Already Know Lisbon, Porto or Funchal? What to Discover on a Second Visit

20 January De 2026

Returning to a city changes the way you explore it. Once you have seen the essential sights, Lisbon, Porto and Funchal reveal other neighbourhoods, restaurants, gardens, cultural spaces and places that rarely fit into a first itinerary. A second visit is an opportunity to leave the checklist behind and discover what you missed the first time.

On a first trip, there are places you inevitably want to see. When you return, that list no longer needs to dictate your days. You already know your way around, recognise some of the streets and can start with what you missed the first time.

THE SECOND TRIP STARTS DIFFERENTLY

You no longer have to start with the must-see sights.

First visit → Landmarks

Second visit → A neighbourhood you have never explored.

First visit → Itinerary

Second visit → A detour because something caught your attention.

First visit → “What haven't we seen yet?”

Second visit → “Where do we feel like going now?”

Lisbon after Belém, Alfama and the first viewpoints

Returning to Lisbon means you can finally stop trying to see the entire city.

On a first visit to Lisbon, it is natural to want to explore Alfama, Baixa, Chiado, Belém and some of the city's viewpoints. When you return, choosing just one area and seeing what happens when there is no rush to reach the next can be a very different way to spend the day.

It might be a morning between Campo de Ourique and Estrela, a few hours in Príncipe Real or an afternoon beside the Tagus. It could be the chance to step inside the gallery you skipped last time, try a restaurant in another neighbourhood or simply return to somewhere you remember from your first trip.

This is also when neighbourhoods stop being places you simply pass through. The streets, shops, terraces and relationship with the river all change from one area to another. Instead of trying to connect several parts of Lisbon in a single day, choose one and stay there for a while.

A DIFFERENT AFTERNOON IN LISBON

Choose a neighbourhood. Book only dinner.
Leave everything in between unplanned.

Lisboa

In Porto, try not heading straight down to Ribeira

If you followed the route down to the Douro last time, start by walking in a different direction.

There is an almost inevitable route on a first visit to Porto: Baixa, São Bento, Ribeira, Luís I Bridge and Gaia. Returning gives you the chance to move away from that route and spend time in Cedofeita, Miguel Bombarda, the Crystal Palace Gardens or Boavista.

It also means you can swap a few hours of sightseeing for an exhibition, a long lunch or some time at a spa. Once you have seen the essentials, the day no longer needs to revolve around a list of places to visit.

TRY DOING THE OPPOSITE

If you walked down to the Douro last time, head in a different direction this time.
Sometimes changing your starting point is enough to discover another side of the city.

In Funchal, leave one day without an excursion

Not every day in Madeira needs to begin with a drive out of the city.

Levada walks, viewpoints, natural pools and mountains are naturally part of a trip to Madeira. On a second visit, however, you can reserve a day for Funchal: start at the market, wander through a garden, stop for lunch and make your way towards the Atlantic later in the afternoon.

When the city is no longer simply the starting point for exploring the island, there is time to notice the places that were overlooked between excursions on the first trip.

A DAY WITHOUT LEAVING FUNCHAL

Market. Garden. Lunch. The Atlantic at the end of the afternoon.
A full day in the city can be part of the Madeira experience too.

A simple rule for a second visit

To avoid making your second itinerary as packed as the first, choose just three things before you travel: something you really want to do, an area you have never explored and a few hours with no plans at all.

THE THREE-THING RULE

Plan a few things. Leave room for others to happen.

01 Something you really want to do

A restaurant, an exhibition, a spa or that place you never managed to visit.

02 An area you have never explored

Choose where to begin. The rest can appear along the way.

03 A few hours with nothing planned

Stay where you are, follow a recommendation or change the plan completely.

What to do in a city you already know?

Perhaps the best part of returning is not having to start at the beginning.

Lisbon will still have neighbourhoods you have never explored. In Porto, there will always be a street that was not part of your first route. And Funchal can feel different when there is no drive across Madeira planned for that morning. On a first trip, the map helps you check what is still left to see. On the second, you can leave it in your pocket for a few hours.

A CITY DESERVES A SECOND VISIT

Return for what you haven't discovered yet.

Explore The Editory Collection Hotels destinations and find a new starting point in Portugal.

DISCOVER DESTINATIONS