The 17 best attractions in Lisbon

Built to supply the capital with fresh water from the hills north of the city, the Aqueduto das Águas Livres is one of the most important engineering constructions from the 18th century. And fun fact: construction was actually funded by special levies on meat, olive oil and wine. It spans 14 kilometres from its main source in Caneças to its end at the reservoir of Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras. Fast forward to now, it belongs to the Water Museum which organises visits to the inside of the aqueduct. And the reservoir of Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras organises cultural events and temporary exhibitions.

Details: Tue-Sun 10am-5.30pm. Admission: €2 for adults and free for under-17s.

The ruined Carmo Convent is said to be Lisbon's loveliest church, despite the fact it hasn’t had a roof since the 1755 earthquake. It now stands as a reminder of the earthquake and a memorial. The beautiful gothic arches still stand and are well worth viewing. Much of the architecture dates back to the 1300s, while Manueline (Portuguese Gothic) windows and other details were added later, in the 16th and 18th centuries. You'll even be able to spot eerie South American mummies (a young boy and a young girl from Peru) if you look closely.

Details: May-Oct: Mon-Sat 10am-7pm. Nov-Apr: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm. Admission: €7 for adults and €5 for students. Kids under 14 go free.

The church itself is worth a look, but the old monastery remains the main attraction. Its cloisters are richly decorated with early 18th-century tile panels, some of which illustrate the fables of La Fontaine. Inside, you’ll also find the royal pantheon of the Bragança family, Portugal’s last dynasty.

Details: Mon-Sun 10am-6pm (last entry 5pm). Admission €8 general fee and €4 for under-25s. Free for under-12s.

Construction began in 1802, but it was interrupted in 1807 when the royal family high-tailed it to Brazil to escape Napoleon’s armies. The palace was never finished and still looks sawn in half. Nevertheless, it served as a royal residence in the late 19th century. Some wings are open as a museum, while others house the Ministry of Culture.

Details: Mon-Tue & Thu-Sun 10am-5.30pm (last entry 5.30pm, no access to the second floor). Admission: €8. Free for under-12s.

Igreja de São Roque was built for the Jesuits with the assistance of Filippo Terzi on the site of an earlier chapel dedicated to São Roque. Most of the single-nave structure was built between 1565 and 1573, although it was roofless for another decade. The ceiling is a wonder of sorts. The original architect had planned a vaulted roof, but in 1582 a decision was made to build a flat wooden roof, and sturdy timber from Prussia was richly painted. The paintings in the inner sacristy are worth admiring, but the main attraction is the side chapel dedicated to St John the Baptist. Notice the lavish ivory, gold and lapis lazuli, which attest to Portugal’s colonial wealth and extravagance. Built in Rome and shipped to Lisbon in 1749 after being blessed by the Pope, it took four years to reassemble, not least because of the detailed mosaic above the altar. The neighbouring museum contains items from the chapel, including Italian goldsmiths’ work, paintings and richly embroidered vestments.

Details: Apr-Sep: Mon 1pm-7pm, Tue-Sun 10am-7pm. Oct-Mar: Mon 1pm-6pm, Tue-Sun 10am-6pm (break for mass Tue-Sun 12.30pm). Admission: €10 with 50% discount for seniors and students. 

The tower was built to guard the river entrance into Lisbon’s harbour, following orders from King Dom Manuel (1495-1521), during whose reign Portugal greatly expanded its empire, namely by reaching Brazil and finding a sea route to India. The tower has stonework motifs recalling the Discoveries era, such as twisted rope and the Catholic Crosses of Christ, as well as Lisbon’s patron saint St Vincent and a rhino.

Details: May-Sep: Tue-Sun 10am-6.30pm (last entry 6pm). Oct-Apr Tue-Sun 10am-5.30pm (last entry 5pm). Admission: €6 with 50% off for seniors and youth card-holders. Free for under-12s.

