast, about 45 minutes from its capital city. Within driving distance of Lisbon and surrounded by small farms and vineyards, Ericeira makes a lovey beach getaway for a few days. I visited in November and again this March, and I am going back in August to get married in a vineyard just down the road from Ericeira! Since I already wrote a post on Ericeira (here) and its a pretty small town, rather than write another here are some of my favorite pictures from beautiful Ericeira on my most recent trip! Happy wanderlust!
