Things to Do in Lisbon: A Traveller’s Guide to Portugal

Lisbon does not reveal itself all at once. The city climbs a series of steep hills above the Tagus, so that a walk from one neighbourhood to the next often means a change in century as much as elevation — Roman foundations giving way to Moorish alleyways, then to the ornate stonework of an empire built on spice and salt. For travellers who prefer to understand a place rather than rush through it, Lisbon rewards patience. This guide covers the things to do in Lisbon that matter most to curious, unhurried travellers, and how they fit naturally into Odyssey Traveller’s 18-day Discover Portugal small group tour.

Why Lisbon Rewards a Slower Pace

Lisbon is often treated as a stopover — a night or two before travellers move on to the Algarve or across the border into Spain. That does the city a disservice. Founded, by tradition, on seven hills above the Tagus estuary, Lisbon has been continuously inhabited since Phoenician traders anchored here more than 3,000 years ago. It has been Roman Olisipo, a Moorish stronghold, and — during the Age of Discovery — one of the wealthiest cities in Europe, its harbour thick with ships returning from India and Brazil laden with spice, gold, and textiles. Each period left a mark that is still visible today, from the Roman theatre buried beneath the Alfama district to the Manueline flourishes carved into the doorways of Belém.

For curious, unhurried travellers, Lisbon’s compact historic core is part of its appeal. Many of its major sights sit within a few kilometres of one another, connected by trams, funiculars, and — for the hills — a network of viewpoints, or miradouros (lookout terraces), that double as excuses to pause and take in the view. A guided visit with a knowledgeable local, rather than a self-directed march between landmarks, tends to make the cobblestones and inclines far more manageable, which is one reason Odyssey Traveller’s Portugal tour builds in two full days based in Lisbon before moving on.

The City Rebuilt: Baixa and Praça do Comércio

Much of what visitors see in central Lisbon today dates only to the mid-18th century, following one of the most destructive natural disasters in European history. On All Saints’ Day in 1755, an earthquake now estimated at close to magnitude 8.5 struck the city, followed by a tsunami and fires that burned for days. Large sections of Lisbon, including its royal palace on the riverfront, were destroyed. The Marquês de Pombal, effectively running the kingdom on behalf of King José I, oversaw the reconstruction of the lower town — the Baixa — on a strict grid plan, one of the earliest examples of large-scale earthquake-resistant urban design anywhere in the world.

The result is Praça do Comércio, a grand riverfront square framed by symmetrical arcaded buildings in pale yellow stone, opening onto the Tagus through a triumphal arch. It is worth pausing here before heading into Alfama or Belém, if only to appreciate the contrast: Pombal’s rational, geometric Baixa on one side, and the tangled medieval streets that survived the earthquake — Alfama chief among them — on the other. That contrast, more than any single monument, is what makes Lisbon such a rewarding city to walk through slowly.

Belém: Monuments of the Age of Discovery

Most lists of things to do in Lisbon rightly start in Belém, the riverside district from which Portuguese ships once departed for India, Brazil, and the coasts of Africa. The Jerónimos Monastery is the district’s centrepiece: a former monastery of the Order of St Jerome, built in the elaborate Manueline style — Portugal’s own late-Gothic flourish, thick with maritime motifs of ropes, coral, and armillary spheres. It was funded, in part, by the pepper trade that made Lisbon rich, and it remains one of the finest examples of the style anywhere in the country.

A short walk along the river brings you to the Torre de Belém, a 16th-century fortification that guarded the mouth of the Tagus and today functions as an emblem of the city almost as recognisable as the monastery itself. Nearby, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos — the Monument of the Discoveries — commemorates the era with a striking stone prow, built where explorers’ ships once began their voyages east. The monument was raised in 1960 to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, and its ranks of carved figures — explorers, cartographers, and monarchs — trace the arc of the Portuguese maritime empire from the 15th into the 16th century, when Vasco da Gama’s route to India and the subsequent spice trade briefly made Lisbon one of the richest cities in the world.

No visit to Belém is complete without the Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belém, which has been baking Portugal’s famous custard tart to a closely guarded recipe since 1837. The tarts are best eaten warm, dusted with cinnamon, at one of the café’s tiled communal tables.

