Belém
Belém’s undisputed heart-stealer is this Unesco-listed monastery. The mosteiro is the stuff of pure fantasy: a fusion of Diogo de Boitaca’s creative…
Must-see attractions in Lisbon
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Towering dramatically above Lisbon, these mid-11th-century hilltop fortifications sneak into almost every snapshot. Roam its snaking ramparts and pine…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Wander downhill (to save your legs) through Alfama's steep, narrow, cobblestoned streets and catch a glimpse of the more traditional side of Lisbon before…
Lisbon
Set in a lemon-fronted, 17th-century palace, the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is Lapa’s biggest draw. It presents a star-studded collection of European…
Museu Calouste Gulbenkian – Coleção do Fundador
Marquês de Pombal & Around
Famous for its outstanding quality and breadth, the world-class Founder's Collection at Museu Calouste Gulbenkian showcases an epic collection of Western…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Don't leave the city without riding popular tram 28E from Largo Martim Moniz. This rickety, screechy, gloriously old-fashioned ride from Praça Martim…
Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara
Bairro Alto, Chiado & Cais do Sodré
Hitch a ride on vintage Ascensor da Glória from Praça dos Restauradores, or huff your way up steep Calçada da Glória to this terrific hilltop viewpoint…
Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira
Lisbon
This 17th-century former hunting pavilion is in the Benfica neighbourhood. Italian Renaissance influences are blended with Portuguese-inspired blue-and…
Parque das Nações
The closest you’ll get to scuba diving without a wetsuit, Oceanário is mind-blowing. With 8000 marine creatures splashing in 7 million litres of seawater,…
Baixa & Rossio
With its grand 18th-century arcades, lemon-meringue facades and mosaic cobbles, the riverfront Praça do Comércio is a square to out-pomp them all…
Príncipe Real, Santos & Estrela
The curvaceous, sugar-white dome and twin belfries of Basílica da Estrela are visible from afar. The echoing interior is awash with pink-and-black marble,…
Lisbon
Housed in a sublime 16th-century convent, Lisbon's Museu Nacional do Azulejo covers the entire azulejo (hand-painted tile) spectrum. Star exhibits feature…
Bairro Alto, Chiado & Cais do Sodré
The plain facade of 16th-century Jesuit Igreja de São Roque belies its dazzling interior of gold, marble and Florentine azulejos – bankrolled by Brazilian…
Belém
Cinderella wannabes delight in Portugal's most visited museum, which dazzles with its world-class collection of 70 17th- to 19th-century coaches in an…
Belém
Culture fiends can get their contemporary-art fix at Museu Coleção Berardo, the star of the Centro Cultural de Belém. The ultrawhite, minimalist gallery…
Convento do Carmo & Museu Arqueológico
Bairro Alto, Chiado & Cais do Sodré
Soaring above Lisbon, the skeletal Convento do Carmo was all but devoured by the 1755 earthquake, and that's precisely what makes it so captivating. Its…
Baixa & Rossio
It’s a miracle that this baroque church dating to 1241 still stands, having barely survived the 1755 earthquake, then fire in 1959. Its sea of tea lights…
Núcleo Arqueológico da Rua dos Correeiros
Baixa & Rossio
Hidden under the Millennium BCP bank building are layers of ruins dating from the Iron Age, discovered on a 1991 parking-lot dig. Fascinating…
Belém
Jutting out onto the Rio Tejo, this Unesco World Heritage–listed fortress epitomises the Age of Discoveries. You'll need to breathe in to climb the narrow…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
A much-loved summertime hang-out of lisboêtas, this miradouro (lookout) sidles up to the baroque Igreja da Graça. It has an incredible view of the castle…
Lisbon
Lisbon's hub of cutting-edge creativity hosts a dynamic menu of events from live concerts and film screenings to fashion shows and art exhibitions. There…
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga – Temporary Exhibitions
Lisbon
Biannual temporary exhibitions within Lisbon's excellent Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga are priced separately from the main museum and reached via this…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
This original Moorish gateway affords stunning angles over Alfama’s jumble of red rooftops and pastel-coloured houses, underscored by the true blue Rio…
Miradouro do Castelo de São Jorge
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
One of Lisbon's privileged views is on offer from this outstanding lookout point on the grounds of the Castelo de São Jorge.
Miradouro Panorâmico de Monsanto
Lisbon
Lisbon’s beloved secret viewpoint is a graffiti- and art-plastered building that was once an exclusive high-society restaurant in the late 1960s. A series…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
The fortress-like Sé de Lisboa is one of Lisbon’s icons, built in 1150 on the site of a mosque soon after Christians recaptured the city from the Moors…
Príncipe Real, Santos & Estrela
Discover your inner child at the surprisingly enchanting Museu da Marioneta, a veritable Geppetto’s workshop housed in the 17th-century Convento das…
Lisbon
The beautifully designed Museu do Oriente highlights Portugal’s ties with Asia, from colonial baby steps in Macau to ancestor worship. The cavernous…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Lisbon spreads out before you at Graça’s highest of the high, Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Come for the relaxed vibe and the best views of the castle on…
Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Graça’s Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora was founded in 1147 and revamped by Italian architect Felipe Terzi in the late 16th century. Since the adjacent…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
From bougainvillea-clad Miradouro de Santa Luzia, your gaze drifts over a mosaic of rooftops and spires to the river below.
Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia
Belém
Lisbon's latest riverfront star is this low-rise, glazed-tiled structure that intriguingly hips and sways into ground-level exhibition halls. Visitors can…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Both poignant and haunting, this new and highly important museum has turned the former Portuguese dictatorship's political prison of choice into a museum…
Museu da Presidência da República
Belém
Portugal's small presidential museum is worth a look for its fascinating state gifts exhibit – note the outrageous 1957 offering from Brazil's Juscelino…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Perched high and mighty above Graça’s Campo de Santa Clara, the porcelain-white Panteão Nacional is a baroque beauty. Originally intended as a church, it…
Belém
Built in the early 19th century, this staggering neoclassical palace served as the royal residence from the 1860s until the end of the monarchy (1910)…
Marquês de Pombal & Around
Housed in a stunning early-19th-century mansion, this little-known museum presents António Medeiros e Almeida's exquisite fine- and decorative-arts…
Belém
Lisbon's original coach museum is now home to just seven of these majestic 18th-century four-wheeled works of art, but it's worth also visiting the…
Alfama, Castelo & Graça
Closed for centuries, this 1.7-hectare green space opened again in 2015 and is Lisbon's second-biggest park, offering a lush transition between the…
