Are you in Lisbon for only one day and don’t know how to make the best of your time? We’ve got you covered!

Lisbon is a pedestrian friendly city and one of its wonders are its streets filled with life and tradition so we suggest you start the day by walking through “Baixa” where you will find many touristic attractions:

1 – Rossio Square
Rossio Square, also known as Plaza Don Pedro IV is a common meeting spot not only for locals but also tourists and is surrounded by some of the city’s famous bars, restaurants and shops so this is a great place to explore the stores and maybe get a few souvenirs. The square has two baroque fountains and in the center a statue of Don Pedro IV (a Portuguese king and Brazil’s first Emperor).

Near Rossio Square is the beautiful Rossio Railway Station with it’s unique neo-Manueline façade as well as “Café Nicola” one of the most famous coffee shops in Lisbon with more than 200 years of history and the D. Maria II National Theatre.

2 – Santa Justa Lift
A place you can’t miss is the Santa Justa Lift , a neo-gothic piece of unique architecture from the turn of the 20th century. It was designed by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard, one of Gustave Eiffel’s protégés. Although the view from the elevator is sublime we don’t recommend you to ride the elevator. The waiting time is usually about an hour (or more) and costs about 5 euros to go up. Instead you can go up the street and use the elevator from the shop directly behind the lift into the Santa Justa viewpoint. The price to get into the platform is only 1.5€.

3 – Rua Augusta
Another amazing place you can’t miss is Rua Augusta. This busy street is filled with restaurants, bakeries, street artists, local shops as well as some internationally know shops. You can have a snack here or maybe do some shopping. In the end you will see the famous and beautiful “Arco da Rua Augusta”. This Arch was built in 1759 as a memory of the 1755 earthquake  and has statues of various historical figures.

4 – Commerce Square
Commerce Square, also known as “Terreiro do Paço”, is an iconic Portuguese monument. For 250 it was the main residence of the kings and was called “Paço da Ribeira” but after the 1755 earthquake it had to be rebuilt and it was transformed into this U shaped square in a Pombaline architecture with a beautiful view of the Tagus River. In the center there is a statue of king José I. You can also pay a quick visit to the museum of beer and taste some of the tasty Portuguese beers.

Lunch
Our lunch recommendations near Commerce Square are:

• RIB Beef & Wine
• Museu da Cerveja (Beer Museum)

After lunch head to the bus stop in commerce square and get on the 15E tram to Belém

5 – 15E tram
The route made by this tram is one of Lisbon’s oldest and dates back to 1901 and if you are lucky enough you may catch an original tram (one of Lisbon’s symbols).

6 – Jerónimos Monastery
The Jerónimos Monastery is a former monastery from the order of Saint Jerome and is located near the Tagus River. It dates back to the XVI century and has an Manueline architecture. Its construction lasted for almost 100 years and it is truly a masterpiece you can’t miss. We suggest you buy tickets online to skip the long lines.

7 – Belém Tower
Belem’s Tower, officially known as the Tower of Sait Vicent is a 16th century fortification whose purpose was embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers. It also served as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. It was built during the Renaissance time in the Manueline style but it also has other architectural Styles present. Both Jerónimos Monastery and Belém’s Tower are in UNESCO’s world Heritage Site.

8 – Pastel De Belém
As a stop we strongly recommend you to try a traditional Portuguese delicacy created in Jerónimos Monastery known as “Pastel de Belém” and its bakery has been around since 1837.

9 – Padrão Dos Descobrimentos
This was a monument created to celebrate the Portuguese Age of Discovery (or Age of Exploration) during the 15th and 16th century. It was built in 1939 by Portuguese architect José Ângelo Cottinelli Telmo, and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida as a temporary beacon in the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition and was later demolished. It was rebuilt in 1960.

Dinner
For dinner we have two suggestions:

• Wine Room Lisboa
• TOPO – Belém