Earlier this year I had a fabulous city break in Lisbon, Portugal's capital so I had to write about it and tell you what we got up to. I went with Joe and our friends Maddie and Cormac and this is how it went ... SPOILER ALERT: we had an amazing time.

Day 1

Day 1 consisted of traveling early in the morning from Luton to Lisbon Airport and we arrived at around 11am. The flight lasted around 2 hours and 45 minutes which would have gone quite quickly had we not sat on the plane for an hour before taking off.

Upon arrival at Lisbon, we checked out the location of our Airbnb and realised we could go there on the metro from the airport, so we bought our travel cards at the airport metro station and went on our way.

The travel cards are quite good as you can put as much money as you want on them and use them on most of the types of transport around Lisbon such as buses, trams, and metro.

We then checked into our Airbnb which was in the perfect location. Lisbon is known for being quite hilly and steep but we managed to stay in a relatively flat area right by the sea and we were within walking distance of the main tourist attractions.

After checking in and a quick change, we headed out for some lunch and ended up picking somewhere by the sea, in the sun, and shared a few jugs of sangria. It was actually the first time I'd seen the sun in ages as we went in March and the UK had been freezing for months, so it was just perfect.

After a few drinks and a wander around our area of Lisbon, we went back to our Airbnb for some chill time as we had a VERY early start and chilled out for a bit before dinner.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant quite near to our Airbnb called Lugar Marcado where we were greeted with great service and enjoyed some lovely wine and seafood. I had the cod which was unlike any cod I'd had before. I enjoyed the taste but just couldn't eat a lot of it, I think because I was so tired from getting up early and traveling.

Day 2

After a good night's sleep in our Airbnb, we went for an alfresco breakfast ready for a day of exploring.

We got the train to Belem, where you can find the Belem Tower (Torre de Belem) and the famous home of the Pastel de Nata at Pasteis de Belem. This is a foodie must for Lisbon!

After that, we took the train again further away from Lisbon and went to the beautiful seaside town of Cascais. I'd really recommend giving yourself a day to explore this town if you are planning to visit Lisbon as it was so beautiful and had much more of a quiet vibe than Lisbon, so you get the best of the city and somewhere quieter.

Related: 3 nights in Barcelona

Cascais also has beaches where you can swim in the sea, whereas there isn't really a beach in the centre of Lisbon although it is on the sea.

When we arrived at Cascais we found a nice outdoor bar right by the beach and of course, had a couple of glasses of sangria. The sun was shining and it was one of those moments where you think "ah, life is good."

We then had a wander around Cascais, followed by some Portuguese sparkling wine and some tapas at a wine bar. The name of the bar escapes me now which is a shame because it was amazing and you need to go there! It was on a road called Rua Frederico Arouca and the tapas was 10/10. Foodie pictures below if you don't believe me...

We then headed back to Lisbon and went out for the evening in the Bairro Alto area. There were a lot of stag and hen parties around there and seemed to be where the main clubs and bars were, so head there if you want a piece of the Lisbon nightlife.

My advice to you would be if you are a heel-wearer, forget them in Lisbon, don't even pack them. There are so many hills and everywhere you walked was cobbled. The cobbles are also quite slippy too so comfortable shoes only. I was wearing my comfiest trainers and nearly stacked it a couple of times in the rain.

Day 3

On our final day in Lisbon, we headed for another alfresco breakfast (great way to start a day, especially if it includes a pastel de nata).

The main thing we wanted to do on the last day was to go to Timeout market, a world-famous food market in the centre of Lisbon. It was too close after having breakfast though when we went there, so we decided to go on the iconic 28 tram to see the city that way.

We traveled a little bit to ensure we got on the tram at the start of the line instead of getting on somewhere central which would have been super busy. I'd recommend doing this because it means you'll definitely get a seat.

After seeing the city by tram, it made me so thankful I wasn't walking up and down all those hills and that we were staying in a flat area!

We got off the tram back at the Timeout market for some lunch and I was overwhelmed by choice. I tend to go into sensory overload at foodie markets like this as there are so many people, and there's so much choice of food so I quite often end up making rash decisions so I can get it over and done with.

I had a surf and turf ciabatta sandwich with steak and prawns which was good but a little small for the price. One thing I will say about the Timeout market is that you have to go but be prepared to spend a lot. I don't think it was a bad thing that the portions were a little small because it meant I could try a few things, but you have to be prepared for the cost.

