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Alfama, Lisboa

Twelve places, fifteen minutes on foot

Alfama is the oldest district in Lisbon and still a working neighbourhood. These are twelve places our team has written down for you, with the time it takes to walk from our door. The way home is uphill.

Rio Tejo Tram 28 Casa Vellum 1 Padaria do Largo 2 Café Vidro 3 Tasca da Escada 4 Mercearia Salgado 5 A Voz do Beco 6 Miradouro de Santa Luzia 7 Miradouro das Portas do Sol 8 Sé de Lisboa 9 Museu do Fado 10 Feira da Ladra 11 Panteão Nacional 12 The river walk to Santa Apolónia N
A stylised map, not to scale. The numbers match the list. The landmarks are real places in Alfama. The cafés, shops and the music house are invented for this showcase, so please do not go looking for them.
  • Eat and drink
  • See
  • Shop
  • Listen
  • Walk

  1. Padaria do Largo

    Eat and drink · 3 min on foot

    Senhor Albano has baked here since 1989. He supplies our breakfast bread, so you already know what the loaves taste like, but the shop is worth the visit for the pastries that never make it up to the house.

    Where
    Largo do Chafariz, at the bottom of our lane
    Order this, or do this
    A pastel de nata still warm from the oven, and a bica at the counter. On Saturdays, the sourdough rye.
    Our tip
    Go before 8:30. The best things are gone by ten, and the queue is part of the pleasure.
    Open
    Every day, 6:30 to 14:00

  2. Café Vidro

    Eat and drink · 2 min on foot

    A narrow coffee bar with six stools, a glass counter and a barista called Inácio who remembers what you drank yesterday. Good for a first coffee that is not at the house.

    Where
    Rua da Regueira, two doors from the church
    Order this, or do this
    A galão in a glass, and the toasted cheese sandwich if you are hungry.
    Our tip
    Stand at the counter rather than sit. It is cheaper, quicker and where the conversation is.
    Open
    Monday to Saturday, 7:30 to 18:00

  3. Tasca da Escada

    Eat and drink · 5 min on foot

    A tasca with eight tables, a blackboard menu and a cook named Dona Lurdes who has not changed the rice in thirty years, and shouldn't. We send guests here when they ask for somewhere that is not for tourists.

    Where
    Escadinhas de São Miguel
    Order this, or do this
    Arroz de tamboril (monkfish rice) for two, grilled sardines from June to September, and the almond tart.
    Our tip
    Book through Rui at reception. It is small, and the good tables go quickly on weekends.
    Open
    Tuesday to Sunday, 12:30 to 15:00 and 19:30 to 22:30

  4. Mercearia Salgado

    Shop · 4 min on foot

    A grocer with shelves up to the ceiling, tinned fish in paper wrappers, wine from small growers in the Alentejo and a cheese counter. The Salgado family have kept it exactly as it was, down to the brass scales.

    Where
    Rua de São Pedro
    Order this, or do this
    Tinned sardines and mackerel for gifts, a wedge of Azeitão cheese, and a bottle of the white from Vidigueira.
    Our tip
    They will vacuum pack cheese and fish for the flight home. Ask for the small bag with the string handles.
    Open
    Monday to Saturday, 9:00 to 19:30

  5. A Voz do Beco

    Listen · 7 min on foot

    A fado house with twenty seats, a low ceiling and singers who are neighbours rather than performers. There is no stage. The singer stands by the door and everyone stops talking.

    Where
    Beco do Carneiro
    Order this, or do this
    A jug of house red and the plate of cheese and olives. Dinner is not served, which is a relief.
    Our tip
    Arrive by 21:00 to get a seat, and stay silent during the songs. If you want to talk, there is a courtyard behind.
    Open
    Wednesday to Sunday, 20:30 to 00:30

  6. Miradouro de Santa Luzia

    See · 5 min on foot · Real landmark

    A small terrace garden with a pergola covered in bougainvillea, tile panels showing the city before the earthquake and a long view over the roofs to the river. It is the closest viewpoint to the house and the one that tour groups come to last.

