Lisbon

Self-guided audio walking tour of Lisbon

50 hand-checked places and 2 walking routes. aiGuide notices where you are and tells you each place's story as you walk past, so you can keep your phone in your pocket.

Rossio to the Castelo

10 stops · about 80 min · 3.0 km

The most rewarding 90 minutes in Lisbon: from Rossio through the earthquake-rebuilt Baixa, up the Santa Justa lift to the roofless Carmo church, down to the riverside Praça do Comércio, then up through Alfama past the Sé and the Santa Luzia viewpoint to the Castelo de São Jorge.

1. 1.Praça de D. Pedro IV (Rossio)

   Medieval origins; Pombaline rebuilding after 1755

   One of Lisbon's main squares since the Middle Ages, scene of markets, bullfights, revolts and Inquisition executions. Rebuilt after 1755, it is known for its wave-patterned paving and the 1870 column of King Pedro IV.

2. 2.Igreja de São Domingos

   Medieval foundation 1241; rebuilt after 1755

   Dominican church begun in 1241, where the Lisbon massacre of New Christians started in April 1506. Wrecked by the 1755 earthquake and gutted by fire in 1959, it keeps its scorched columns on view.

3. 3.Elevador de Santa Justa

   Belle Époque, 1900-1902

   Neo-Gothic iron lift opened in 1902 to carry passengers from the Baixa up to Largo do Carmo. Designed by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard, it is Lisbon's only remaining vertical street lift.

4. 4.Convento do Carmo

   Gothic, 1389-1423; ruined 1755

   Gothic Carmelite church founded in 1389 by Nuno Álvares Pereira and left roofless by the 1755 earthquake. Its open nave is Lisbon's most visible ruin of the disaster and houses the Carmo Archaeological Museum.

5. 5.Arco da Rua Augusta

   Pombaline plan 1759, completed 1873

   Triumphal arch on the north side of Praça do Comércio, planned after the 1755 earthquake and finished only in 1873. Its sculptures honour Portuguese heroes, and a lift now reaches a rooftop viewpoint.

6. 6.Praça do Comércio

   Pombaline reconstruction, after 1755

   Lisbon's great riverside square, rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake on the site of the royal Ribeira Palace. Its arcaded yellow ranges, equestrian statue and river steps made it the ceremonial gateway to the capital.

7. 7.Casa dos Bicos

   Portuguese Renaissance, around 1523

   Sixteenth-century mansion built by Brás de Albuquerque, son of Afonso de Albuquerque, with a façade of diamond-pointed stones. It now houses the José Saramago Foundation and an archaeological display of the Lisbon Museum.

8. 8.Sé de Lisboa

   Romanesque and Gothic, 12th to 14th centuries

   Lisbon's cathedral, begun after the Christian conquest of 1147, apparently on the site of the city's main mosque. Its twin crenellated towers make it look more fortress than church.

9. 9.Miradouro de Santa Luzia

   Medieval Alfama; tile panels of the 20th century

   Terrace beside the church of Santa Luzia with one of the classic views over the rooftops of Alfama to the Tagus, framed by a pergola, bougainvillea and blue-and-white tile panels.

10. 10.Castelo de São Jorge

    Moorish and medieval, 11th to 14th centuries; restored 1940

    Hilltop citadel above Lisbon, held by the Moors until Afonso Henriques took it in 1147. Later a royal palace, then barracks, its walls owe much to a 1940 restoration.

Belém riverside

8 stops · about 75 min · 3.3 km

Along the river at Belém, from the Central Tejo power station past the royal coaches and the presidential palace to the Jerónimos monastery, the Monument to the Discoveries and the Torre de Belém.

1. 1.Central Tejo

   Industrial era, 1914 to 1975

   A red-brick, coal-fired power station built in stages between 1914 and 1951 that supplied Lisbon until it became a reserve plant. Now part of the MAAT museum, it keeps its boilers and machinery.

2. 2.Museu Nacional dos Coches

   Coaches of the 16th to 19th centuries; museum founded 1905

   Founded in 1905 by Queen Amélia in the royal riding school, it holds Portuguese royal coaches from the 16th to 19th centuries. Since 2015 most are shown in Paulo Mendes da Rocha's building opposite.

3. 3.Palácio de Belém

   16th-century manor, royal palace from 1726

   The pink former royal palace that has housed Portugal's presidency since the early Republic. It began as a riverside manor of 1559, bought by King João V in 1726.

4. 4.Jardim Botânico Tropical

   Founded 1906; colonial exhibition of 1940

   A botanical garden founded in 1906 as the Colonial Garden to study plants from Portugal's colonies. In 1940 it housed the colonial section of the Portuguese World Exhibition, where African people were put on display.

5. 5.Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

   Manueline, Age of Discoveries, 16th century

   A Manueline monastery begun in 1502 for King Manuel I on the site of the chapel where Vasco da Gama's crew prayed before sailing for India. It holds tombs of kings, da Gama and Camões.

6. 6.Jardim da Praça do Império

   Estado Novo, 1940

   A formal garden laid out for the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition in front of Jerónimos, on the old Restelo beach. Its fountain and flowerbeds carry coats of arms of navigators, districts and former colonies.

7. 7.Padrão dos Descobrimentos

   Estado Novo, 1940 and 1960

   A 56-metre monument shaped like a caravel's prow, built for the Estado Novo's 1940 exhibition and rebuilt in stone in 1960. Henry the Navigator leads 32 figures from Portugal's overseas expansion.

8. 8.Torre de Belém

   Manueline, Age of Discoveries, completed 1519

   A Manueline fortified tower completed in 1519 to guard the mouth of the Tagus and the harbour of Restelo. Officially the Tower of Saint Vincent, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Jerónimos.