Finding nata: walk to Belem, Lisbon

Time: 3 hours

Distance: 7km (route map here!)

NATA of Manteigaria and Pastéis de Belém | LX Factory | Ler Devagar bookshop| Waterfront | Belém Tower |

We had a quest while we were in Lisbon: to find the egg custard nata, and walk to Belém, their home.

(We also went on another quest to find all the Lisbon tiles, too which you can read here)

You probably know the nata already: sweet vanilla custard -set just gooey- encased in buttery flaky pastry, sprinkled with cinnamon. Kind of irresistible.

Lisbon really is the birthplace of the Portuguese egg custard nata. And as any passer-by, forum or quick Google will tell you, ‘THE’ place to get them in Lisbon is a pastelaria called Pastéis de Belém, which has baked nata since 1837.

But funnily enough, Belem is not really in central Lisbon at all – it’s actually 7km away. We know: the inner tourist groans at the distance.

But here we saw an opportunity. Why not just walk to Belem? Use it as a chance to explore a bit, with pastries at the end?

And when we looked it up, we found a route that went through whole areas of Lisbon we’d like to explore. And not only could we end with nata, we could begin with nata too…

Start: Manteigaria

So we began the walk to Belem at Lisbon city centre’s most sought-after pastry shop: Manteigaria. It only sells custard tarts, and people are whispering it even rivals Pastéis de Belem.

We arrived for opening -no queue- and bought two (a euro apiece), fresh and warm. They seemed to sell only nata, and we could watch the pastry chefs sling the next ones in the oven whilst we sipped our 1 euro coffee at the counter. It was a bakery for the nata purist, and we loved it.

And these were good nata. Like really good. It was gooey, but not too gooey. Flaky, but not falling apart. Sweet, milky. A totally acceptable breakfast to start our walk to Belem right?

And so we set out. Up from Manteigaria, we walked first past the famous yellow funicular. It’s hoisted up a steep pastel-coloured street, with water sparkling blue behind. And the whole area is total beauty spot!

Embassy area

Then the city centre slowly disappeared, shading into the quiet Embassy district, grand palatial houses spaced far apart. The flags of the US, China, Bulgaria fluttered above us as we walked, trams trundled by.

The streets are pretty around here and oh, we also spotted here number 5 Rua do Sacramento à Lapa – one of the most heavily tiled buildings in Lisbon. And we do love a good tile.

LX Factory

On the horizon beyond the Embassies is Lisbon’s Ponte 25 de Abril – a Golden Gate-style suspension bridge. We made our way to it steadily, eventually standing directly beneath it. It’s, well, huge, and cool to walk under.

Under the bridge was also our first stop, the LX Factory. Once a fabric factory, now a converted trendy shop/café complex. So far so hipster.

We stopped there at the artisan Wish Slow Coffee House and also popped into one of Lisbon’s must-see interiors, Ler Devagar bookshop. Good in photos, incredible in real life!

We came away thinking the LX Factory is probably worth visiting whatever you’re doing while in Lisbon.

Riverside

It didn’t take long from the LX Factory to get right out onto the waterfront of south Lisbon, along the River Tagus. It’s straight and easy, everything bright from the water. How many people have seen this side of Lisbon?

And then we simply walked to Belem, which popped up on the right. It’s just a small district with one big name on the high street – our pastry shop goal, Pastéis de Belém. We were prepared for a long queue lining up under its pretty blue awnings, but there wasn’t really anyone. Weird?

This is the secret: it’s because EVERYONE comes at once on the tram. Arrive on your own and you can walk straight in!

So we did.

And trust us: they are worth the walk.

So Pastéis de Belém or Manteigaria? Can’t tell you which we prefer, you’ll just have to tell us which one is your favourite after you’ve walked it too.

Here’s the map so you too can walk to Belém.

Also…

From Pastéis de Belém, the famous Belém Tower is just down the (not very nice) main road if you want to take a look (we did and it was gorgeous). The perfect way to end the walk to Belem:

Now, a walk back? Or maaaaybe just get the tram…

What do you think of our walk to Belem? How far would you go for pastries!?

Remember you can keep up with our adventures on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.