Lisbon: Private City Tour by Minivan, Alfama, Belém & Pastry Stop

4.96

(709 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“You know, Alfama is like a stubborn grandmother,” João grinned as we squeezed past laundry lines and the smell of grilled sardines. He was our guide — born in Bairro Alto but knew every shortcut in Alfama. I kept losing my sense of direction in those winding streets (honestly, I still don’t know how we ended up by the cathedral so quickly). The city felt alive: church bells echoing somewhere above us, the sun bouncing off yellow tiles, someone arguing gently from a window. That first view from Senhora do Monte — all red roofs tumbling toward the river — kind of set the tone for the rest of this Lisbon private minivan tour.

We hopped back into the van (blessed air conditioning — it was already getting warm) and João pointed out how Baixa was rebuilt after the earthquake. I tried to picture 18th-century Lisbon while he talked about Enlightenment ideas and tiled facades. There was this moment at Miradouro São Pedro de Alcântara where everyone just went quiet for a second; you could hear tram brakes squealing down below and smell coffee drifting up from somewhere. Not sure why that stuck with me but it did.

Belém felt different — more open sky, sea breeze in your face. We stood outside Jerónimos Monastery tracing stone carvings with our fingers (the detail is wild up close), then wandered over to try Pastéis de Belém. The line moved fast; João winked and said locals never eat just one. I burned my tongue on the first bite but honestly didn’t care. Sweet custard, flaky pastry, cinnamon dust — it’s worth every cliché you’ve ever heard about them. We finished at the water by Torre de Belém and the Monument of Discoveries; gulls circling overhead and kids chasing each other on the grass. I didn’t expect to feel so much just standing there looking at that wide Tagus river — maybe it’s something about all those ships that left from here.