Belem

Quiet on a Sunday, the Belem area of Lisbon, is a tranquil part of the city and definitely the place to visit if you have no time for anything else . Just 20 minutes on the fast tram (no 15), its easy enough to locate... and covered by a metro ticket (loaded with money rather than trips, €1.25 each way).

The monasterio de los Jerónimos (monastery), of manueline architecture, is absolutely beautiful, both inside and out. If you are on a budget you can still access the church for free as the entrance fee (€7) only applies to the cloisters and the balcony area.

Just a short walk along the riverside allows some sweeping panoramas of the 25 April bridge (renamed after the revolution whereby Salazar, its previous namesake, was defeated) as well as opportunities for views from both the monumento a los descubrimientos (discoveries monument) and the torre de Belém (tower).

The Pastéis de Belem (blue cake restaurant just along from the monastery) seats 400 people and yet on a quiet day in this part of they city, it's still rammed with tourists and locals stuffing down the famous custard tarts, but well worth braving the long queues and sitting at a table inside.

You can cover off the Belem area of the city, as we did, in an afternoon, and that's without rushing.

Baixa/Bairro Alto

During the morning of our first day in Lisbon, we took a free walking tour (they rely on tips) with panchotours.com and our very informative guide, Alessandro, took us through the West of the down town area, namely the Baixa and Bairro Alto areas. 

Although the weather stayed warm we were cursed with rain for most of it, however this didn't really spoil the experience, just the photos were a little greyer than I would have liked.Key spots included:
 
- Rossio (main square)
- elevador due Santa Justa 
- Baixa Chaida metro (privately owned and effectively 'saved from closure)
- Praça Luis de camōs (plaza)
- Bairro Alto (dead during the daytime, was once the centre for drying fish)
- Praça dos restauradores (plaza with art Deco theatre and obelisk)
- A ginjinha registada - Cherry liqueur shop on corner of Rossio square close to the theatre