My steak sandwich was 12 Euros so not too bad but it is quite a lot for a small sandwich. When in Rome...

I then had some fried squid and an Aperol Spritz; they had a whole stand dedicated to it so it would have been rude not to! Then, I had a pastel de nata and I have to say, I actually preferred the one at the Timeout Market to the one I had as Pasteis de Belem which is controversial.

We then had a bit of a chill before heading out again in the evening for some drinks. As we had quite a late lunch, we got ready and had a few drinks first before dinner.

For dinner, we went to a tapas restaurant we'd been eyeing up the whole time called Tapas n' Friends. It was fitting because we were indeed wanting to eat tapas with friends. There are a few of these restaurants in Lisbon but the one we went to was kind of like a rooftop bar, although it wasn't on a roof, you did have to go up some stairs to sit there.

We ordered quite a lot of different tapas dishes to try and everything was amazing. It was giving me a kind of last supper vibe because we had such a lovely couple of days and it was being finished off with great food, drinks, and of course company. Both my heart and belly were full once we'd left there.

Do you need to add Lisbon to your travel list?

Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. You can quite often bag cheap flights to Lisbon and the weather is beautiful for most of the year, starting in March. We paid around £220 for flights and our AirBnB all in which is an absolute bargain.

I also think it's up there in my top 3 favourite European cities that I've traveled to so far. There's so much to do and although we did a lot, I feel like we could go again and still have more to see and do.

Related: 4 nights in Milan

Have you visited Lisbon before? If not, are you adding it to your travel list?

January

January is always my least favourite month as I just find it so depressing even though I make every effort for it to seem less so by making fun plans.

I did manage to make some good memories in January with my friends and I visited Ballie Ballerson in London for the first time. If you don't know, it's essentially an adult ball pit/night club which for me was kind of an assault on the senses but it was fun to try once.

Other highlights included going on a winter beach walk down in Mudeford and trying a roast dinner at the local pub for my Dad's birthday which was a success!

February

Once January was out of the way, February came in to step the year up a notch. One of my favourite activities from February was seeing the Rupaul's Drag Race UK Season 2 live tour in Bournemouth with my friend Kitty which was AMAZING! I love Drag Race so much, especially that season.

For Valentine's Day, Joe and I had a date day extravaganza which consisted of brunch, mini golf, Gordon Ramsay's bottomless street pizza for dinner and drinks in Battersea afterwards. We ended up so tired afterwards but it was such a good day!

My gorgeous baby nephew Leo was born mid-February and it's so bizarre looking back at the pictures now as he's gotten so big and will be 1 soon.

With work, I got to watch BBC South Today while they recorded and get some footage for socials. It was really cool being there while they recorded and getting to watch the news later that day after having been there.

March

The beginning of March included a mega night out to Bath with my friends - there were injuries, and lots of sick (not from me luckily) but we still had a great time even if it wasn't all of our finest of moments.

Joe and I tried an amazing Japanese restaurant in London called Flesh and Buns (weird name great food). It was my first time trying Japanese food too and I loved everything I had. It was quite expensive though so defo a special occasion venue.

More foodie fun consisted of a Bottomless Brunch at Tinga in Salisbury (*PR Invite) with my bestie Poppy which was fab.

At the end of March, another one of my besties, Maddie and I had a joint birthday in London between both of our birthdays which was so much fun. We had a pizza bottomless brunch at Pizza Pilgrims, tried out Vagabond wine bar which is basically wine vending machines and you can help yourself! This was followed by a night out in Shoreditch.

April

To start April off, Joe and I went on a trip to Cardiff for my 23rd birthday. I had 2 lockdown birthdays in a row before this so it was great to get away and explore a new city.

The weekend after that, Mum and I walked alpacas. This was a present I'd got her for her birthday so luckily she chose to take me with her because I really wanted to walk alpacas too. It was so much fun I want to do it again! Warning: you WILL want to take the alpaca home with you at the end.

Later on in April was the meeting of the parents - AKA the day mine and Joe's family met. Joe and I have been together for 4 and a half years and we always said our parents should meet so we ended up arranging it and meeting Joe's family down in Hastings where they live. It honestly couldn't have gone better!

May

In May I went on the first holiday I'd been on since 2019 before covid to Corfu with the girls and I can't even tell you how good it was. I actually cried a few days before going because I was so happy I could leave the country again. Who remembers lockdown?

