Lisbon just ranked 3rd best foodie city in Europe. Ahead of London, Paris, and Madrid.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Wednesday, 20 May. Twenty-three degrees, sunny. The jacarandas are peaking. And Lisbon was just named the third best city in Europe to eat in. You already knew it was great and now there’s proof.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 20 (Good).

🗞️ TOP STORY

LISBON JUST RANKED 3RD BEST FOODIE CITY IN EUROPE. HERE'S WHERE LOCALS ACTUALLY EAT.

The TUI Musement Foodie Ranking 2026, based on Google search volume for food tours across European cities, placed Lisbon third in Europe. Only Rome and Bologna ranked higher. Porto came ninth. Portugal is the only country with two cities in the top 10, ahead of London, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Paris. See the full ranking.

What the ranking measures is not fine dining. It measures the volume of people actively searching for food tours, which is a proxy for culinary curiosity. More people want to eat their way through Lisbon than through London, Paris, or Madrid. That says something about how the city's food culture has shifted over the past decade.

The strength is not any single restaurant. It is the density. Alfama, Mouraria, Bairro Alto, Madragoa, Campo de Ourique, Arroios: every neighbourhood in this city has a food identity, and most of them are accessible on foot or by tram. A pastel de bacalhau in Baixa, grilled sardines in Alfama, a francesinha at Invicta Madragoa, a tasting menu at 100 Maneiras, cardamom coffee and falafel at Zaytouna in Arroios, pastéis de nata still warm from the oven at Manteigaria. If you have been reading this newsletter's Spot of the Day, you have already been eating your way through the ranking without realising it.

The Michelin Guide Portugal 2026 reinforced the momentum. Ten new stars were awarded this year, including a second star for Fifty Seconds at the top of the Vasco da Gama Tower. But the ranking is not about Michelin. It is about the 56% of travellers who now say culinary experiences are a primary reason for choosing a destination, not a secondary one. 71% book food tours in advance. The demand is structural, not a trend.

For anyone who lives here, this is both validation and warning. The ranking brings visitors, and visitors bring revenue, and revenue supports the restaurants, markets, and producers that make the food scene work. But it also brings pressure. The tascas that earned the ranking are the ones that could be priced out by it. The markets that feel local now may not in five years. Lisbon's food culture is built on affordability, neighbourhood loyalty, and a tradition of cooking simply with excellent ingredients. Whether that survives the attention it is now receiving is the question the ranking does not ask.

Bottom line: Lisbon earned third place in Europe. The food is the reason most of you moved here, or at least the reason you stayed. The challenge now is keeping it the way it is while the rest of the world discovers what you already know.

⚡ QUICK HITS

TAP is offering free flight date changes through June 15. Book a TAP flight between now and June 15 and you can change your travel dates at no extra cost. With the CGTP general strike on June 3 and summer schedules unpredictable, this is worth knowing about. Full terms at tap.pt.

Queima das Fitas starts Friday in Coimbra. Portugal's biggest student festival runs May 22-30: nine days of parades, serenades at the university steps, concerts, and the famous cortejo where students in black capes march through the city. Coimbra is 2.5 hours by car or 1 hour 45 by Alfa Pendular.

The CGTP general strike is two weeks away. June 3. The labour reform bill is in parliament. The UGT still hasn't decided whether to join. Plan around it now.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

CAN THE CAN (TERREIRO DO PAÇO)

Yes, it is on the most famous square in Lisbon. Yes, tourists walk past every day. And yes, it is still worth going.

Can the Can sits on the Praça do Comércio at number 82-83. The concept started with Portugal's tinned fish industry, which dates back to 1854. The restaurant takes that heritage seriously: sardines, mackerel, tuna, cod roe, and octopus from Portuguese conserveiras, some with recipes unchanged for over a century, served alongside fresh Atlantic seafood.

Executive chef Pedro Almeida runs a menu broader than the tin-fish concept suggests. The sardine bruschetta is the starter that explains why the restaurant works: tinned sardines elevated with fresh ingredients and good bread. The grilled octopus, the squid ink linguini, and the codfish cakes all get consistent praise in reviews.

The interior is worth seeing on its own. The lighting is made from actual tin cans, which sounds like a gimmick and looks like art. A first-floor store sells Portuguese conservas to take home. Live Portuguese guitar on the terrace in the afternoon. Fado in the evenings.

The terrace faces the Praça do Comércio, and on a warm May evening with the light coming off the river, the setting is hard to argue with. Around €17 to €26 per person.

→ Tinned fish, fresh seafood, and fado on Lisbon's most famous square. See for yourself ←

Insider tip: Skip the terrace at lunch when it fills with cruise ship passengers and drink prices run high. Go at 7pm on a weekday, sit inside where the tin-can lighting does its work, and order the sardine bruschetta and the daily fish.

📅 WHAT'S ON

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See you tomorrow morning.