Lisbon in 3 days

São Jorge Castle at opening time, entry €17. The walls and towers close earlier than the castle grounds, so start with them. The camera obscura only runs with a guide, included in the ticket, from eleven, and only on a clear day — if you want it, stay until then.

Walk down through Alfama, past the Portas do Sol and Santa Luzia viewpoints, to the 12th-century Sé Cathedral, with tram 28 passing its door. Lunch in Alfama, in the lanes above Rua dos Bacalhoeiros.

The National Pantheon (Santa Engrácia), entry €10: a lift and narrow passages bring you out on the terrace around the dome, above the Alfama rooftops and the river. On Tuesdays and Saturdays the Feira da Ladra flea market fills Campo de Santa Clara outside, until six.

Miradouro da Graça, then uphill to Senhora do Monte, the viewpoint above Graça, for sunset. Dinner in Graça, or back down in Alfama, where fado is sung in the evenings — book a table if you want dinner with it.

Tram 15E from Praça da Figueira, or the Cascais train from Cais do Sodré, to Belém.

Jerónimos Monastery at opening, entry €18. What you pay for is the two-storey cloister of carved stone; allow an hour.

Pastéis de Belém, Rua de Belém 84–92, between the monastery and the tower: besides the takeaway counter there are rooms inside to sit down in.

Belém Tower, in the slot you booked, entry €15. If the slots are gone, the fallback is the Padrão dos Descobrimentos across the road, with a lift to a viewing deck at the top.

Lunch off the main street and a walk along the Tagus to MAAT, whose roof you can walk across. Tram 15E back to Calvário: LX Factory, an 1846 textile mill under the 25 de Abril bridge, now a yard of cafés and the Ler Devagar bookshop.

Cais do Sodré for the evening: the Time Out Market in the old Ribeira market hall, and Rua Nova do Carvalho, the street with the pink tarmac and the bars.

Tram 28 from the Campo de Ourique (Prazeres) terminus, heading into town: the crush builds at the other end, at Martim Moniz, and in the middle of the day. The fare is €1.72 on zapping, €3.30 from the driver.

Get off at the Estrela Basilica and cross into Jardim da Estrela opposite.

Bairro Alto in the morning, while it is a residential district rather than a night out. Then Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara: two terraces and the day-one castle across the valley.

On foot, downhill into Chiado: Livraria Bertrand, trading since 1732, and the Carmo Convent, a Gothic church the 1755 earthquake left without a roof and which has stayed that way; entry €7, closed on Sundays.

Down into Baixa, lunch in the streets behind Praça do Comércio, then through the Arco da Rua Augusta to the waterfront and along to Ribeira das Naus, where people sit on steps that run into the Tagus.

Miradouro de Santa Catarina (Adamastor) for sunset over the Tagus and the bridge. Dinner in Príncipe Real, above Bairro Alto.