Luxury things to do in Lisbon
Belcanto, Alma, and Loco across Chiado, Príncipe Real, and Lapa
Lisbon has more than earned its place on the serious food map, and these three days treat it accordingly. Lunches are events, dinners are the reason you booked the trip, and everything in between is Chiado and Príncipe Real looking their best. For the traveller who wants no compromises and has done enough research to know exactly where to spend.
Day 1: Chiado, Belcanto and Alma
Espresso in Chiado, a walk through its squares, lunch at Belcanto, Pink Street, then dinner at Alma around the corner.
- 9:30 AM
Caffè di Marzano Vermuteria
Italian-inflected café steps from Alma, a sharp espresso to start the day right in the heart of Chiado.
Map - 10:15 AM
Chiado
Walk Chiado's squares, old bookshops and tiled façades; Bertrand, the world's oldest working bookshop, is here.
Map - 12:30 PM
Belcanto
José Avillez's flagship in Chiado, reworking Portuguese classics into a long tasting menu.
Map - 2:30 PM
Pink Street
Lisbon's legendary pink-painted street, a colourful, buzzy cultural landmark and perfect post-lunch wander through Cais do Sodré.
Map - 4:30 PM
Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado
Portuguese art from 1850 on, in part of the old São Francisco convent a few steps from dinner; closed Mondays.
Map - 7:30 PM
Alma
Alma is the city's most-loved Portuguese fine-dining table, a top-rated, critic-praised institution right on your doorstep.
Map
Day 2: Príncipe Real, Rosamar and Sá Pessoa
A morning of boutiques around Príncipe Real's garden square, Rosamar's seafood lunch, the university botanic garden and the Embaixada palace shops, then a tasting menu at Cura.
- 9:30 AM
The Folks Chiado, Specialty Coffee The Folks Сhiado - Specialty Coffee, Breakfast & Brunch
Specialty coffee and an all-day brunch plate on the Chiado slope, a good fuel stop before walking uphill.
Map - 10:15 AM
Príncipe Real
Leafy square of 19th-century palaces turned design shops, with a giant cedar shading the café.
Map - 12:30 PM
- 2:30 PM
Jardim Botânico de Lisboa
The university's 19th-century botanic garden, a terraced jungle of palms and dragon trees off Príncipe Real.
Map - 4:30 PM
Embaixada
Neo-Moorish palace on the square turned concept store of Portuguese designers, ceramics and fashion.
Map - 7:30 PM
Cura
Tasting menu inside the Four Seasons Ritz, short and seasonal, built on Portuguese farms and coast.
Map
Day 3: Lapa, Frade dos Mares and Loco
Lapa's palaces set the tone before a seafood lunch at Frade dos Mares and an afternoon at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, with the night reserved for Loco's inventive tasting menu.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Lapa
Critic-endorsed Lapa neighbourhood, stroll the grand miradouros and Belle Époque palaces of this aristocratic quarter.
Map - 12:30 PM
Frade dos Mares
Small seafood room on Av. Dom Carlos I: ask for the fish of the day, grilled whole, and the clams.
Map - 2:30 PM
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga
Bosch's Temptation of St Anthony and Japanese namban screens in a Lapa palace; garden café over the river.
Map - 7:30 PM
Where to stay
Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
The Four Seasons Ritz is the only address in Lisbon that matches the register of this plan: grand bar, impeccable service and a location that puts Chiado and Príncipe Real equally at your feet.
Palácio Príncipe Real
Palácio Príncipe Real sits at the centre of Day 2's luxury browse and is exactly the kind of intimate, palace-hotel address that earns its place on a boujee itinerary.
Make Lisbon your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- O Velho Eurico: months ahead
- Belcanto: weeks ahead
- Prado: weeks ahead
- Clube de Fado: weeks ahead
- Arrábida kayak and coasteering: a few days ahead
- Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira: weeks ahead
Skip these
- The couvert (bread, olives, butter on table) is charged per item; decline it with 'não, obrigado' before touching.
- Rua Augusta restaurants have picture menus, touts and inflated prices; two blocks in any direction fixes it.
- The Mercado da Ribeira food hall at Cais do Sodré is good but loud, crowded, fight-for-a-table and 40 to 50% pricier than local equivalents; go off-peak or to Campo de Ourique market.
- Pink Street is a photo backdrop and a rowdy stag strip by night; fine for one drink, not a whole night.
The full Lisbon travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around