Europe > Portugal > Lisbon > Lisbon > Articles > Five Things to do in Lisbon

Lisbon is a city to wander in. With its compact centre, its fresh Atlantic air, its tumbling cobbled streets and metre-wide alleys, its unhurried pace and its cafes and bars, it offers a host of incidental pleasures to anyone able to spend a few days walking around it. But there are certain things which should not be missed:

Alfama - On arriving in a new city, there is much to be said for heading for the highest point. In Lisbon, that means climbing up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge and walking along its battlements. Only then will the city's precipitous geography make sense. Below the castle is Alfama, a Levantine-type warren of stairways and back-streets. It is still unspoilt, a working-class district right in the heart of a city flush with EEC money. Washing is strung from the buildings, dogs bark from open windows and the streets are full of spontaneous gatherings of people. Between the buildings and from the elevated sqaures and miradouros, are sudden glimpses of the estuary of the Tagus and the open sea beyond.

Madredeus and the Azulejos - Many of Alfama's houses are faced in distinctive azulejo tiles. In the convent of Madre de Deus, to the north-east of Alfama, there is a wonderful collection of these tiles. Look out for the panels showing a panorama of pre-earthquake Lisbon, a leopard hunt, and monkey-land where chickens ride in carriages. It was in the cloisters here that the band Madredeus used to practice; their hauntingly beautiful music travels even better than the indigenous Portuguese fado from which some it partly derives.

Fado - Lisbon's own contribution to the repertoire of world music has been highlighted by the recent rise of the fadista Mariza. Her mother cooked in a restaurant in Alfama where fado was sung and like many other fado-singers she grew up with it. Fado has its origins in districts like Alfama and Bairro Alto and Mouraria. Its melancholy blues-type keys allowed an expressive sharing of sorrows in these close-packed neighbourhoods. The songs' potent sense of yearning owes something too to Portugal's sea-faring past with its perennial loss and separation. Unlikely as a successful museum of music may seem, the Casa do Fado e da Guiterra Portuguesa is well worth a visit. But of course an evening in a genuine fado house is a must. Avoid if you can the overpriced clubs where professional singers perform. Ask around and try and find a good amateur house. They often have fairly anomymous facades but are the haunt of local Portuguese and are closer to the true popular spirit of fado.

The Gulbenkian - The Museo Calouste Glubenkian is one of the world's great art galleries. It is small enough to be able to look with unjaded eyes at almost everything. Private collections are virtually always more satisfying than municipal ones and the Gulbenkian bears this out. Highlights are the Egyptian collection, some of the Iznik pieces and the Renaissance collection.

Belem - A little to the west of the centre, along the banks of the Tagus, the district of Belem embodies Portugal's great maritime period, the vanguard of European expansion. Thanks to the early spice trade, King Manuel I (also known as Lord of the Navigation, Conquest and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia and India) was in the early sixteenth century Europe's wealthiest monarch. The Mosteiro dos Jeronimos is the pinnacle of his lavish commissioning and of Manueline architecture, a curiously elaborated version of Gothic. The carving around the portals is beautifully done, the sudden space of the interior breathtaking (although marred by the stuck-on Renaissance chancel). Sturdy piers fan out across the vaulted ceiling and just enough light falls on the stone to give the effect of cavernous mystery. The cloisters likewise are an extravagent expression of the new wealth which fall just the right side of good taste, managing to maintain both a sense of solemnity and calm, amidst some impressively unconstrained masonry. The nearby Museo da Marinha gives some clues as to how the Portuguese opened up the trade route to India. A little further along the river bank is the wonderful Torre de Belem, a tiny castle built on the beach which manages to evoke some of the poignancy of the caravels setting sail from here towards the perilous south. Those that managed to return invariably brought cargos of spices and oriental riches, the wealth upon which Lisbon is built.

• More from Philip Marsden

Recommended hotels in Lisbon

Heritage Av Liberdade

Portugal, Lisbon, Lisbon

“Miguel Cancio Martins retains a very Portuguese character in this elegant little boutique hotel, located on Liberdade Avenue.”

• Heritage Av Liberdade Overview and Reviews

From EUR 206.00
per room per night
 

Bairro Alto Hotel

Portugal, Lisbon, Lisbon

"Diogo Rosa La and Jose Pedro Viera designed this elegant bolthole, with charming city views from the rooftop terrace."

• Bairro Alto Hotel Overview and Reviews

From EUR 250.00
per room per night