Things to do in Lisbon

Lisbon spreads across a series of steep hills above the wide Tagus estuary, and much of its charm comes from the climb: tiled facades, laundry-strung alleys in Alfama, miradouros with café terraces, and vintage trams grinding up gradients that would defeat most buses. The castle crowns the old Moorish quarter, while the riverside district of Belém holds the monuments of Portugal's Age of Discovery.

The city also makes an easy base for day trips. Sintra's romantic palaces sit in wooded hills less than an hour away, the seaside town of Cascais and the cliffs of Cabo da Roca face the open Atlantic, and the Arrábida coast to the south offers kayaking and climbing on limestone shores.