Lisbon 7-Day Itinerary

Settle in and start slow. Walk up into Alfama, Lisbon's oldest neighbourhood, and let its stairways and narrow lanes disorient you on purpose — that's how the district is meant to be experienced. Climb to Miradouro de Santa Luzia for your first proper view over the rooftops to the Tagus.

Dinner in Alfama, then follow the sound of fado into one of the neighbourhood's small houses for a late set. The first evening is for orientation — walk, eat, and get a feel for the hills.

A deeper day in Alfama. Arrive at São Jorge Castle when it opens at 09:00 to beat the tour groups — the ramparts give the widest panorama in the city, taking in the castle hill, the river, and the 25 de Abril Bridge in the distance.

Afterwards, walk down to the Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa), a squat Romanesque fortress-church, then continue to Miradouro das Portas do Sol. Spend the afternoon wandering Mouraria, the multicultural neighbourhood next to Alfama and the true birthplace of fado — less polished than Alfama, with African and Asian restaurants and genuine street life.

Evening: dinner in Mouraria or Alfama, then Graça for a nightcap with a view.

A full day west along the river. Take Tram 15E or the train from Cais do Sodré to Belém. Jerónimos Monastery is the centrepiece — a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Manueline cloisters that took a century to complete. Book a timed entry online; the queue without one can run past an hour.

Walk the riverside promenade to Belém Tower, a compact 16th-century fortress that once guarded the harbour. Between the two, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos traces Portugal's Age of Discovery, with a giant pavement map of the world at its base.

Lunch at Pastéis de Belém, open since 1837, for the original warm custard tart with cinnamon. Spend the afternoon at LX Factory, a converted industrial complex under the 25 de Abril Bridge with bookshops, design studios, street food, and a rooftop bar — busiest on Sunday for its vintage market.

Evening: dinner back in the centre, in Chiado or Cais do Sodré.

Morning in Baixa, the grid rebuilt in stone after the 1755 earthquake, walking down to Praça do Comércio on the riverfront. Ride the Elevador de Santa Justa if the queue is short, or just admire the wrought-iron lift from below. Move into Chiado for bookshops, the Carmo Convent ruins (left roofless since the earthquake as a memorial), and coffee at Café A Brasileira.

Lunch at Time Out Market in Cais do Sodré — stalls curated from some of the city's best kitchens under one roof, best visited around 3pm to skip the peak crowd.

Afternoon in Príncipe Real, the city's most elegant neighbourhood: a botanical garden, boutique streets, and a weekend market in the square.

Evening: dinner off the main tourist drag, then Bairro Alto — dozens of small bars packed onto a few cobbled blocks, loud and cheap from 10pm. Pink Street near Cais do Sodré is the louder alternative if the night runs long.

A slower day. Miradouro da Graça and Miradouro da Senhora do Monte, five minutes apart, are the city's best-value viewpoints and quieter than the Alfama ones — spend a morning coffee here before the crowds arrive elsewhere.

Ride Tram 28 for a stretch (before 09:00 or after 6pm to avoid the crush) through Alfama, Graça, and Baixa, or take the less famous Tram 12 for a similar route with fewer tourists.

Afternoon: the National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo), housed in a former convent, traces 500 years of Portugal's azulejo tradition through Moorish geometric patterns and contemporary pieces — a museum most tourists skip and shouldn't.

Evening: a proper seafood dinner — grilled sardines if it's summer, bacalhau à Brás any time of year.

Sintra is a fairy-tale hill town 40 minutes from Lisbon by direct train from Rossio station, and it deserves the full day it demands. Go early — by mid-morning the queues for the palace shuttle buses get long.

Pena Palace, a candy-coloured Romantic palace on the hilltop, is the headline sight — book timed tickets in advance. Quinta da Regaleira, with its symbolic initiation well and mossy underground grottoes, is stranger and just as memorable. If time allows, the Moorish Castle ruins above the town offer a third stop with sweeping views to the Atlantic and far fewer crowds than the palace.

Return to Lisbon by early evening train.

Cascais is 35–40 minutes from Cais do Sodré on the coastal train line, and it's a genuinely different pace from the city — a former fishing village turned elegant beach town. Walk the seafront promenade, browse the compact old town, and if you have energy, continue on foot or by bike along the coast to the dramatic cliffs and blowhole at Boca do Inferno.

Estoril, one stop back towards Lisbon on the same line, has a grand casino and a wide beach promenade — worth a look if you have time before heading back.

Return to Lisbon in the late afternoon. For your final evening, book a table somewhere that does the Lisbon restaurant scene justice — a modern Portuguese kitchen in Príncipe Real or a classic tasca in Alfama — and end the trip with one last glass of vinho verde and, if you haven't already found your favourite, a final pastel de nata.