Lisbon Wellness City Guide
Written By Pauline Bellocq
It may be just a personal feeling, but I feel like the Portuguese culture of living a slow, spiritual and purposeful life makes this country a very fertile ground for wellness. I recently wrote an article for an online magazine on this topic, and while I was it, I started putting together a Lisbon Wellness City Guide.
Whether you’re living here or visiting Lisbon soon, please share your feedback if you try them and let me know if I forgot some of your favorites!
HEALTHY FOOD
Loja consi.go: the best small neighborhood grocery store in Estrela. Most of the produce comes from Portugal, they have the only tasteful tomatoes in the city and their pineapples from the Açores are incredible. You can create your own weekly box of veggies & fruits and have it delivered to your door. And the owners Goffredo & Silvia, an Italian-Portuguese couple, are simply the best!
Companhia Portugueza do Chá: Housed in an old shoe store from 1880, entering this tea-store is embarking on a journey of the senses. Their curation of teas from all over the world is perfect and so is their selection of tea-pots and other accessories. A great gift or souvenir shop.
Miosotis: a no-frills organic and fresh produce store. Lots of products in bulk and a nice selection of household items. Kind of like Whole Foods but without the nice lighting & merchandising.
Rizoma Cooperativa: the only coop I’ve heard of in Lisbon (please share if you know other ones). There’s a waitlist to become a member, but once you’re in, in exchange for a few hours of service every month, you get discounted prices and it becomes a cheap way to buy high quality groceries.
Loja São: two doors down from the stylish and delicious Café São is the deli-style store of the same name (and same owners I assume). It’s on the pricey side but they carry many flavors of the yummy Koji kombucha and have a good range of international brands. Their beauty & household selection is also great.
El Corte Ingles: the main department store of the city and people’s first answer to “where can I get …”. The underground level boasts a huge gourmet grocery store with a large selection of international foods and organic produce.
LOJA CONSI.GO - Calçada da Estrela 79, 1200-661 Lisboa
YUMMY EATERIES
Jo Sopas: Jo is short for Joséphine but her cute eatery near São Bento is nothing short of yummy. Everything here is homemade with love. The soups, of all flavors and for all seasons and the veggie-forward pies make a perfect healthy lunch combination.
Fauna & Flora: with a few locations across the city, it’s a reliable and trustworthy go-to for brunch, lunch, and pretty much all day food! The colorful presentation of the dishes alone, especially the toasts, is worth a visit.
Marquise da Mobler: actually 2 spaces, Marquise is both a delicious bakery and a café/restaurant next door. The bread and pastries are truly amazing (French person approved!) and the café’s outdoor patio is really cute. Every dish I’ve tried on the menu has been very satisfying too.
The Therapist: Located in the bustling LX Factory, the Therapist is the best option for healthy lunch in the neighborhood: fresh, flavorful and original. Their motto is food as therapy, as good for you as it tastes, and it lives by its promise. They also sell a bunch of soups, powder, mixes & other pantry items to take home.
MARQUISE DA MOBLER, Rua Nova da Piedade, 35, Lisboa, 1200-420
(Photo: timeout)
CUTE CAFES
Liberty café: I don’t drink coffee but when I’m here I wish I did; it looks like they know what they’re doing with their beans. Their matcha is very good, and they have a large selection of natural wines. Haven’t tried the food yet, but if you have let me know how it is! They also have nice magazines and foreign language books in the back.
Comoba: on the trendy Rua da boavista, you cannot miss their stunning open and airy space. Mostly a daytime café, they source their ingredients locally and seasonally, make their plant-based milks in house and also have a carefully sourced matcha.
COMOBA, Rua da Boavista 90, 1200-085 Lisboa
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN RESTAURANTS
Arkhe: Very few restaurants offer fully vegetarian tasting menus, and even more rare are the ones who can do so with panache. Arkhe is one of those. Sourcing locally and using only the freshest and seasonal ingredients, it’s a luxurious vegetable heaven, who earned a Guide Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2023. They also serve a welcome variety of non-alcoholic drinks. The plants and overall greenery of the space only adds to the unforgettable experience. One of my favorites!
Senhor Uva: on Estrela’s hilliest street is a small but always busy “botanical” restaurant. The chef is a she hailing from Canada and bringing some interesting combinations of flavors using only vegetables. And serving only natural wines. A must-go for vegetarians.
Vegan Nata: if you love the idea of pasteis de nata but need a vegan alternative, look no further.
ARKHE, Rua de São Filipe Néri 14, 1250-227 Lisboa
YOGA STUDIOS
Baraza: a hip studio in the hip area of Santos that welcomes hip people for power flow classes. The space is simple and serene and is home to some of the best teachers in the city. I especially enjoy Rebecca Hajek’s and Paula Andreewitch’s classes there.
Yoga room: the biggest studio in town, centrally located in the Corte ingles area. Their space is gigantic and the practice rooms can welcome more than 50 students. It has a bit of a factory feeling because of its size and of all the concrete but the variety of classes offered has no equal in Lisbon.
Lisboa Yoga loft: somewhat off-the-radar, this studio in Principe Real offers the best Iyengar classes in town. Incredibly experienced instructors such as Billy Konrad teach in that space, and it’s worth a visit just for his classes.
BARAZA, CC do Marquês de Abrantes 72, 1200-720 Lisboa
PILATES STUDIOS
Prescription and West Side studio are recently opened reformer pilates studios in the center of Lisbon, offering a variety of classes for all levels of students. With a 35€ drop-in fee for group classes, working out on a reformer is a luxury activity here compared to the US. Private and personalized classes in more low-key studios such as Filipa Mayer or Bells & Springs may be a better investment in comparison.
HEALING CENTERS
Open Hearts: it’s hard to put a label on what that space is exactly, but it’s a one of a kind in Lisbon, offering weekly soundbaths and breathwork sessions, reiki treatments, and access to an infrared sauna and cold plunge. They also host interesting events and workshops around mindfulness-related topics.
Wel Well Center: many things at once, a café, a second-hand shop and a wellness center (offering baths and massages).
OUTDOORS
The city has relatively few parks but the nicest ones are Jardim da Estrela, a peaceful oasis in the bustling heart of Lisbon, Tapada das Necessidades, for its cute cacti garden, wild geese and roosters, the Botanical garden in Principe Real and Monsanto Forest Park, the “green lung” of Lisbon with hiking trails and stunning views of the city.
For out of town escapes in nature, I love surfing in Caparica, suitable for all levels on most days, taking in Sintra’s mystical energy, lunching at bar do Guincho, driving along the beautifully preserved Ericeira coast, or the colorful coastline of Parque Natural da Arrábida.
Parque Natural da Arrabida
ON MY WANT-TO-GO LIST:
Siendo art of being, Kynd space, Ministry of Yoga. Please let me know if there are other not to be missed places !
