Here's an unconventional packing tip for Australian travellers heading to Portugal: make room in your suitcase for a millennial. The extra baggage fees might cost you what you saved flying economy, but the investment pays dividends in unforgettable experiences.
The Ultimate Travel Hack
Taking a millennial companion to Portugal delivers stress-free holidays where you simply roll out of bed, pull on walking shoes, and follow their lead. Forget organised tours with neck loops and predictable itineraries. Instead, prepare for days that pack in a monastery, church, palace, and castle—all before lunch.
The fitness benefits alone justify the decision. Your activity ring will close by midday after climbing 164 steps to tower views and navigating Lisbon's famous No. 28 tram. You'll discover laneway cafes seating just six people, where charming husband-and-wife teams serve pasteis de nata and bacalhau.
Beyond the Tourist Trail
Thirty-seven-year-old Fletcher, our millennial guide, planned an eight-night Portuguese journey covering Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, and the Douro Valley with meticulous precision. Staying in inner-city Airbnbs—one requiring 64 steps to reach—provided perfect vantage points for exploring historic attractions on foot.
Pounding cobbled streets revealed authentic local life: colourful washing arrays on balconies, elderly women carrying wicker baskets of fresh sea bass to restaurants, and students in academic gowns with chamber pots on their heads celebrating the end of the academic year through praxe initiation rituals. A guitarist busking from a first-floor balcony, using a rope-attached hat for coin collection, added to the vibrant street theatre.
Culinary Gold Mines
The true magic emerged in dining experiences far from main tourist tracks. Armed with an e-sim and nimble thumbs, our millennial located exceptional eateries within minutes of hunger pangs setting in after kilometres of walking between monasteries and churches.
Fletcher's go-to resource was oladaniela.com by Australian Daniela Sunde-Brown, a Lisbon-based former travel writer. She started her blog in 2021, tired of formulaic itinerary suggestions from other content creators. Her standout recommendation was O Velho Eurico, hidden in Lisbon's historic Alfama district, where young chef Ze Paulo Roche serves modern neo-tasca takes on Portuguese food via daily blackboard specials.
When we arrived at 6pm to find it closed, the chef himself emerged to apologise that his five tables were booked for three months. After three nights of queueing, we secured counter seats by mentioning Fletcher's birthday celebration. The staff sang Happy Birthday while delivering complimentary brandy shots, making us feel like lottery winners.
Lisbon's Hidden Gems
Other culinary treasures in Lisbon include The Tavern at Casa do Alentejo, located in the courtyard of a historic cultural centre devoted to Alentejo region people. Securing a table proves challenging, but millennial persistence pays off with Portuguese tapas like chicken gizzards, sheep's milk cheese, and codfish cakes, accompanied by live traditional Alentejo songs.
Pasteis de Belem requires queuing for about an hour, but the legendary Portuguese tarts—made with rich custard from monks' leftover egg yolks—deliver unforgettable flaky pastry and custard texture contrasts.
Porto's Dining Delights
In Porto, Patio 44 offers innovative takes on traditional Portuguese cuisine, though bookings fill months ahead. The owner took pity on our repeated attempts, eventually seating us for what became our journey's culinary highlight: beef cheek with pear and beetroot, and duck breast with celeriac puree, all for just over $100.
The experience surpassed anything found on organised coach tours, including the bareknuckle thrill of tearing through Douro Valley's vine-laden hills in a hire car with a millennial leading the charge. For authentic Portuguese adventures that bypass tourist clichés, either google Daniela's blog or pack your own millennial. The generational travel partnership transforms holidays into genuine cultural immersion.
