Everyone walks Lisbon uphill and complains about Lisbon. The trick is to arrive at the top by tram or taxi and let gravity do the day: Senhora do Monte, then down through the castle, the lanes, the squares and finally the water.

Where to start: Early morning at the top, before the light goes flat and the hills get hot.

The walk, in order

1. 1
   Miradouro da Senhora do Monte Attractions & fun - viewpoint

   The highest of the classic viewpoints, on the Graca hill: castle, Baixa and the river in one sweep. Half an hour, and it sets up everything below you.

2. 2
   Sao Jorge Castle Landmarks & history - castle

   Downhill into the citadel above Alfama - rampart walks and a dig through three cultures. Two to three hours if you take the archaeology seriously.

3. 3
   Casa dos Bicos Landmarks & history - historic building

   Keep dropping towards the water to the 1523 house spiked with diamond-cut stone, now the Saramago foundation. An hour, and mostly about the facade.

4. 4
   Praça do Comércio Landmarks & history - square

   The river square, rebuilt after 1755 where the royal palace stood. This is the bottom of the hill and the halfway mark of the day.

5. 5
   Carmo Convent Landmarks & history - ruined convent

   Back up, briefly, to the church the earthquake unroofed and nobody rebuilt - deliberately left open to the sky. The one climb of the afternoon.

6. 6
   Chiado Museums & culture - neighbourhood

   The literary quarter next door: old cafes, theatres, bookshops, and Siza's rebuilding after the 1988 fire. Two to three hours if you let the cafes have you.

7. 7
   Ascensor da Bica Attractions & fun - funicular

   Ride the 1892 funicular down the steepest photographed street in the city. Fifteen minutes, and worth the ticket for the view up the rails.

8. 8
   Calçada Portuguesa Museums & culture - craft tradition

   You have been walking on the last stop all day: the black and white limestone mosaic that Lisbon invented. Look down before you stop looking up.

Where to cheat

Tram 28 up the hill at the start is not a shortcut, it is the sensible opening move - and the lifts and funiculars are public transport here, not attractions. Belem, with the tower and the monastery, is a separate half day by tram west; it does not fit this walk and pretending otherwise ruins both.

Honest expectations

The famous pavement is beautiful and slippery, especially on a slope after rain, and the hills are steeper than photographs suggest. If your knees are the weak link, do this one in the other direction and use the funiculars on the way up.

More of this country is on the Portugal page. Going between towns instead? See the routes. Other cities on foot are on city walks.