    Where
    Largo de Santa Luzia
    Order this, or do this
    Nothing. Bring something from the bakery and sit on the wall.
    Our tip
    Go at 8:30 in the morning, when the light is soft and you will have it to yourself.
    Open
    Always open

  7. Miradouro das Portas do Sol

    See · 6 min on foot · Real landmark

    A wider terrace than Santa Luzia, with a statue of Saint Vincent, a kiosk bar and a view that takes in the whole of Alfama down to the river. It is busy from ten, but the view is worth the crowd.

    Where
    Largo das Portas do Sol
    Order this, or do this
    A coffee from the kiosk and a seat on the wall facing the river.
    Our tip
    Come back at sunset on a weekday. Tram 28 stops here, but walking up from our lane is quicker than waiting for it.
    Open
    Always open

  8. Sé de Lisboa

    See · 8 min on foot · Real landmark

    Lisbon's cathedral, a Romanesque fortress of a church built in the twelfth century and repaired after every earthquake since. The cloister has an excavation of Roman and Moorish remains that most visitors walk past.

    Where
    Largo da Sé
    Order this, or do this
    The cloister, which has a small entry fee, and a quiet ten minutes in the nave.
    Our tip
    The tram line passes the front door, so the best photographs are taken from the steps opposite.
    Open
    Daily, 9:30 to 18:00. Closed to visitors during services

  9. Museu do Fado

    See · 4 min on foot · Real landmark

    A small museum on the river side of Alfama that tells the story of fado through recordings, instruments and the faces of the singers. The audio guide lets you hear each voice as you walk past its photograph.

    Where
    Largo do Chafariz de Dentro
    Order this, or do this
    The audio guide, and the shop on the way out for recordings you will not find elsewhere.
    Our tip
    Go on a morning before you hear fado in the evening. You will listen differently.
    Open
    Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00

  10. Feira da Ladra

    Shop · 14 min on foot · Real landmark

    The flea market, held twice a week for more than a century. Old tiles, brass, military buttons, vinyl, books and a lot of things you did not know you wanted. The dealers start to pack up at about one o'clock.

    Where
    Campo de Santa Clara
    Order this, or do this
    A single old tile, if you can find one that is cracked in the right place. Bargain politely and start at half.
    Our tip
    It runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays only. Get there before 10:00, when the dealers' stalls are full and the tourists have not arrived.
    Open
    Tuesday and Saturday, 7:00 to 14:00

  11. Panteão Nacional

    See · 15 min on foot · Real landmark

    A white baroque church with a great dome that took nearly three hundred years to finish. Inside it is cool and bright, with floors of coloured marble. The roof terrace is the highest point you can reach on foot in the district.

    Where
    Campo de Santa Clara
    Order this, or do this
    The roof terrace. There is a short staircase, and from the top you see the river, the castle on its hill and the whole of Alfama laid out below.
    Our tip
    Combine it with the flea market, since they share a square. Do the market first, the church second.
    Open
    Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00

  12. The river walk to Santa Apolónia

    Walk · 12 min on foot · Real landmark

    A flat walk of about twenty minutes along the water, past the ferry terminals and the cruise ships, to the old station at Santa Apolónia. It is the only level walk in the district, and the only one with the sky open in front of you.

    Where
    From Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, east along the river
    Order this, or do this
    Take a bicycle from the house and keep going east to the Parque das Nações if you like. It is flat for about six kilometres.
    Our tip
    Go at the end of the day, when the sun is low across the water and the air has cooled.
    Open
    Always open

On the way up

Five pictures of the streets between the river and our door. They show Lisbon's old districts and are here for the kind of walk it is, not for the exact lane.

Not on the list?

Ask at reception. Rui and Marta will tell you where they would go tonight, and Rui will book it. Or write before you arrive to stay@hotel.phoenixcodes.org.

From €240 a night, breakfast included

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