Lisbon's Alfama: a self-guided walk from the Sé to the Casa dos Bicos, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Lisbon. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at the Sé and finish at the Casa dos Bicos: 3.2 km, about 45 minutes of walking, uphill to the castle and then down, and 5 to 6 hours with the tickets. Walk it on a Tuesday or Saturday: all seven stops are open and the Feira da Ladra runs from 9:00 to 18:00. On Mondays the Pantheon and the Fado Museum are closed, and on Sundays the Sé and the Casa dos Bicos are. Buy the castle ticket online to skip the ticket-office queue: the €17 includes free guided tours. Or book a tour: Portugal, Me & You’s small-group Old Town walk with castle ticketsad (from £59, 3 hours) walks Alfama with entry to the castle included.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

Alfama is the district between the castle and the river, and the walk climbs it from the cathedral at the bottom, crosses the ridge to the monastery and the Pantheon, and drops back down to the river. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories and finds the route for you. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

• Lisbon: Small-Group Old Town Walking Tour & Castle Ticketsad, by Portugal, Me & You: from £59, 5 stars from 58 reviews, 3 hours. It starts at Restaurante Conqvistador, spends 50 minutes in the castle quarter and an hour in Alfama with a food tasting, and ends on Rua da Judiaria.
• Lisbon: Tram 28, Alfama, and Custard Tart Walking Tourad, by Seven Wonders: from £29, 4.8 stars from 169 reviews, 2½ to 3 hours. It rides the tram first, then walks down past the Graça, Portas do Sol and Santa Luzia viewpoints and the cathedral, with a stop at Manteigaria for a custard tart.
• Best of Lisbon Walking Tour: Rossio, Chiado & Alfamaad, by Inside Lisbon Tours: from £19, 4.9 stars from 3,366 reviews, 3 hours, starting at the statue of Pedro IV in Rossio. It includes a custard tart tasting.

São Jorge Castle tickets compares the castle’s own ticket with the resold ones.

1. Sé de Lisboa

€7 · €5 with the Lisboa Card · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00, 9:30 to 19:00 from April to October · closed Sundays, holy days, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

The towers of the Sé de Lisboa. Photo: Therese C, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Construction began in 1147, after King Afonso Henriques took Lisbon from the Moors, and the cathedral is held to be the oldest church in the city. Its front is Romanesque, with two crenellated towers and a rose window. The window’s stained glass, twelve apostles round Christ, was made in the 1930s from fragments of the one destroyed in the 1755 earthquake.

• The ticket covers the High Choir, built in 1952, which looks down the nave; the cathedral’s treasury museum; and the naves and the Gothic ambulatory, with nine radiating chapels. A Sé Digital supplement adds €3 for an audio guide on your phone.
• The baptistery has stood in the same place since the cathedral was founded, and Saint Anthony was baptised in it.
• Tram 28E stops outside. The historic trams hold 58 passengers, 20 seated, and the 28E runs every 8 to 9 minutes by day on weekdays; the walk climbs on foot, so you can ignore it. See Tram 28 and funiculars.

Rua Augusto Rosa and the steps of the Beco do Quebra Costas climb to Largo de Santa Luzia: 450 m, uphill all the way. Pastelaria Santo António is 280 m below the viewpoint.

2. Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol

Free · always open · Largo de Santa Luzia and Largo das Portas do Sol, 70 m apart

Alfama from the Miradouro de Santa Luzia. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Santa Luzia has a garden, a pond and two modern tile panels on its south wall: one shows the Praça do Comércio before the earthquake, the other Christians attacking the castle. Reading the view from left to right, the dome is Santa Engrácia, the National Pantheon, then the church of Santo Estêvão, and then the two white towers of São Miguel.

Largo das Portas do Sol. Photo: Gerd Eichmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Portas do Sol is named after a gate of the Moorish wall, ruined in 1755. A statue of São Vicente, by Raul Xavier, was set up in the square in 1949, and from the viewpoint the monastery of São Vicente de Fora stands out above the roofs.

• Tram 28E and 12E both stop here. The 12E is the short loop through Alfama, one tram about every 37 minutes.
• The Museu de Artes Decorativas, at Largo das Portas do Sol 2, is €10 and open 10:00 to 17:00 from October to May, closed on Tuesdays.

Largo do Contador-Mor and Rua de Santa Cruz do Castelo lead to the castle gate: 420 m.

3. Castelo de São Jorge

€17 · free with an adult Lisboa Card · every day 9:00 to 21:00 until 31 October, last admission 20:30; 9:00 to 18:00 from 1 November, last admission 17:30

A tower of the Castelo de São Jorge. Photo: Ingo Mehling, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The castle stands on the highest of the hills above Alfama. The ticket includes a guided tour, “Discovering the Castle”, of up to an hour, in English and Portuguese, and the only way into the archaeological site: ruins from the 7th century BC, a Moorish residential quarter of the 11th century and the last royal palace. It also includes a guided tour of the Camera Obscura, up to 20 minutes, a periscope in one of the towers that shows the city in real time.

