Lisbon in 4 days

The Praça do Comércio is the great square opening onto the water: until the 1755 earthquake the royal palace stood here, and this was the quay where kings came ashore. It is the city's entrance stop, and you cross it more than you visit it: the direction is the Rua Augusta Arch, which closes the square on the side away from the river. First, though, the ritual that opens the trip: on the Tagus side the marble steps of the Cais das Colunas run down into the water — that is where you should look at Lisbon for the first time, free and before nine, while the square still belongs to Lisboetas on their way to work.

Suggested time here: 42 min

The Rua Augusta Arch is the triumphal arch closing the Praça do Comércio, and it can genuinely be climbed: a lift plus 74 final steps, and you find yourself among the statues at the top with the chequerboard Baixa on one side and the river on the other — the perfect grid rebuilt after the earthquake reads in full from up here. The ticket costs €5 and the arch opens at 10: the itinerary puts you there at opening on purpose, because being first means having it to yourself, with no queue for the lift. Then the real climbing begins: ten minutes up Rua Augusta and to the right, towards the cathedral hill.

Suggested time here: 1h 5m

The Sé is Lisbon's fortress cathedral: two squared-off castle towers, built in 1147 on top of the mosque, and it has survived three earthquakes — here the stone tells the city's story better than the guidebooks. One detail catches almost everyone out: the tourist visit is NOT free. The ticket costs €7 and covers the upper choir, the archaeological cloister and the treasury; only the space set aside for prayer remains free. And watch the calendar, because it is closed on Sundays: closing days are Lisbon's real trap — check which weekday your visit falls on before fixing your days. Lunch is five minutes away, down in the maze of Alfama.

Suggested time here: 1h 55m

Below the cathedral the maze of Alfama begins, and in the lanes around São João da Praça you lunch the way the neighbourhood does: the prato do dia — bacalhau à Brás, carne de porco à alentejana — in the tascas where the residents sit. The rule for choosing is simple and never lets you down: a handwritten blackboard, and nobody at the door inviting you in. Eat calmly but don't linger too long: what comes next is the hardest climb of the day — eighteen minutes up the Alfama stairways to the castle gate, sixty metres of ascent in one go. On a full stomach and with short steps, it can be done.

Suggested time here: 1h 27m

The Castelo de São Jorge is Lisbon's balcony: eleven Moorish towers on a hill that has been a fortress for a thousand years. You come above all for the walkways along the walls, the highest and most open point in the centre — below you, the whole Baixa down to the bridge, and it is the view that puts the morning's climb from the river into order. The ticket costs €17, the priciest of the trip, and in high season it should be booked: budget for it, because in Lisbon the admissions bill climbs fast. The peacocks wandering among the olive trees, on the other hand, are free. Then you head down: fourteen minutes along Rua do Chão da Feira, towards Santa Luzia.

Suggested time here: 2h 1m

The Miradouro das Portas do Sol is the postcard you had in your head before leaving: Alfama's orange rooftops sliding down towards the Tagus and the white domes of São Vicente on the left. Next to it is the Miradouro de Santa Luzia, with its pergola and azulejos: two lookouts within fifty metres, both free. The timing is no accident: at 5 pm the light starts doing its work on the rooftops, and the Atlantic wind coming up the river reminds you why that extra evening layer belonged in the suitcase. Stay as long as the light holds: dinner is twelve minutes away, down the Alfama steps.

Suggested time here: 2h 33m

Alfama changes its skin in the evening: fado drifts out of open doors, and in the casas de fado along Rua dos Remédios and around Largo do Chafariz de Dentro — home to the Museu do Fado — you dine while someone sings a few metres from your table. The honesty that is owed: nearly all of them set a minimum spend, so factor it in before you sit down. And the rule that is worth the experience: the small rooms with two guitars are worth more than the ones with the big sign — fado is an intimate thing, and the room matters as much as the voice. It is the right close to the first day: Lisbon climbed on foot, and now sung.