You wouldn’t guess these places were hidden in Lisbon! Aside from the overrated mainstream hit attractions that a city boasts with in the glossy pages of advertorials, there is a secret life of “underground” attractions that can sometimes capture the authentic life of a place much better than anything else.

Lisbon, the bohemian and quiet capital city of Portugal, abounds both in great sightseeing sites and in hidden gems that are really worth all your time and attention.

LXFactory is an amazing place to be for any hipster these days. It is an artist biotope, a small hidden universe at the very heart of Lisbon. Textiles used to be produced here in the middle of the 19th century, but business ended with the final industrial decline in the early 2000s. And these days, the old factory serves as a true tourist hub, housing over 150 restaurant, shops and shopping stands.

Livraria de Simao (or Simon’s Bookshop) is one of the most surprising tourist attractions ever: no bigger than 4 square meters, this just might be the smallest bookstore in the world! What is amazing is that it houses some 4000 books! A true keeper of Portuguese and world culture!

Street art is big in Lisbon. Neighbourhoods like Alfama and Belem are the best places to go if you want to see and photograph some of the greatest urban art pieces – masterpieces, even! This is another surprising hidden gem.

We stop our list for a bit just to remind you of two of the best ways to enjoy roaming about town: a Lisbon taxi transfer and Lisbon car hire.

Halfway between “chartered” tourist destination and “underground” attraction, The Azulejos Museum celebrates one of the greatest traditional Portuguese art forms: the azulejo, beautiful ceramic tiles that cover the inside and outsides of the walls of buildings in the city.