• The walls and towers close to visitors earlier than the castle itself: at 17:30 in winter, and at some point between 18:00 and 21:00 in summer, depending on the light.
• Closed on 1 January, 1 May, 24 December, 25 December and 31 December. The castle has warned of possible disruption on 17 October 2026 because of a strike.
• Tickets are sold online, at the ticket office and by machines at the gate; online avoids the queue. Youths 13 to 25 pay €8.50, seniors €14 and children up to 12 go free.
• The climb: the castle’s own directions use two lifts, the Castelo lift from Rua dos Fanqueiros 176 and the Chão do Loureiro car-park lift from Largo do Caldas, because the Santa Justa Lift and the Glória funicular are out of service.

The castle page has the rest. Down through the Pátio de Dom Fradique and along Rua de São Tomé and Rua de São Vicente to the monastery: 800 m. O Velho Eurico is 560 m from the gate.

4. São Vicente de Fora

€8 · €6 with the Lisboa Card · every day 10:00 to 19:00 from 1 June to 31 October, last entry 18:00; 10:00 to 18:00 from 1 November to 31 May, last entry 17:00

The church of São Vicente de Fora. Photo: Vitor Oliveira, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Afonso Henriques founded the first monastery here around 1147, outside the city walls, which is what “de Fora” means. The present church was built between 1582 and 1629 for Philip II of Spain, in a Mannerist style, with a façade attributed to Baltazar Álvares and a dome over the crossing. The 1755 earthquake damaged it, and the 18th-century altarpiece is by Joaquim Machado de Castro.

A cloister gallery of the monastery. Photo: David Baron, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

• The Royal Pantheon holds the tombs of almost all the House of Braganza, Portugal’s last dynasty.
• The cloisters: two of them, lined with Baroque tile panels of secular scenes, inspired by French engravings. The sacristy, still in use, is the monastery’s emblem, with 18th-century inlaid marble in floral patterns.
• The terrace looks over the Tagus and some of Lisbon’s most characteristic districts. A guided visit adds €4.
• Closed on 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, 1 May, and 24, 25 and 31 December.

Arco Grande de Cima and the Campo de Santa Clara lead to the Pantheon: 365 m.

5. The National Pantheon and the Feira da Ladra

Pantheon €10 · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00 from October to March, 10:00 to 18:00 from April to September · closed Mondays · market free, Tuesday and Saturday 9:00 to 18:00

The National Pantheon, the church of Santa Engrácia. Photo: Nan Palmero, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The church of Santa Engrácia was begun on 31 August 1682, after the chancel of an earlier church collapsed in a storm, and finished on 7 December 1966. That span gave Portuguese the expression “Obras de Santa Engrácia”, for a job that never ends. It is built on a Greek-cross plan with curving walls, under a dome 80 m high, and it holds cenotaphs of Nuno Álvares Pereira, Prince Henry the Navigator, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Afonso de Albuquerque, Vasco da Gama and Camões. The tombs include those of the fado singer Amália Rodrigues, the footballer Eusébio and the poet Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. A terrace gives the view over the city and the river.

• The Pantheon is closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. Visitors aged 65 or over and those aged 13 to 24 pay half.
• Last admission is 16:40 from October to March and 17:40 from April to September.

The Feira da Ladra in the Campo de Santa Clara. Photo: Shadowgate, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

The Feira da Ladra, the thieves’ market, sells antiques, second-hand objects and crafts in the square behind São Vicente de Fora every Tuesday and Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00. It was first held in 1272 just below the castle gate, and moved to the Campo de Santa Clara in 1882; it has run on Saturdays as well since 1903.

Calçada do Cascão and Rua dos Remédios lead down to the Fado Museum: 600 m, downhill.

6. Museu do Fado

€5 · free with an adult Lisboa Card · Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, last admission 17:30 · closed Mondays, 1 January, 1 May, 24, 25 and 31 December

The Museu do Fado on Largo do Chafariz de Dentro. Photo: Stefan Didam - Schmallenberg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The museum opened on 25 September 1998 in a building that was Lisbon’s water pumping station: it was begun in 1868, two steam engines were installed in 1869, and it pumped until 1938. Fado appeared in Lisbon in the early 19th century, and UNESCO added it to its intangible heritage lists on 27 November 2011. The permanent exhibition shows paintings about fado, among them José Malhoa’s O fado, with sheet music, videos and biographies.

Old records at the Museu do Fado. Photo: Matt Kieffer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

• Audio guide: in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.
• For a live show, fado is sung in small rooms in Alfama and Chiado: Lisbon food tours, pastel de nata classes and fado evenings compares them on length, price and what is included.

Rua de São Pedro and Rua de São João da Praça lead to the Casa dos Bicos: 555 m.

