What to see in Lisbon ?

Lisbon operates at a rhythm that few European capitals have managed to preserve. The city sprawls across seven hills, between azulejo-tiled façades and trams that creak through the lanes of Alfama, a district where fado still drifts from open windows in the evenings. The history of the Portuguese maritime empire is everywhere, without being staged: it surfaces in the stones of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and in the salt smell rising from the Tagus.

September and October offer the most brilliant light, without the tourist saturation of July. Three days are enough to grasp the essentials, four if you plan a day trip to Sintra. Public transport covers the city well, but tram 28 has become a trap for pickpockets and queues: prefer to walk or take the metro to reach Belém.