Lisbon was a city I found best explored by combining walking with its public transport.
There are hills everywhere, but those hills are also responsible for some of the city's character. Streets climb between colourful buildings, old trams squeeze through narrow neighbourhoods and viewpoints suddenly open up across the rooftops towards the Tagus River.
During my stay, I divided my time between central Lisbon, its gardens and museums, the viewpoints around Graça, the historic area of Belém and, of course, plenty of food.
Lisbon also became my base for day trips to Cascais and Sintra, making it an excellent place from which to explore more of the surrounding area.
Exploring Praça do Comércio and Rua Augusta
One of the areas I repeatedly found myself returning to was Praça do Comércio.
The enormous square opens directly towards the Tagus and feels like one of the natural starting points for exploring central Lisbon. From here, the Rua Augusta Arch forms an impressive entrance into the streets of Baixa.
Walking beneath the arch takes you directly onto Rua Augusta.
This pedestrianised street is one of the main routes through central Lisbon, filled with shops, cafés and restaurants.
Rather than rushing through it, I enjoyed simply walking around this part of the city.
Finding Toranja
One shop that caught my attention along Rua Augusta was Toranja.
I enjoy finding artwork and interesting independent shops when travelling, particularly places selling something connected with the destination rather than the same souvenirs available everywhere else.
Toranja was exactly the kind of shop that made me stop while walking through the city.
It was another example of why I enjoyed exploring Lisbon on foot. Some of the places I remember weren't necessarily attractions I had planned to visit beforehand.
Castelo de S. Jorge
High above the historic centre is Castelo de S. Jorge.
Getting there naturally involves heading uphill, but the elevated position is part of what makes the castle worth visiting.
The views over Lisbon are excellent.
From the castle and surrounding area, the dense collection of rooftops stretches towards the Tagus, providing a completely different perspective from walking through the streets below. Lisbon's official tourism information similarly highlights the castle's position as one of its defining features.
I enjoyed exploring the fortifications and surrounding grounds, but the views were probably what stayed with me most.
Lidissimo
After visiting the castle, I stopped at Lidissimo, another art shop I discovered during my time in Lisbon.
Like Toranja, it added something different to the day.
Visiting galleries, art shops and independent businesses between major attractions made exploring Lisbon feel less like moving through a checklist of monuments.
Lisbon's Viewpoints
The hills may make Lisbon tiring to walk around, but they also provide some spectacular viewpoints.
Two that I particularly enjoyed were Miradouro da Senhora do Monte and Miradouro da Graça.
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte provided one of my favourite elevated views across Lisbon.
From here, the scale of the city becomes much easier to appreciate.
The rooftops spread across the hills while many of Lisbon's landmarks can be picked out in the distance.
It is the kind of place where I found myself staying longer than originally planned.
Miradouro da Graça
Nearby, Miradouro da Graça provided another excellent view over the city.
Because the two viewpoints are in the same general area, visiting them together made sense.
Walking between viewpoints also meant exploring more of the surrounding neighbourhood rather than simply travelling directly from one attraction to another.
This was another part of Lisbon where the journey itself became part of the experience.
Riding Tram 28
One Lisbon experience I specifically wanted to try was Tram 28.
The old yellow tram has become almost as recognisable as many of the city's monuments.
I used it partly as transport but mainly for the experience.
The route passes through several historic parts of Lisbon, including Graça and Alfama, before continuing through the centre and towards other neighbourhoods.
What makes the journey memorable isn't speed or comfort.
It is watching the tram negotiate Lisbon's narrow streets, steep gradients and tight corners while everyday city life continues around it.
It felt like one of those experiences that simply belonged to Lisbon.
Jardim Botânico de Lisboa
Lisbon's Jardim Botânico provided a much quieter experience.
After spending considerable time walking through busy streets, the Botanical Garden was somewhere I could slow down.
The garden covers around four hectares and contains a substantial collection of plants, including palms, cycads, cacti and other exotic species.
I enjoyed simply walking through the shaded paths and dense vegetation.
It is easy to forget for a while that you are still in the centre of a European capital.
Museu Nacional de História Natural e de Ciência
The Museu Nacional de História Natural e de Ciência was another stop that appealed to my interest in natural history.
The museum and Botanical Garden are closely connected, making them particularly easy to combine during the same part of the day. The museum includes natural-history and science collections alongside spaces such as its historic chemical laboratory and astronomical facilities.
After spending much of my time exploring Lisbon's architecture and streets, visiting a museum dedicated to science and the natural world provided a welcome change.
Eduardo VII Park
Another green space I visited was Eduardo VII Park.
Its large formal layout feels very different from the more enclosed environment of the Botanical Garden.
The elevated position also provides long views down towards central Lisbon.
I found it another good place to take a break from sightseeing.
Lisbon can involve a surprising amount of walking and climbing, so having large parks scattered around the city was something I appreciated.
Museu Banksy – Lisbon
For something completely different, I visited Museu Banksy – Lisbon.
After traditional museums, castles and historic buildings, a museum centred around the work associated with Banksy provided a much more contemporary experience.
The street-art aesthetic also felt like a complete contrast to many of the other attractions I visited during the trip.
