Lisbon: a guide to hills, trams, viewpoints and pastéis de nata

In 1755 an earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, flattened central Lisbon. The Marquis of Pombal had the Baixa rebuilt on a grid: straight streets, matching buildings and an inner wooden frame, the so-called Pombaline cage, designed to withstand the next shake. The result is the only part of town where you can walk without your calves filing a complaint.

Praça do Comércio opens straight onto the Tagus, with yellow arcades, the equestrian statue of King José I in the middle and the Rua Augusta Arch acting as the city's front door. You can climb to the top of the arch to see the square from above. Next to it, the Cais das Colunas has steps leading down into the water: sit there in the late afternoon and you'll understand why Lisboetas talk about the river as if it were family.

Rua Augusta is pedestrianised and leads to Rossio, whose black-and-white wave-patterned paving makes half the world seasick in photos. Look out for the Dona Maria II National Theatre and the façade of Rossio station, with its horseshoe-shaped doors. Right next door is Largo de São Domingos, where ginjinha is drunk standing up at the counter.

Two warnings from someone who has seen it all. First: on Rua Augusta, be wary of restaurants with laminated menus full of photos and a waiter at the door calling you like a long-lost cousin. Second: the gentlemen whispering offers of illicit substances usually sell pressed bay leaves. A firm «não, obrigado» and keep walking.

Alfama is Lisbon's oldest neighbourhood and largely survived the earthquake. Its maze-like layout dates back to Moorish times: alleys that end in stairs, stairs that end in little squares, squares where someone is grilling something. Your GPS gives up after ten minutes. That's fine, because that's exactly how Alfama is meant to be visited.

At the top of the hill stands São Jorge Castle, with walls you can walk along, peacocks that behave as if they own the place and one of the best views over the Baixa and the river. On the way up you pass Lisbon Cathedral, the 12th-century Romanesque Sé, sturdy as a fortress. It makes sense: back then, praying and defending yourself went hand in hand.

The Santa Luzia viewpoint has azulejo tile panels and bougainvillea, and Portas do Sol, right next to it, looks out over Alfama's rooftops all the way to the Tagus. In the distance, the white dome is the National Pantheon, the former Church of Santa Engrácia, whose construction dragged on for centuries and was only finished in 1966. Hence the Portuguese expression «obras de Santa Engrácia» for anything that never ends. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the Feira da Ladra flea market sets up nearby.

At night, Alfama and neighbouring Mouraria are the home of fado, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2011. In fado houses you dine and listen, and there's one sacred rule: when the fadista sings, nobody talks. Not to order wine, not to comment on the octopus. Especially not to comment on the octopus.

Lisbon's yellow trams have a design that's nearly a century old, wooden benches and a very personal relationship with tight bends. The 28 is the most famous: it runs from Martim Moniz to Campo de Ourique, through Graça, Alfama, Baixa, Chiado and Estrela. For a single ticket, it crosses half of historic Lisbon centimetres from the walls. Literally.

The problem is that the whole world had the same idea. At Martim Moniz, the mid-morning queue can take longer than the ride itself. The trick is to catch it early, before nine, or late in the afternoon, or to start at the other end, in Campo de Ourique. And hold on to your bag: a packed tram is the favourite workplace of pickpockets.

If the 28 is impossible, tram 12 runs a short loop between Praça da Figueira and the Castle area, with the same charm and fewer crowds. For anyone short on time, with small children or knees with opinions of their own, a private tour by car or tuk-tuk around the hills saves a lot of climbing and leaves energy for what matters.

Don't rush off at the end of the line. Campo de Ourique is home to Prazeres Cemetery, with family tombs that look like little palaces and a calm that's rare in the city. Along the way, the Estrela Basilica and the garden opposite deserve a stop: shady benches, a kiosk and locals reading the paper as if there were no tourists in the world.

Chiado is elegant Lisbon: bookshops, theatres, old cafés and the statue of Fernando Pessoa sitting outside one of them, always available for photos and never for conversation. This is also where you'll find the bookshop considered the oldest in the world still operating, open since the 18th century. Next door, the ruins of the Carmo Convent, roofless since 1755, let the sky serve as the vault.

Just above, Bairro Alto has a split personality. By day, quiet streets, laundry hanging out and neighbours chatting from window to window. By night, hundreds of people drink in the street, glass in hand, hopping from bar to bar. If you prefer something later, head down to Cais do Sodré and Rua Nova do Carvalho, the famous pink street.