7. Casa dos Bicos

€5 · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 · closed Sundays, 1 January, 25 April, 1 May, 5 October and 25 December · Rua dos Bacalhoeiros 10

The Casa dos Bicos. Photo: Felipe Gabaldón, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Brás de Albuquerque, son of the viceroy of India Afonso de Albuquerque, had the house built in 1523, after a trip to Italy, on the model of the Diamond Palace in Ferrara. It has been the headquarters of the José Saramago Foundation since June 2012, and the foundation opens it to the public with exhibitions. A regular ticket is €5, a family ticket for up to two adults €10 and a student ticket €2.50; children up to 12 and visitors over 65 go free.

The Praça do Comércio is 520 m west along the river, where the Baixa, Chiado and Bairro Alto walk starts.

Where to eat

Pastelaria Santo António

Rua do Milagre de Santo António 10 · 280 m from Santa Luzia

A two-storey bakery with a tiled front near the castle and the cathedral, with a glass wall that lets you watch the bakers. It won first place in the 2019 national competition, according to 2foodtrippers. It is up a steep street from the Sé.

O Velho Eurico

Largo de São Cristóvão 3-4, Mouraria · 560 m from the castle gate

A small tasca on a sunny square below the castle, with a few tables outside on the cobbles. Order the piglet empanada and share three or four plates: the sources name the octopus lagareiro, roasted in olive oil, chanfana, goat or lamb stewed in red wine, and bacalhau à Brás, shredded cod with egg and fried potato. It is almost impossible to reserve, says The Infatuation, which advises arriving at 12:30 for lunch or 19:00 for dinner. Where to eat in Lisbon has more tascas.

The best day to go

The timing that works, Tuesday to Saturday: be at the Sé when it opens, at the castle by 10:30, at São Vicente de Fora by 13:00, and at the market and the Pantheon before 16:00 in winter, when the Pantheon closes at 17:00. The Fado Museum and the Casa dos Bicos both close at 18:00.

What closes:

• 1 January and 25 December: the Sé, the castle, São Vicente de Fora, the Pantheon, the Fado Museum and the Casa dos Bicos are all closed.
• 24 and 31 December: the castle, São Vicente de Fora and the Fado Museum are closed.
• 1 May: the castle, São Vicente de Fora, the Pantheon, the Fado Museum and the Casa dos Bicos are closed.
• 25 April and 5 October: the Casa dos Bicos is closed.
• 13 June and Easter Sunday: the Pantheon is closed; São Vicente de Fora is also closed on Easter Sunday and Good Friday.
• 1 November: the castle closes at 18:00 instead of 21:00, and São Vicente de Fora at 18:00 instead of 19:00.

What does not close: the streets, the viewpoints and the squares. A Monday still makes a good walk: the castle, the monastery, the Sé and the viewpoints are open, and the Pantheon’s terrace and the Fado Museum are the only things to leave for another day.

Getting there and back

• To the start: the Sé is 570 m from the Praça do Comércio along Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, and tram 28E and 12E stop outside it. See Lisbon public transport for the fares.
• From the end: the Casa dos Bicos is 520 m from the Praça do Comércio, beside the Terreiro do Paço metro station on the Blue line.
• In reverse: the route works from the Casa dos Bicos up to the Sé and the castle, but then you reach the Pantheon late in the afternoon.

What to do with the rest of the day

• Baixa and Chiado: the Baixa, Chiado and Bairro Alto walk starts at the Praça do Comércio, 520 m from the Casa dos Bicos.
• The castle: São Jorge Castle tickets has the tickets compared and the resold ones that cost more.
• The whole trip: Lisbon in one day and 3 days in Lisbon build the days round the bookings, and what to book before you go to Lisbon has the rest of the tickets.

Common questions

How long is the Alfama walk?

3.2 km from the Sé to the Casa dos Bicos, measured along the streets: about 45 minutes of walking, mostly uphill to the castle and then down, and 5 to 6 hours with the castle, São Vicente de Fora, the Pantheon and the Fado Museum.

Is the Alfama walk free?

The streets, the viewpoints and the Feira da Ladra cost nothing. The Sé is €7, São Jorge Castle €17, São Vicente de Fora €8, the National Pantheon €10, the Fado Museum €5 and the Casa dos Bicos €5.

Which day is best for the Alfama walk?

Tuesday or Saturday: all seven stops are open and the Feira da Ladra runs from 9:00 to 18:00. On Mondays the Pantheon and the Fado Museum are closed, and on Sundays the Sé and the Casa dos Bicos are.

Do I need tram 28 for Alfama?

No. The walk climbs on foot from the Sé and comes down on foot. Tram 28E and 12E both stop at the Sé, Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Largo das Portas do Sol: the 28E runs every 8 to 9 minutes by day on weekdays, and the historic trams carry 58 passengers, 20 of them seated.

Are the lifts and funiculars working?

Carris lists only the Graça funicular as running. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars are out of service and the Santa Justa Lift is temporarily closed. For the castle climb, the castle's own directions use two public lifts, from Rua dos Fanqueiros 176 and from Largo do Caldas.

When does the Feira da Ladra run?

Every Tuesday and Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00, in the Campo de Santa Clara behind São Vicente de Fora.