Everything about the holiday was 10/10 I just wish we had more time and went for longer.

Mine and Joe's anniversary is 1st June so we celebrated a few days early at the end of May by going to Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm and going on a date night in Salisbury to Tinga for food and drinks.

June

June was good vibes all around. More boozy bottomless brunches and trips to London and I just had a great time all month with friends. 

I also bought my new car at the end of June which I felt was such a win for me. It just felt like a moment in my life where my hard work had paid off because I saved up so much and was finally able to get the car I'd wanted for years. 

I went to see Six the musical in Southampton which was great - I am obsessed with the soundtrack now.

July

In July, I went to a festival in Poole with my work colleagues and it was so much fun. Ladies' night was a huge success!

I also went to my first-ever gender reveal party. Joe's sister hosted a gender reveal party, where you bite into the cupcakes and the icing, is either blue or pink. It was pink!!

July seemed to have a baby theme because I went to a baby shower too for my cousin's baby girl. AND I met my friend Siobhan's little boy Tommy for the first time.

Some not-so-good news from July, I had a really painful infected wisdom tooth. Luckily it went away with anti-biotics and it didn't have to be taken out. I wasn't really in the mood for minor surgery it would have killed my best summer since before covid vibe.

August

Speaking of killing the good vibes, I also killed a deer at the beginning of August so we didn't get off to a good start.

After having my new car for only a month, I hit a deer with my car while driving to work one day and sadly the deer died :( and my car was in the garage for about 2 months being fixed as there was so much damage.

There was nothing I could do to stop in time - it just ran straight in front of me and it was pretty traumatic. There were police and RSPCA surrounding me - not to mention it was in the heatwave.

As bad days go, that was a very bad day!

August did get better though, I went to my cousin's wedding which was lovely - I love weddings so much. We also celebrated Joe's birthday and went out for a lovely meal with his family.

I also had 2 great PR meals at Cosmo in Bournemouth and The Giggling Squid (*PR Invites). These meals were both fantastic and I'll be honest - they couldn't have come at a better time. They really cheered me up after the deer incident and it cost me a lot of money so review visits really did come in handy.

September

My main highlight from September was of course visiting Barcelona with Joe - it was one of the best weeks of my life - if not THE best. Barcelona is my new fav city now so it is going to be difficult to top it but I will keep trying the more I travel.

Another highlight was going to my friend Maddie's new flat in London and having a dinner party. She is an amazing cook and we felt like such adults. That was of course until we went clubbing afterwards. Some things just never change.

Also in September, Mum and I went on a cocktail-making experience at Revs which she bought me for my birthday and it was great!

I also got my car back from the garage after hitting the deer - it's as good as new.

October

In October I was invited along to an awards ceremony with work and it was one of the most fun nights I've had. The CEO of my organisation won the award which was fantastic and we were all so proud. It was also great to dress up and have fun with colleagues outside of work.

The National Trust was giving out free tickets over autumn so Joe and I utilised that by going for a long walk around Stourhead. It was the first time I'd been but we really enjoyed it.

I did some more travelling in October and went to Milan, which included a trip to Lake Como. I really loved my time in Milan - I just feel like anywhere in Italy is fab. The food was 10/10 and I felt like I was made up of 70% Aperol Spritz when we got back.

At the end of October, I met my new baby niece on Joe's side, Mahli-Blu. The gender reveal party I mentioned earlier - was for her!

November

November started with a pub quiz that I went to for the first time and I have ended the year as a regular. The best thing about it is that you get a great prize for coming second to last, which we have now won multiple times. I would say work smarter not harder but I'm not sure that works for this. Work dumber not smarter?

Joe and I also went on a relaxing trip to the Cotswolds in November. We stayed in a barn conversion that had a hot tub! I truly was living my best life.

I also had a great time meeting up with lots of friends which left me feeling very grateful.

December

Towards the end of the year, I celebrated the festivities with lots of my friends and family. I went to the Christmas markets in Dortmund after two years of missing out due to covid. Ironically, I caught the worst flu I've had and still have it at the time of writing - I am on day nine of it now so I am hoping it bogs off.

Looking forward to next year

• Seeing Harry Styles
• Watching Pangina Heals live
• Circa Waves gig
• More travelling!
• 5 years with Joe
• Visiting Harry Potter Studios