For sunset, the São Pedro de Alcântara viewpoint faces the Castle and Alfama, while Santa Catarina, with its statue of Adamastor, looks out over the river and the 25 de Abril Bridge. On the other side of the city, the Senhora do Monte viewpoint in Graça is one of the highest and gives a complete panorama. Near Chiado, Príncipe Real combines a garden, design shops and a giant cedar that works as a natural parasol.

Lisbon takes sunset so seriously that people applaud when the sun disappears. Arrive half an hour early, especially in summer, because the best spots on the wall go fast. And bring a jacket: the river wind turns up the moment the sun says goodbye, without asking permission.

Belém is about 6 km west of the centre and easy to reach: tram 15 leaves from Praça da Figueira and Praça do Comércio, and the Cascais line train from Cais do Sodré takes around 10 minutes. This is where the ships of the Age of Discovery set sail, and the area still has the air of someone gazing at the horizon.

The Jerónimos Monastery, commissioned by King Manuel I in the early 16th century, is the masterpiece of the Manueline style: stone carved with ropes, shells and maritime motifs, as if the stonemasons had been to sea too. Inside lies the tomb of Vasco da Gama, and the cloister is one of those places where everyone lowers their voice without being asked.

By the river, Belém Tower is the most famous postcard in the country, listed by UNESCO together with Jerónimos. A little before it stands the Monument to the Discoveries, with navigators carved in a row and, on the ground, a huge compass rose with a map of the world. Next to it, the wavy MAAT building and, in the background, the 25 de Abril Bridge and the Cristo Rei statue complete the scene.

And then there are the pastries. The historic shop next to Jerónimos has been making pastéis de Belém since 1837, from a recipe of convent origin kept under lock and key. The takeaway queue is usually long, but the rooms inside are huge and you'll often get a table faster than you'd get served at the counter. Sprinkle on cinnamon and icing sugar. Eat it while it's warm. Repeat.

In Lisbon you eat best where the tablecloths are made of paper. Neighbourhood tascas serve a dish of the day at lunchtime, generous portions and house wine by the jug. Look for bacalhau (salt cod; some say there are more than 365 recipes, one for every day), polvo à lagareiro (roast octopus with olive oil), duck rice and amêijoas à Bulhão Pato, clams with garlic, coriander and lemon, perfect for mopping up with bread until the very end.

For snacks: bifana (marinated pork sandwich), prego (steak sandwich), peixinhos da horta (battered green beans) and, in summer, caracóis (snails) with an ice-cold imperial, the local draught beer. In June, during the Santos Populares and especially on the night of Saint Anthony, from the 12th to the 13th, the city smells of grilled sardines, there are street parties in every neighbourhood and pots of basil with little poems in every window.

Watch out for the couvert: bread, butter, olives or cheese appear on the table without anyone ordering them. If you eat it, you pay; if you don't want it, kindly ask for it to be taken away. To drink, try vinho verde, reds from the Alentejo and the Douro and, of course, ginjinha, the sour cherry liqueur, served with or without the cherries at the bottom of the glass. To taste a bit of everything, the Mercado da Ribeira in Cais do Sodré brings food stalls together under one roof.

The classic Lisbon breakfast is quick: a bica (espresso) and a pastry at the counter of a pastelaria, standing up, in three minutes. The pastel de nata is everywhere and, honestly, there are plenty of good ones outside Belém. Try several. In the name of science.

Jardim do Torel is hidden at the top of Sant'Ana hill, above Avenida da Liberdade, and many Lisboetas have never set foot in it. It has a lawn, shady benches and a wide view over the Baixa and São Jorge Castle. You get there via steep streets or stairways, which explains why it stays so peaceful: the effort filters out the crowds.

The second secret is crossing the Tagus. At Cais do Sodré you take the cacilheiro, the ferry that links Lisbon to Cacilhas in about 10 to 15 minutes, for the price of a regular public transport ticket. It's the cheapest boat trip in the city, and the view of Lisbon drifting away, with all its hills lined up, is every bit as good as the one from the tourist cruises.

In Cacilhas there are several seafood restaurants with fish and shellfish at friendlier prices than on the other side. Then walk along Rua do Ginjal, by the river, between old warehouses, graffiti-covered walls and fishermen with their rods. At the end of the path, the Boca do Vento panoramic lift connects to the old part of Almada.

Why go? Because the best view of Lisbon is the one with all of Lisbon in it. In the late afternoon, with the city switching on its lights and the 25 de Abril Bridge beside you, you finally see the shape of the capital. And the boat ride back after dark is the kind of moment that never makes it into the brochures.