How to avoid (some of) the hills in Lisbon - Chiado and Alfama
Aug 16th, 2023, 06:12 PM
#1
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How to avoid (some of) the hills in Lisbon - Chiado and Alfama
I recently returned from Portugal and thought I would share some insights I learnt from a Lisbon local who I had the fortune of doing a walking tour with. As I was told, the secret to the hills of Lisbon is knowing where some of the free lifts and escalators are to avoid them!
Rua da Vitoria holds the key to getting to (some of) Lisbon's heights with ease.
On one end of the street is the Baixa-Chiado metro station (pictured). Walk through the station and at the very back you will find a series of escalators which will take you to the very top of the Chiado neighbourhood, and quite near the (top of) the Baixa neighbourhood and at the foot of the Barrio Alto neighbourhood. This is where you will want to go to access places such as Livraria Bertrand and the Carmo Convent.
As an added bonus, if visiting Carmo Convent, be sure to wander around the back near the top of the Santa Justa platform where you can access the viewing deck for free having avoided the fee at the bottom of the lift and the long queue.
On the opposite end of Rua da Vitoria is the gateway to the top of the Alfama neighbourhood and close to the Castle of St George.
First, take the Elevador do Castelo (the building housing it pictured) to the top where you will exit at Rua da Madalena.
Then walk almost diagonally to the left, make your way to Largo Chão do Loureiro. At the very end is a staircase, or, inside the Pingo Doce supermarket (pictured), another lift up! Take the lift to the very top and be rewarded by a beautiful viewpoint as well as easier access to the Castle of St George, the Santa Luzia lookout and more.
Hope this helps someone visiting Portugal in future! Happy travelling
Rua da Vitoria holds the key to getting to (some of) Lisbon's heights with ease.
On one end of the street is the Baixa-Chiado metro station (pictured). Walk through the station and at the very back you will find a series of escalators which will take you to the very top of the Chiado neighbourhood, and quite near the (top of) the Baixa neighbourhood and at the foot of the Barrio Alto neighbourhood. This is where you will want to go to access places such as Livraria Bertrand and the Carmo Convent.
As an added bonus, if visiting Carmo Convent, be sure to wander around the back near the top of the Santa Justa platform where you can access the viewing deck for free having avoided the fee at the bottom of the lift and the long queue.
On the opposite end of Rua da Vitoria is the gateway to the top of the Alfama neighbourhood and close to the Castle of St George.
First, take the Elevador do Castelo (the building housing it pictured) to the top where you will exit at Rua da Madalena.
Then walk almost diagonally to the left, make your way to Largo Chão do Loureiro. At the very end is a staircase, or, inside the Pingo Doce supermarket (pictured), another lift up! Take the lift to the very top and be rewarded by a beautiful viewpoint as well as easier access to the Castle of St George, the Santa Luzia lookout and more.
Hope this helps someone visiting Portugal in future! Happy travelling
Last edited by victoriainwanderland; Aug 16th, 2023 at 06:14 PM.
Aug 17th, 2023, 12:00 PM
#4
"Pingo Doce supermarket (pictured), another lift up!"
Just be prepared that sometimes that lift is not working, like it wasn't for us ("out of order"). As I said in my post, "Oh well, we needed the extra exercise to burn off those bacon and eggs."
Just be prepared that sometimes that lift is not working, like it wasn't for us ("out of order"). As I said in my post, "Oh well, we needed the extra exercise to burn off those bacon and eggs."
Aug 17th, 2023, 12:07 PM
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Thanks very much for the tips and the photos to accompany them.
Just a question-
One of the series of escalators in the Baixa-Chiado metro was out of order, so we did have to do one hike up. It appears that this escalator has been repaired and is functioning now?
Just a question-
One of the series of escalators in the Baixa-Chiado metro was out of order, so we did have to do one hike up. It appears that this escalator has been repaired and is functioning now?
Aug 18th, 2023, 07:36 AM
#6
"One of the series of escalators in the Baixa-Chiado metro was out of order, so we did have to do one hike up."
Yep, that also happened to us (photo below), however the one escalator flight of stairs was easy to navigate since our first three days in Lisbon had us in pretty good stair-walking shape.
Yep, that also happened to us (photo below), however the one escalator flight of stairs was easy to navigate since our first three days in Lisbon had us in pretty good stair-walking shape.
