travel
Two days in Lisbon, mostly downhill
A short route through Alfama and Graça that trades the tram queues for a walk you will actually remember.
Placeholder post — replaced with real writing in #20.
The 28 tram is the most photographed sight in Lisbon and the least pleasant way to see it. You queue for forty minutes, stand pressed against a window, and arrive somewhere you could have walked to in twenty.
Start high, end low
Take a taxi to Graça and walk down. Lisbon punishes the other direction — the hills are steeper than they look on a map, and the pavement is polished limestone that turns lethal in rain.
- Miradouro da Senhora do Monte — arrive before nine and you will have it to yourself
- Alfama — no route required; the point is getting lost
- Campo de Ourique — where people actually eat
The best meal I had cost eleven euros and came with a plastic cup of wine nobody offered to describe.
What it costs
| Thing | Roughly |
|---|---|
| Coffee, standing | €0.80 |
| Coffee, sitting | €2.50 |
| Tram ticket | €3.00 |
The two-tier coffee pricing is not a scam, it is the whole social contract. Stand at the counter like everyone else.
Read more about the city's tram network before you commit to the queue.