Lisbon, Portugal
Dear Lisbon, You Made Us Climb to Love You
- Reading time
- 4 minutes
Dear Lisbon,
You never pretend to be flat. Every guidebook says seven hills, but anyone who has walked from Baixa up to the castle knows the number feels generous on the low side, and that the white and black calçada under your feet turns slick as soap after a little rain.
And still, we keep writing to you. Maybe it is the light, which bounces off the river and the pale facades so that even a grey afternoon looks washed rather than dull. Maybe it is the way a neighbourhood like Alfama still folds laundry, grilled sardines and gossip into the same narrow stairway.
This letter is for anyone planning to meet you for the first time. We will be honest about the climbing, the crowds on the 28 and the prices that have risen fast in recent years. But we want them to know why the effort is worth it.
What we love
♥The miradouros, at the wrong time of day
Lisbon's viewpoints (Santa Luzia, Graça, Senhora do Monte, São Pedro de Alcântara) are famous at sunset, and crowded accordingly. Go in the first hour after sunrise instead. The city is still waking, café shutters are half up, and you get the red roofs to yourself and a few dog walkers.
♥Pastel de nata, eaten standing up
The custard tart is everywhere, which means quality varies a lot. A good one has a blistered top, a shatteringly thin pastry and is still faintly warm. Eat it at the counter with a bica (a short espresso) the way locals do, rather than carrying a box around for later.
♥Azulejos on ordinary buildings
The National Tile Museum is wonderful, but the best introduction is simply looking up and sideways as you walk. Whole apartment blocks in Campo de Ourique or Graça are wrapped in patterned tiles, some cracked, some lovingly repaired. Please never pick at loose ones; tile theft is a real problem for the city.
♥The ferry to Cacilhas
For the price of a short public transport ticket, the boat from Cais do Sodré crosses the Tagus in a few minutes and gives you the whole waterfront at once. On the other side, the riverfront walk towards the Ponte 25 de Abril feels a world away from the tram queues.
♥Neighbourhood life in Campo de Ourique
Flat (a rare word here), residential and full of bakeries, the area around the covered market is where you see Lisbon on a weekday: grandparents with shopping trolleys, schoolchildren, a florist arguing amiably with a customer. It is a good antidote to the busier centre.
What we'd tell a friend
- Getting there and around
- Humberto Delgado Airport is close to the centre and connected by metro. Inside the city, the metro, buses and trams run on the same rechargeable card. The historic trams are charming but packed at peak times; regular buses often cover the same hills with far less waiting.
- How long to stay
- Three full days lets you see the central neighbourhoods without rushing. Add a day or two if you want Sintra, Cascais or the beaches of the Costa da Caparica.
- What to wear
- Shoes with real grip. The polished stone pavements are beautiful and genuinely slippery, especially downhill. A light layer helps too, as the wind off the Atlantic can make evenings cooler than the daytime temperature suggests.
- Budget, honestly
- Lisbon is no longer the bargain it was a decade ago, particularly for accommodation in the historic centre. Simple lunches at a tasca with a prato do dia (dish of the day) remain good value. For current fares and museum prices, check the operators' own websites, as they change.
- Accessibility
- Hills, steps and uneven cobbles make large parts of the old city hard for wheelchair users and anyone with limited mobility. The public lifts (Santa Justa, Bica, Glória and others) help a little, and the riverside areas of Belém and Parque das Nações are much flatter.
This is general guidance. Prices, timetables, opening hours and entry rules change, so please check the official sources below before you travel.
Handle with care
Alfama and Mouraria are lived-in neighbourhoods where housing pressure from short-term rentals has been a serious local concern. Keep voices low on the stairways at night, do not photograph people's open windows or doorways without asking, and consider staying somewhere licensed outside the most pressured streets.
Fado is a serious, often melancholic art form. In smaller fado houses, silence during the songs is expected. Talking or ordering loudly while someone sings is considered rude, not just inconvenient.
Before you go
- Visit Lisboa (official tourism) ↗ (opens an external site)
- Carris (trams, buses and lifts) ↗ (opens an external site)
- Metropolitano de Lisboa ↗ (opens an external site)
You made us climb, Lisbon. You made our calves ache and our shoes skid. We would do it again tomorrow, slowly, and we would say bom dia to the woman sweeping her doorstep on the way up.
With love,
The WTWL Team
Written January 2026
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