On your first visit to hilly Lisbon, head straight to hilltop Alfama district, and peer over the rooftops and river from the Santa Luzia viewing point. Make sure you come back to see Egyptian art and Rembrandt paintings at the Gulbenkian Museum, or ride the cable car in Nations Park.
Get your bearings on Neoclassical Praça do Comércio square with the Tagus River behind you and Alfama hill to the right. Walk north of the square, through the grid-like streets of the 18th-century Baixa district. Then head west to the cultural Chiado and late-night Bairro Alto party districts. Further west along the riverfront is Santos and the renovated docks of Alcântara. Beyond the 25 de abril bridge, you'll come to Belém district, famed for its connections with Portugal's Golden Age of Discovery. North of the Baixa, tree-lined Avenida da Republica leads to the formal gardens of Edward VII Park. In north-east Lisbon, along the bend of the river, you'll find the modern Nations Park district, built when Lisbon hosted Expo '98.
Catch tram 28 in the Baixa district uphill to Alfama. This is Lisbon's ancient heart, crowned by St George's Castle, first built between the 11th and 14th centuries. Follow cobbled streets past Lisbon's Romanesque Sé cathedral back down to the shopping streets of Neoclassical Baixa. In Belém, you'll find the 15th-century, UNESCO-listed Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower. Stop for a pastel de Belém custard tart or head back to the Bairro Alto for Portuguese dinner and soulful fado folk tunes.
Take the filigree Elevador de Santa Justa lift to the ruined 14th-century Carmo Convent, destroyed by an earthquake in 1755. Once you've explored the prized collection of 15th-century triptychs at the National Museum of Ancient Art, take a ferry across the Tagus River to see the towering Cristo Rei statue in the town of Almada. You'll find a treasure trove of artefacts at the Gulbenkian Museum, modern masterpieces at the Modern Art Centre and 20th-century design icons at MUDE. Take the kids to Nations Park for a cable car ride and see the sharks at the Oceanarium.
Portugal's busiest airport, Lisbon's Portela Airport opened a second terminal in 2007. Just 4.5 miles (7 km) north east of the city, the Aerobus transports you swiftly to the city centre in around 20 minutes.