Alfama and the Moorish Quarter

If Belém tells the story of Lisbon’s wealth, the Alfama district tells the story of what came before it. This is Lisbon’s oldest surviving neighbourhood, a warren of narrow lanes and whitewashed houses draped in laundry lines, largely untouched by the 1755 earthquake that levelled much of the rest of the city. Alfama’s streets predate the Christian reconquest of Lisbon, and its layout — irregular, steep, and best explored on foot rather than by any fixed route — still reflects centuries of Moorish urban planning.

Two viewpoints anchor a walk through the district: Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol, both fitted with tiled balustrades and both offering sweeping views over Alfama’s terracotta rooftops to the river beyond. Above the neighbourhood sits the Castelo de São Jorge, a Moorish castle that once guarded the city and today offers one of the best vantage points over Lisbon and the Tagus. Along the way, keep an eye out for azulejos — the hand-painted blue-and-white tiles that cover building façades across the city, a decorative tradition with roots in Moorish Iberia that the Portuguese made distinctly their own.

A Fado Evening: Lisbon’s Soundtrack

No account of things to do in Lisbon would be complete without Fado, the melancholic musical tradition that emerged from the city’s port districts in the 1830s. Sung to the accompaniment of the pear-shaped Portuguese guitar, Fado’s lyrics dwell on saudade — the Portuguese word for longing that resists easy translation but is instantly recognisable once heard. The tradition is believed to draw on medieval troubadour songs, Moorish musical influences, and the laments of sailors and dockworkers who once populated neighbourhoods like Alfama and Mouraria.

A restaurant performance, over a slow dinner, remains one of the more atmospheric ways to experience it — arguably more so than a formal concert hall, given Fado’s working-class, tavern-born origins. On the Odyssey Traveller Portugal tour, an evening dedicated to a Fado performance is built into the Lisbon leg of the itinerary, paired with dinner at a local restaurant.

Practical Notes for Exploring Lisbon

Lisbon’s hills are real, and they are not always gentle. Cobblestones — beautiful as they are underfoot — can be uneven, and several of the city’s best viewpoints and neighbourhoods involve a genuine climb. Odyssey Traveller’s Portugal tour is rated Level 2 – Moderate, meaning participants should be comfortable with three to five hours of walking activity a day, at times on uneven ground, and able to manage stairs. For travellers who want to see Lisbon’s highlights without navigating the logistics alone, a small group of six to twelve people, led by a Program Leader and local guide, tends to make the city’s more demanding stretches considerably easier — and more sociable, particularly for solo travellers.

Trams remain one of Lisbon’s most practical tools for covering ground without excessive walking, particularly along steeper stretches between neighbourhoods. The historic Tram 28 line, in particular, climbs through Alfama and Graça and is often treated as a sightseeing route in its own right, though its popularity means it can get crowded at peak times. Timing matters, too: Lisbon’s major sights are busiest at midday, and an early start — as the Odyssey itinerary builds in for Sintra’s Pena Palace — tends to make for a noticeably calmer visit.

Spring and early autumn tend to offer the most comfortable conditions for walking Lisbon’s hills, with milder temperatures than the height of summer, when the city’s stone streets can hold heat well into the evening. Odyssey Traveller’s Portugal departures are timed with this in mind, running in April and August/September, avoiding the coldest and wettest months while still allowing for a reasonably comfortable pace of sightseeing.

Where Lisbon Fits Into a Longer Portugal Journey

Lisbon is, for most travellers, the natural starting point for a deeper exploration of Portugal — and on Odyssey Traveller’s 18-day Discover Portugal tour, that is exactly its role. After two days based in the city, and a full-day excursion to Sintra, Cape Roca, and Cascais, the tour continues south to the Roman and medieval town of Évora, then on to Óbidos, Fátima, Nazaré, the monasteries of Batalha and Tomar, Coimbra, and finally Porto. Our complete Portugal travel guide lays out the full 18-day arc in more detail, for travellers weighing up how Lisbon connects to the rest of the country.

Travellers who would rather read ahead on the city itself, beyond this guide, may also find Odyssey’s Lisbon travel notes and its history of Lisbon during the Age of Discovery useful background reading before departure.

Lisbon does not need to be rushed, and on this tour it isn’t. Two unhurried days here, in the company of a small group and a guide who knows which viewpoint to visit before the crowds arrive, set the tone for the rest of the journey through Portugal.