First day’s tour

Lisbon is a joy to travel around with buses, suburban trains and its famous vintage (as well as modern) trams. Ferries criss-cross the river and there are historic funiculars too. In line with its growing green credentials, the capital also operates a bike sharing scheme to tackle the city’s hills.

There are an impressive number of electric car charging points too.

Hop aboard the rambling Tram 28 up towards Lisbon Castle (pictured), whose ramparts open up vistas of the sprawling metropole as it spreads its historic tentacles across the River Tagus. Spend your first morning on the north bank where most of the sights are.

From the castle you can amble back down through the Alfama district to the central Baixa where Praça Commércio, Lisbon’s main plaza, evokes the city’s glory days. Breathe in all that history and wander the flat grid of streets. This is Lisbon’s shopping central area too and large tracts are pedestrianised, with plenty of cafés to pop into for a fortifying Bica coffee.

Then hop on a train or tram east to Belém. Here the Belém Tower

stands proudly as one of the last things sailors would have seen as they left Lisbon during Portugal’s Great Age of Discoveries in the 15th and 16th centuries. The vaulting Monument of the Discoveries

nearby demonstrates the pride many locals still feel for those days. The third of the three essential Belém heritage sites is the Monasterio de los Jerónimos de Belém.

Reward yourself with a custard tart (known as pastel de Belém), from the Pasteleria de Belém. In the evening, enjoy a drink at one of the lively venues in Cais de Sodré or board a ferry to Cacilhas to take in the city’s aquatic setting.