The ornate white dome of Basílica da Estrela is one of Lisbon’s best-loved landmarks. Construction took ten years (1779-89), with statues sculpted by artists from the Mafra School. The inside of the church is richly embellished by Portuguese marble, although many of the paintings were made by Italian masters. Climb the 114 steps for fine views of the city.

Details: Open every day 7.30am-8pm. Admission: The church is free to enter, and access to the roof terrace costs €5. 

This Romantic-style building is very, very old. Construction started in 1147 and ended in the first decades of the 13th century. The project, which includes three naves and a triforium, a protruding transept and a pew with three chapels, is very similar to the cathedral in Coimbra. Did some of these terms sound odd? Don’t worry. You can always just see this venue as the place where, year after year, in June, young couples swear to love each other forever. If, however, you like history, dive head-first into all the changes the cathedral went through over the years, all according to the preferences of each of Portugal’s rulers. 

Details: May-Oct: Mon-Tues & Thu-Fri 9:30am-7pm, Wed & Sat 10am-6pm. Nov-Apr: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm. Admission: €3-5. Free for children up to 6. 

The dome of this church was completed in 1966, a mere 285 years after the building started being built – hence the local expression “a job like Santa Engrácia”, which means something that takes forever. The church is on the site of an earlier one, which was torn down after being desecrated by a robbery in 1630. A Jewish suspect was blamed and executed but later exonerated. Before his death, he is said to have prophesied that the new church would never be completed because an innocent man had been convicted. The first attempt at a new Santa Engrácia duly collapsed in 1681 (a construction mistake, compounded by a storm, may have been to blame) and work restarted the following year. The new plan, by master stonemason João Antunes, bears many similarities to Peruzzi’s plans for St Peter’s in Rome, and the interior is dominated by marble in various colours. In 1916, the Republican government decided Santa Engrácia, which was still roofless then, would become the national Pantheon, a temple to honour dead Portuguese heroes. 

Details: Apr-Sep: Tue-Sun 10am-6pm (last entry 5.40pm). Oct-Mar: Tue-Sun 10am-5pm (last entry 4.40pm). Admission: €4-8. Free for under-12s.

Ordered by Manuel I in memory of Infante Dom Henrique of Portugal (Prince Henry the Navigator), this monastery has been a national monument since 1907 and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983. Built in the 16th century, it was donated at the time to the monks of the Order of Saint Jerome, and in 2016 it became part of the National Pantheon. The monastery’s church (Igreja de Santa Maria de Belém) holds the tombs of Luís de Camões, Vasco da Gama and Sebastião I, whose remains were brought there by Filipe I in an attempt to put an end to the popular belief that Sebastião I would return to save Portugal. But few people actually believe that these remains are those of the Desired King. And let’s not forget: the famous Pastéis de Belém are only 500 metres away from the monastery.

Details: May-Sep: Tue-Sun 10am-6:30pm. Oct-Apr: Tue-Sun 10am-5:30pm. Admission: €6-12. Free for under-12s.

The hilltop was fortified even before the arrival of the Roman legions; in later centuries the castle walls were strengthened by Visigoths and Moors, before Portugal’s first king, Afonso Henriques, seized them in 1147. You’ll see his statue in the square just past the main gate. The castle itself has undergone numerous transformations. Back in the 1930s, several government offices and a firehouse were removed from the grounds, exposing the walls, which were duly topped with supposedly authentic-looking battlements. There have been several makeovers since. The battlements of the Castelejo (keep) have ten towers, which you can go up, in one of which is a camera obscura (10am-5pm) for you to see key city monuments and spy on people downtown. Beyond the keep is an area where labelled displays trace out dwellings from prehistoric times and the late Islamic period, as well as the ruins of the last palatial residence on this hill, destroyed by the 1755 earthquake.

Details: Mar-Oct: Every day 9am-9pm. Nov-Feb: Every day 9am-7pm. Admission: €15 for adults, free for under-12s.

