I'm not really sure why it took me so long to visit Portugal, but it did (insert disappointed in myself face: 😞 ). I'm slightly ashamed to admit that Lisbon, and Portugal in general for that matter, was not high on my list. I can't really explain the thinking behind that; it just wasn't. And the only reason I passed through Portugal for a few days this summer is because I wanted to use airline points to return from Europe, and good ole Lisbon happened to be the city that fit my preferred day, time and number of points. So, off I went from Milan to Lisbon for a few days before returning to the U.S.

Within hours of being there, I knew I had made two big mistakes:

Taking so long to visit Lisbon.
Staying so few days in what is now one of my new favorite cities.

It doesn't hurt that the weather, though a tad hot, was almost perfection. Pair that with the amazing food (seriously, why is the cuisine in Portugal not as popular as its European neighbors?) and beautiful buildings made of tiles, or azulejos as it's called in Portuguese, and it all just came together in what was an absolutely stunning few days in this coastal city.

Here are 30 pictures from my trip that will make you want to visit Lisbon ASAP. I'm already trying to figure out when I can return to Portugal for a longer period of time so that I can explore more of Lisbon as well as see other parts of Portugal, including Sintra, Cascais, Porto, Douro Valley, Madeira Island, the Azores, Algarve, and the list goes on and on.

And, as an added bonus, here's a brief video of my first evening in Lisbon. It was the moment I decided this is my kind of city!

Have you ever been to Lisbon? If so, what did you think?