Trip notes
If you are going yourself
Everything practical for Lisbon, Portugal in one place — where it actually is, where to sleep, how to move, what to eat, what the weather does, and what to put in the bag. The story itself follows.
Travelled
As a nomad — Working remotely and moving on every few days. The blue-hour walk was the reason to shut the laptop by seven.
The route
6 stops · 1 slept in · 3 nights
Drag to pan, use +/− to zoom, tap a pin for detail.
Alfama guesthouse
3 nights · base
Reached 2 Oct, 18:40Good with kidsDogs welcome
Inside the maze, steep stairs, no lift, and the 28 tram at 06:00.
Good signal — Fibre wifi indoors, 5G outside. Connectivity is never the problem here.
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte
Passed through · 19:40
Reached 3 Oct, 19:40Good with kidsDogs welcome
Start here about forty minutes before sunset. Widest view in the city.
Good signal — Full 5G, though it slows when the sunset crowd all upload at once.
On foot
Graça
Passed through · 20:10
Reached 3 Oct, 20:10Good with kidsDogs welcome
Downhill through the neighbourhood as the crowd thins behind you.
Good signal — 5G throughout, and free municipal wifi in some of the squares.
On foot
Largo das Portas do Sol
Passed through · 20:35
Reached 3 Oct, 20:35Good with kidsDogs welcome
Tiles, terracotta and the Tagus. The postcard, and it earns it.
Good signal — Strong signal, and a café on the corner if you need to send photos.
On foot
Sé Cathedral steps
Passed through · 20:55
Reached 3 Oct, 20:55Good with kidsNo dogs
Where the 28 appears without warning. Stand well back and wait for it.
Good signal — Fine, apart from a moment's drop as the tram passes.
On foot
Campo das Cebolas
Passed through · 21:15
Reached 3 Oct, 21:15Good with kidsDogs welcome
Flat, quiet, riverside — and where the blue hour actually peaks.
Good signal — 5G by the river, and open wifi in the food hall opposite.
On foot
Alfama and Graça — the walking route in the story38.7118° N, 9.1300° W
Open route in Google MapsOpen in OpenStreetMapDay by day
4 days, start to finish · 2–5 October 2025
Day 12 Oct
Alfama guesthouseSaw: AlfamaStaying Alfama
- Clear sky, 29°/18°
Day 23 Oct
Starting from AlfamaOn foot toMiradouro da Senhora do MonteOn foot toGraçaOn foot toLargo das Portas do SolOn foot toSé Cathedral stepsOn foot toCampo das CebolasStaying Alfama
- Overcast, 28°/16°
Day 34 Oct
Starting from AlfamaOn foot toMiradouro da Senhora do MonteOn foot toCampo das CebolasSaw: BaixaSaw: ChiadoSaw: Time Out MarketStaying Alfama
- Overcast, 26°/17°
Day 45 Oct
Starting from AlfamaSaw: Belém and the monasterySaw: Tram 28Travelling home
- Overcast, 26°/15°
What to pack
Built for hills and cobbles, not for looking smart
- Clothing
- Cottons
- Shoes
- Grippy soles
- Money
- Cards fine
- Medicine
- Blister plasters
Where to stay
Alfama
Guesthouse or apartmentGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Inside the maze, seconds from the viewpoints. Steep stairs, no lifts, and the 28 tram rattling past at 06:00.
Graça / Mouraria
Small hotelGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
One hill up and noticeably cheaper. Best base if the blue-hour route is the point of the trip.
Baixa / Chiado
HotelGood with kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Flat, central and well connected, at the cost of atmosphere and about 30% more per night.
Getting around
From the airportGood with kidsDogs welcome
Red metro line to the centre in about 20 minutes. Buy a rechargeable Navegante card at the machine.
Getting aroundGood with kidsDogs welcome
Walk. Lisbon's centre is small; it is only the gradient that makes it feel large.
The hillsGood with kidsDogs welcome
Use the funiculars (Glória, Bica) and the Santa Justa lift as transport, not attractions — they are on the same transit card.
Tram 28Good with kidsDogs welcome
Genuinely useful and permanently full. Board at Martim Moniz early morning, or accept standing.
Food stops
Time Out Market
Food hallGood with kidsNo dogsVegan options
Every well-known Lisbon kitchen under one roof. Excellent and priced accordingly; go for lunch, not dinner.
Tascas in Alfama
Neighbourhood restaurantGood with kidsDogs welcomeLittle for vegans
Handwritten menu, no photographs, grilled fish and vinho verde. If it has a laminated menu in four languages, keep walking.
Pastéis de nata
BakeryGood with kidsDogs welcomeLittle for vegans
Belém has the famous one and the queue. Any decent neighbourhood pastelaria is 90% as good with no wait.
Ginjinha
Standing barNot one for kidsDogs welcomeVegan options
Sour-cherry liqueur, drunk standing up near Rossio in about 45 seconds. One is right.
Main attractions
11 in 4 days
Alfama
Day 1
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte
Day 2
Graça
Day 2
Largo das Portas do Sol
Day 2
Sé Cathedral steps
Day 2
Campo das Cebolas
Day 2
Baixa
Day 3
Chiado
Day 3
Time Out Market
Day 3
Belém and the monastery
Day 4
Tram 28
Day 4
The story
Seven hills, none of them flattened. Every street is a viewpoint for the street below it.
The route, high to water
- Senhora do Monte, forty minutes before sunset — widest view, thins as the light drops.
- Downhill through Graça, then let Alfama lose you.
- Largo das Portas do Sol — tiles, terracotta, the Tagus behind it.
- Sé Cathedral stairs — the 28 arrives without warning.
- Campo das Cebolas by 21:15 — flat, quiet, where the blue hour peaks.
Azulejos
- Flat white by day. Genuinely violet for twenty minutes after sunset.
- Most people leave before that, which is why the photographs all look the same.
- Dinner after: handwritten menu, no photographs, grilled fish, vinho verde.
Wait for the streetlights while there is still colour in the sky. That overlap is the whole photograph.
A walking route through Alfama and Graça timed entirely around the twenty minutes when the tiles go violet.
- #photography
- #europe
- #walking
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