Fado and porto in Portugal

  

To take advantage of the extended weekend at the beginning of April 2026, I decided to take a trip to Portugal. The city of Sintra, its castles, and its well had long been on my radar, so I decided to book an excursion from Lisbon, as Sintra is only a 40-minute drive from Lisbon. I left on Friday, April 3, 2026, in the evening, and returned on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Day 1

I took my flight from Orly without any problems. We took off at 9:25 PM and landed at 10:55 PM (local time, there is 1 hour less in Portugal than in France). My taxi, which I had booked with Booking, arrived 50 minutes late. Fortunately, the driver was super friendly and the check-in at the hotel was automatic because the reception was already closed when I arrived.

Day 2

Day trip to Cascais, Cabo da Roca, Sintra, Regaleira and Pena with a super guide named André.

The day was simply fantastic, we had the chance to see beautiful landscapes, castles, wells and many other wonders, I was overwhelmed.

Moreover, the weather was great, so what more could you ask for?

The group consisted of English speakers (Germans, British, etc.) and French speakers (French, Canadians, Tunisians, etc.).

Cascais

Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe

Sintra

Regaleira et son fameux puits

Pena and its colored castle

For the last visit of the day, the Pena Palace, I misunderstood where the meeting point was for the return to Lisbon. I called the Tour Operator to let them know that I couldn't see my guide (I had been waiting for 10 minutes), and they told me to go to the entrance of the castle to find him. Indeed, he called me a few minutes later to find out where I was. The poor man had run up a good part of the hill leading to the castle in order to find me. The bus that served as our vehicle that day had started to move when a tourist realized I was missing. He alerted André, who rushed to pick me up. It was the only time that day that he hadn't made the call to make sure everyone was there.

We returned to Lisbon at 6:20 PM, so I headed straight to Farol de Santa Luzia, a restaurant where I had a reservation for 7 PM. I had a delicious seafood risotto there.

Day 3

This day was dedicated to visiting Lisbon.

I got up early in the morning to catch the famous tram 28E before it was crowded with tourists. I took the 7:01 tram, the second of the day, the first being at 6:45. So I took it at Praça Martim station and got off at Santa Catarina to go to Miradouro de Santa Catarina.

Good to know, the tram does not stop at every stop like in Paris, you have to press a big red button (there is only one in the tram) to signal to the driver that you want to get off.

After the walk, I went to the Manteigaria bakery, which specializes in pastéis de nata, and they were delicious.

I then took the tram to the Arc de Triomphe of Augusta Street, Praça do Comércio, and the Cathedral of Santa Maior.

Last trip of the day to the azulejos workshop I had booked. Being a bit ahead of schedule, I took the opportunity to climb up to the Miradouro do Monte Agudo.

The workshop was great, it was run by a French woman who was very patient with us. The group consisted of 6 people, a couple from Alaska, a couple from Massachusetts, and a girl who had moved to Dublin for her studies.

After the workshop, I wandered around Lisbon and then attended the Fado show I had booked.

I finished the day with dinner at Casa dos Pecados, it was delicious.

I went back to the hotel by passing through the Praça do Rossio.

I really loved my weekend in Lisbon, it's a very beautiful city. The Portuguese are very warm. On the other hand, I didn't like the slopes and the many stairs scattered throughout the city, it works the calves!