I like including at least a few places that don't necessarily fit the traditional sightseeing itinerary, and this was one of them.
Exploring Belém
One part of Lisbon where several places could easily be combined was Belém.
Rather than travelling back and forth across the city, I treated the area as its own section of the trip.
There are monuments, gardens and places to eat within walking distance of one another, making Belém ideal for spending several hours exploring.
Torre de Belém and Jardim da Torre de Belém
One of the main landmarks I wanted to see was the Torre de Belém.
Its position beside the Tagus makes the setting almost as important as the monument itself.
I also spent time walking through the surrounding Jardim da Torre de Belém.
Rather than simply visiting the tower and immediately leaving, the gardens made it easy to spend some additional time around the waterfront.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
Continuing along the river brought me to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos.
The enormous monument is difficult to miss.
Its waterfront position and distinctive shape make it one of the defining structures of the Belém area.
Walking between the Torre de Belém and Padrão dos Descobrimentos also demonstrated how easy this area is to explore on foot.
Jardim da Praça do Império
Another nearby green space was the Jardim da Praça do Império.
The formal gardens provided another pleasant area to walk through between the surrounding attractions.
This was one of the things I liked about Belém.
There was no need to spend the entire time moving directly from monument to monument. Gardens and open spaces connect many of the major sights.
A Quick Stop at Pastéis de Belém
There was also one food stop I wasn't going to miss.
Pastéis de Belém.
I stopped briefly to try the famous pastry associated with this part of Lisbon.
Sometimes there isn't much more that needs to be said.
When you're in Belém, having a pastel de nata and a coffee simply feels like part of the experience.
Jardim Botânico Tropical
I also visited the Jardim Botânico Tropical while exploring Belém.
After the monuments and busy streets around some of the area's major attractions, the garden provided another opportunity to slow down.
The tropical vegetation created a completely different environment from the nearby monumental architecture.
Combining the Torre de Belém, Jardim da Torre de Belém, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Jardim da Praça do Império, Pastéis de Belém and Jardim Botânico Tropical made this one of the easiest parts of my Lisbon trip to organise into a single outing.
Eating in Lisbon
Food was naturally another important part of my time in Lisbon.
Rather than focusing entirely on conventional restaurants, two places gave me the opportunity to browse a much wider selection of food.
Time Out Market Lisboa
Time Out Market Lisboa was one of the easiest places to visit when I wanted plenty of choice.
With numerous food options collected into the same large space, I could walk around first and decide what appealed to me rather than choosing a restaurant beforehand.
It is certainly a busy and polished food-market experience, but the variety makes it particularly convenient when visiting Lisbon.
Its location near Cais do Sodré also meant it fitted naturally into several of my journeys around the city.
Mercado Oriental Martim Moniz
For something completely different, I also visited Mercado Oriental Martim Moniz.
The emphasis on Asian food made this a complete contrast to the Portuguese food I was eating elsewhere during the trip.
I enjoyed having both types of food-market experiences available within the same city.
Time Out Market offered one side of Lisbon's modern food scene, while Mercado Oriental introduced something considerably different.
Cais do Sodré and My Day Trips
Lisbon also worked extremely well as a base for exploring outside the city.
Cais do Sodré station became particularly useful during my stay.
From here I travelled out towards Cascais, where I spent a relaxed day walking around the historic centre, Praia da Ribeira, the marina and Cidadela before returning to Lisbon.
I also made a separate day trip to Sintra, where my time centred around the National Palace of Pena, Pena National Park and Quinta da Regaleira.
Those trips added considerably to my overall experience of staying in Lisbon.
Rather than constantly changing accommodation, I could keep Lisbon as my base and use its transport connections to explore further.
My Lisbon Experience
What I enjoyed most about Lisbon was the variety.
One day could revolve around Praça do Comércio, Rua Augusta and Castelo de S. Jorge, while another could be spent among the museums and gardens.
The Jardim Botânico de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de História Natural e de Ciência and Eduardo VII Park introduced a quieter side of the city, while Museu Banksy provided something considerably more contemporary.
Then there were the viewpoints.
Standing at Miradouro da Senhora do Monte or Miradouro da Graça made the effort of navigating Lisbon's hills worthwhile.
Belém became almost a separate day of exploration, combining the Torre de Belém, Jardim da Torre de Belém, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Jardim da Praça do Império, Pastéis de Belém and Jardim Botânico Tropical.
Food added another part of the experience through Time Out Market Lisboa and Mercado Oriental Martim Moniz, while smaller discoveries such as Toranja and Lidissimo were reminders that some interesting travel finds aren't major attractions at all.
And somewhere between all of this was the unmistakable experience of riding Tram 28 through Lisbon's narrow and hilly streets.
Lisbon also gave me something beyond the city itself.
Using it as a base allowed me to travel to Cascais and Sintra, both of which became memorable parts of the same Portugal trip.
For me, Lisbon was best experienced without trying to make every day perfectly organised.
Walk, use the trams when the hills become too much, stop at the viewpoints, spend time in the gardens, explore the riverfront and leave enough room in the itinerary for the small places you weren't originally planning to find.