I am officially obsessed with Lagos. From the quaint old town with a mix of bars, restaurants, and shops to the stunning beaches I fell in love. Don’t confuse this with Lagos, Nigeria. Lagos, the love of my life, is in Portugal. All of the photos here are from the cliff walk I mention later on in the post. Read on for what you must do in Lagos, Portugal.
We stayed at an adorable hostel JJ’s Yard. This is family owned by a young couple that has two locations and lives in between them. They are readily available to help give guidance and stop by every morning to check up on their guests and chat with them about life. The place feels so homey. At night, they take you on pub-crawls throughout the old town. I’ve never felt so cared about by a hostel or hotel for that matter. They truly go above and beyond to ensure you enjoy yourself.
What You Must Do in Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is full of beaches; it would be a shame for you to not check some out on your stay here. For 25 euro there are boat rides through the coastal grottos. The boatman can be located next to the fortress along the coast.
Another alternative is to do a cliff walk. Actually, it’s not an alternative, it’s a must do. Walk to the fortress and when standing directly in front of the fortress you would head to the fortress’s right. This will take you towards the cliffs and lighthouse. While doing the cliff walk you will get sensational views of the beaches and cliffs. Wear sunscreen though! We got sunburned on our three-hour walk. There trails aren’t always obvious but always try to keep to the left as much as possible. Eventually, you will reach a restaurant called Antonios where we stopped for ciders but they also offer delicious octopus rice.
Nightlife in Lagos
No list of what to do in Lagos would be complete without nightlife. One of the things that surprised me about Portugal is its vibrant nightlife. I discuss the nightlife of Lisbon here. In Lagos, all the bars are tightly packed together in the old town, which means that our hostel was in close range. We visited Three Monkeys that offers battleshots and beer bongs. This bar was packed the night that we went.
On our second night, we hit up The Tavern. The shots in this bar are insane! They have something called “Walk the Plank” which costs 25 euro (at time of writing) to participate in unless you beat the record time. In order to win, you have to do the six shots (not all are very nice) in less than the record time. When we got to the bar the record was 7.2 seconds; however, this was beat that night and became 6 seconds. I don’t even think I could swallow six times in six seconds. They offer beer bongs and keep a record of the countries that have done it. Naturally, I took one for Canada.
Finally, many of the bars close at 2 am. So at 2 am head on over to Inside Out which stays open until 4 am and keep going. As it is the only place still open, it gets PACKED and quickly too. The Black Cat is where all the locals congregate if you are in for more of authentic experience. Plus, you can drink in the streets here.
Food In Lagos
We ate breakfast at Café Odeon on both days that we were there. For 3 euro you can get an English breakfast that is quite tasty. Café Odeon is very tiny and non-descript but offers delectable breakfast.
The Green Room serves zestful Mexican food. We had dinner here that included burritos, fish tacos and jalapeno poppers. We now know that authentic jalapeno poppers are made of battered jalapenos and our mouths will beg us to be a bit gentler next time.
Yum, fish tacos.
Another place we ate was Churrasqueira “Praca d Armas” which served excellent half chicken and fries for 6 euros.
Antonio’s Restaurant is located quite far away from the old town; however, the meal with a view is well worth it. Or in our case, ciders with a view.
Ciders with a view at Antonios.
On the night of our bar hopping, we finished by getting donairs/kebabs from Paradise Doner Kebab. A local recommended that I get durum which is essentially a Canadian donair. Jess got a doner. Both were simply amazing and highly recommended.
In addition, Bondi Café offers Portuguese tarts that are divine.
I cannot recommend a trip to Lagos more. I would love to come back here just for a week of relaxation.
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