Portugal · Self-guided walk
Lisbon in one walk 8 sights, 45 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Lisbon Old Town: 8 sights on one 3.1 km loop, about 45 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 3.1 km, a loop
- Time
- about 45 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Castelo de São Jorge
- Steps
- on Escadinhas Costa do Castelo, Escadinhas da Rua das Farinhas, Largo dos Trigueiros, Beco dos Surradores, Rua de Santa Justa, Beco do Quebra Costas, Rua Norberto de Araújo
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Lisbon walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Lisbon, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Castelo de São Jorge
the start · inside open Mon–Sun 10:00–20:00
The high point of the level, and every lane up here tips toward it sooner or later. The way up is honest work with no shortcut in it. From the wall you get the river, the roofs and most of this walk in a single look. Worth the legs.
Next: Igreja de São Domingos, 680 m, about 10 min, along Escadinhas Costa do Castelo, Rua das Farinhas, Beco dos Surradores, Rua Dom Duarte, Rua de Barros Queirós.
2. Igreja de São Domingos
about 10 minutes of walking from the start
The door opens straight off the busiest square here, and hardly anyone turns into it. Step through and the noise stops dead, which is the quickest change of weather you get all day. Then stand still and let your eyes catch up.
Next: Praça Dom Pedro IV, 220 m, about 3 min, along Rua de Barros Queirós.
3. Praça Dom Pedro IV
about 13 minutes of walking from the start
Everybody calls this one by an older name than the one it has, which I find entirely reasonable. Sit at the top end by the theatre, watch the whole city cut across on the diagonal, and count how many take the straight line. Not many ever do.
Next: Elevador de Santa Justa, 240 m, about 4 min.
4. Elevador de Santa Justa
about 17 minutes of walking from the start
There is a queue at the bottom and a footbridge at the top. Go up through Chiado, come at it from behind, and you reach the high end with nobody in front of you. A shortcut that is also a longer walk, which is my favourite kind.
Next: Praça do Comércio, 620 m, about 9 min, along Rua Áurea.
5. Praça do Comércio
about 26 minutes of walking from the start
Three sides of stone and one side left open to the water, which is the correct way round. Go to the far end, out between the columns, and take the steps down to where the ground stops being ground. Flattest mouthful on the level.
Next: Igreja da Conceição Velha, 320 m, about 5 min, along Rua da Alfândega.
Lunch break
Nova Pombalina, Rua do Comércio 2, about 80 m off the route, open Mon–Sat 07:00–19:30, Sun closed.
Rua do Comércio, at the quiet end of the Baixa. More on what to eat in Lisbon.
6. Igreja da Conceição Velha
about 31 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon–Fri 09:15–17:00, Sun 10:00–13:00, Sat closed
It hides on a working street, shoulder to shoulder with the shops, and its face is the oldest thing on the block by a wide margin. Look up before you go in. Then look up again, because the first time you will miss most of it.
Next: Sé de Lisboa, 180 m, about 3 min, along Arco das Portas do Mar.
7. Sé de Lisboa
about 34 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon 09:00–17:00, Tue–Sat 09:00–19:00, Sun 09:00–17:00
It sits where every lane off the river runs out of climb, so you arrive at it whether you meant to or not. Stand across from it and wait. Sooner or later a yellow tram grinds past the front of it and the picture assembles itself.
Next: Miradouro de Santa Luzia, 410 m, about 6 min, along Beco do Quebra Costas, Rua Augusto Rosa, Largo do Limoeiro.
8. Miradouro de Santa Luzia
about 40 minutes of walking from the start
You do not climb for this one. It opens off the pavement, which makes it the cheapest reward on the level. Take the far corner under the pergola, put your back against the rail and give it ten minutes. Everybody else gives it forty seconds.
Back to the start: Castelo de São Jorge, 430 m, about 6 min, along Travessa do Funil, Rua do Chão da Feira, Rua do Espírito Santo.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Lisbon.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 266 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Lisbon Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.