The botanical garden of Lisbon covers 10 whole acres and is located in the Principe Real district, secretly hidden from the surrounding streets. It was laid out between 1858 and 1873 and has one of the largest collections of subtropical vegetation in Europe. There are also a huge 18,000 species of dense vegetation and exotic plants from all over the world. All of them are clearly labelled too, so you'll be gaining some new plant insight and knowledge.

Details: Apr-Sep: every day 10am-8pm. Oct-Mar: every day 10am-5pm. Admission: €3. Free for under-10s.

The building was erected in 1523 following orders from Alfonso de Albuquerque, son of the second governor of what was then Portuguese India – but it lost its top two floors in the 1755 earthquake. The Albuquerque family sold it in 1973 (to be used as a warehouse and headquarters for cod trade). Today, it houses a foundation dedicated to the life and work of José Saramago, Portuguese Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature. Founded in 2007, it relocated to Alfama back in 2012. They have a permanent exhibition about the writer. But check their calendar to stay posted on book launches, seminars and other events.

Details: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm (last entry 5.30pm). Admission: €3 and free for under-12s.

Markets, exhibitions, shops, cafes, gigs and parties. There’s a whole world to discover within the bounds of this cosmopolitan “factory” straight out of 1846 that completely changed the face of Alcântara since it reopened in 2008. It’s a consumer city within the city. Everything in this industrial-site-come-trendy-hub is intentional – all spots for books, clothing, decoration, drinking or dancing are carefully curated, and will likely make you want to splurge (a little).

Details: Mon-Sun 9am-7pm. Admission: free.

As one of Europe's leading fine arts museums, this institution has exhibits dating from 2000 BC to the early 20th century. Perhaps the two outstanding rooms are those containing Islamic and Oriental art: carpets, robes, tapestries, tiles and glassware, mainly from 16th- and 17th-century Persia, Turkey, Syria and India; and porcelain, jade, paintings and lacquered boxes from China and Japan. The section on European art displays medieval manuscripts, and ivory and wood diptychs. Further on are Italian Renaissance majolica ware and tapestries, and a selection of 18th-century French furniture and silverware. Among the painters represented are Domenico Ghirlandaio, Rubens, Hals and Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Manet and Corot. Save time for the final room and its breathtaking glass and metal art nouveau jewellery by René Lalique. Multilingual audio guides are available. There are also excellent temporary exhibitions, with pieces lent by institutions around the world. Downstairs is an art library (which often hosts midday classical recitals on Sundays), an excellent café and a small gift shop. 

Details: Wed-Mon 10am-6pm. Admission: €10. Free after 2pm on Sundays and for children up to 12. 

A viewpoint right on the bridge that you can muse at the Tagus from – while testing your vertigo. The bridge opened in 1966 and has 14 pillars, but the one that’s relevant to you is accessible via Avenida da Índia, in the back of the village Underground. A vertiginous tourist attraction, it invites Lisbon visitors into the pillar and offers them a truly sensorial experience.

Details: Mon-Sun 10am-6pm. Admission: €5.50. Free for children under 5. 

The industrial-age iron tracery of this 15-metre high lift – also known as Elevador do Carmo – is one of Lisbon’s most beloved landmarks, but it only became a national monument in 2002. It was built by Portuguese-born Eiffel disciple Raul Mesnier de Ponsard, and it officially opened in August 1901. It links Rua do Ouro, downtown, to the square next to Igreja do Carmo, a little further up the hill. At the top, up a spiral staircase, a viewing platform offers 360-degree views of downtown Lisbon. The Elevador is part of the public transport system, so if you have a travel card a one-way trip is equivalent to a bus journey; on board, you can only buy pricey return tickets. For an alternative and more budget view, head to Pollux, a department store on the rooftop of which you’ll find a cafe and bar with good, affordable coffee.

Details: May-Oct 7.30am-11pm every day. Nov-Apr 7am-9pm every day. Admission: €5.