1
Ride Tram 28 through the old city
Experience
The yellow tram rattles up Alfama’s hills past every postcard view, board early at the terminus for a seat.
Time1 hr
Cost€3
Best atEarly AM
TipStart at terminus
Country
Portugal
▶ Video · Lisbon on Foot, Hills, Trams & Tarts
▶ Watch the guide The best things to do in Lisbon are riding Tram 28, the monuments and pastéis of Belém, fado in Alfama and a sunset miradouro. Give it 3 days, visit in spring or autumn, and wear shoes for the hills.
Lisbon tumbles down seven hills to the river in a wash of pastel tiles, rattling trams and melancholy song. Below are the ten experiences worth your time, mapped, with a Wimup video guide.
The yellow tram rattles up Alfama’s hills past every postcard view, board early at the terminus for a seat.
The Jerónimos Monastery and riverside tower, then the original warm pastéis de nata from Pastéis de Belém.
Lisbon’s oldest quarter, a tangle of stairways, washing lines and fado drifting from tiny taverns.
A Moorish hilltop castle with peacocks and the best panorama over the red roofs and the Tejo.
Portugal’s soulful, melancholic song over dinner in a tiny tavern, book ahead and hush for the singer.
A converted industrial complex of bookshops, design stores and brunch under the 25 de Abril bridge.
Lisbon’s terraced viewpoints come with a kiosk bar, grab a drink and watch the light go gold.
A misty hill town of fairy-tale palaces, the candy-coloured Pena Palace and the eerie Quinta da Regaleira.
Take the ferry to Cacilhas for the yellow tables on the water, facing the whole city.
The 19th-century hole-in-the-wall that pours the city’s cherry liqueur. One euro, standing.
Five centuries of Portuguese tilework in a convent, ending in a 23-metre panorama of pre-quake Lisbon.
The wave-roofed riverside museum of art, architecture and technology; walk its roof at sunset.
The “thieves’ market” behind the pantheon: azulejos, vinyl and gloriously random junk.
A slow glide along the Tagus between the Oceanário and the Vasco da Gama tower.
Turquoise coves under green cliffs, and Sesimbra’s fish grills; best with a car.
A whitewashed walled town you can circle on the ramparts, chocolate-cup ginjinha included.
The only day you can run across the 25 de Abril bridge.
The city's patron saint: sardines, paper lanterns and all-night marchas in Alfama.
The biennial mega-festival in Parque da Bela Vista, even-numbered summers.
Adventurous jazz in the Gulbenkian's open-air amphitheatre.
A fado festival spread across the neighbourhood that invented it.
A flat, fast course along the river from Cascais to Praça do Comércio.
Europe's biggest tech conference takes over the city for a week; book beds early.
Fireworks over the Tagus from the city's front square.
Right in the city, 7km N. The red metro line reaches the centre in ~20 min.
Historic yellow trams and funiculars climb the hills; tap a Viva Viagem card.
Warm custard tart with a flaky shell and cinnamon.
Salt cod, done (they say) a different way every day.
A garlicky marinated pork sandwich.
Charcoal-grilled sardines, summer’s smell of Lisbon.
Kale-and-potato soup with a slice of chouriço.
Sour-cherry liqueur, sipped from a chocolate cup.
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