Around Praça do Comércio lies the Baixa, flat and laid out on a grid. From the statue, MUDE is 4 minutes on foot, the free Museu do Dinheiro 5 and Rossio 11, up Rua Augusta. The cathedral (Sé) and the castle are uphill. For Belém there is the 15E tram.
Updated
Point 1 is the statue in the middle of the square, where the walking times are measured from. The other places are 15 minutes or less away on foot.
The Baixa begins at the Rua Augusta Arch and is flat all the way to Rossio, 11 minutes on foot from the statue.
2 minutes on foot 130 m
Rua Augusta starts at the Rua Augusta Arch and runs straight to Rossio. It has been pedestrian since the late 1980s, with shops on both sides and street performers.
The streets around it make up the grid of the Pombaline Baixa, many named after trades, and Rua do Ouro is officially called Rua Áurea.
On Rua Augusta some people offer fake drugs to tourists.
4 minutes on foot 220 m
The museum of design and fashion is in the former headquarters of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino, at No. 24 Rua Augusta, just past the arch. It closed for works in 2016 and reopened on 25 July 2024.
Entry is paid, but free up to the age of 12. Lisboa Card holders pay half.
5 minutes on foot 340 m
It is in the former Church of São Julião, on the square of the same name, behind the west wing of Praça do Comércio. Entry is free on every day it opens.
The 2010 excavations at the Banco de Portugal headquarters uncovered a stretch of King Dinis's city wall, buried since the earthquake, which you can see in the museum. For children there are activities such as printing a virtual banknote with your own face on it.
5 minutes on foot 320 m
Under the Millennium bcp building, at No. 9 Rua dos Correeiros, you see layers of Lisbon going back to the Iron Age: Roman fish-salting works, Islamic and medieval remains and Pombaline structures.
The visit is guided, in Portuguese or English, takes about 50 minutes and is free. Book it on the Fundação Millennium bcp website. A booking is confirmed only when the centre replies.
5 minutes on foot 320 m
Under Rua da Conceição, at the corner with Rua da Prata, there are vaulted galleries from the 1st century, part of the Roman town of Olisipo. They were found in 1771, during the rebuilding of the Baixa.
They are nearly always full of water, which has to be pumped out before each opening. So the Museu de Lisboa opens them only a few days a year, for guided visits that must be booked well ahead and sell out fast. You go in through a hatch in the middle of the street.
11 minutes on foot 800 m
Rua Augusta ends at Rossio, the name by which Praça D. Pedro IV is known. It has been one of the main squares of the city since the Middle Ages. On its north side stands the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II.
The way from Praça do Comércio is flat all the way, straight up Rua Augusta.
9 minutes on foot 650 m
The 1902 lift rises from the Baixa to the Carmo and has its entrance on Rua de Santa Justa. You reach it by Rua do Ouro, parallel to Rua Augusta.
It has been closed since September 2025, and Carris has not announced a reopening date. The viewpoint at the top is closed too.
The bank of the Tagus is flat in both directions. To the west, Ribeira das Naus leads to Cais do Sodré. To the east, Rua da Alfândega leads to Campo das Cebolas.
8 minutes on foot 690 m
Just west of Cais das Colunas, the riverbank carries on as Ribeira das Naus, the old shipyard where the naus, the great sailing ships, were built. Today it is a garden with a lawn and a wide flight of steps down to the water.
There is a kiosk with outdoor tables. The steps reach the river, but swimming is not allowed.
15 minutes on foot 1.1 km
Ribeira das Naus continues to Cais do Sodré. By Rua do Arsenal, the station is 13 minutes on foot and the Time Out Market 15.
From Cais do Sodré there are trains to Cascais, the Green metro line and boats to Cacilhas, Seixal and Montijo.
The Time Out Market is a food hall on the ground floor of the Mercado da Ribeira. To eat on the square itself, there are restaurants in the arcades.
8 minutes on foot 550 m
To the east, Rua da Alfândega leads to Campo das Cebolas, a riverside square with a car park.
Facing it is the Casa dos Bicos, built in 1523 for Brás de Albuquerque, with its facade of diamond-pointed stones. It is the headquarters of the José Saramago Foundation. On the ground floor you see Roman fish-salting tanks and a stretch of the Fernandine wall, the city wall of King Fernando.
East of the Baixa the castle hill begins. The walking times leave out the gradient. The streets climb, with steps and cobbles, so the walk up takes longer.
9 minutes on foot 600 m
Lisbon's cathedral dates from 1147. Walk along Rua da Alfândega and Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, then climb through the Arco das Portas do Mar and up a flight of steps.
The ticket covers the treasury, the climb to the upper choir and the balcony between the towers. There are no visits during services. To avoid the climb, the 28E tram comes from Rua da Conceição and stops alongside, at the Sé stop.
14 minutes on foot 990 m
Alfama is the quarter of narrow streets, alleys and steps that runs down from the castle to the river. Past the Sé, Rua Augusto Rosa keeps climbing to the Miradouro de Santa Luzia viewpoint.
At the viewpoint, tile panels show Praça do Comércio before the earthquake. The 28E tram stops there, at Miradouro Sta. Luzia.
13 minutes on foot 950 m
The castle stands at the top of the hill, with its entrance on Rua de Santa Cruz do Castelo. On foot you climb by Rua da Prata and the Escadinhas de São Crispim steps. It is 13 minutes on the flat; the steep climb takes longer.
To avoid the climb, Carris bus 737 runs from Praça da Figueira to the castle, stopping at the Sé. With the Lisboa Card, adult entry is free.
The 15E tram runs from the square to Belém with no change, in about 30 to 35 minutes. For the Jerónimos Monastery, get off at the Mosteiro Jerónimos stop.
Take the 15E at the Praça do Comércio stop, on the north side of the square, west of the arch, towards Algés. The tram runs by Cais do Sodré, Santos and Alcântara, close to the river.
Belém has two stops in a row: Belém (Museu Coches) and, just after it, Mosteiro Jerónimos, by the monastery.
During works in the Baixa, Carris may cut the 15E back to Cais do Sodré, 13 minutes on foot along the river.
The simplest way is the 15E tram, which stops on the north side of the square, west of the arch. Take it towards Algés and get off at Mosteiro Jerónimos, by the monastery. The journey takes about 30 to 35 minutes, with no change. During works in the Baixa, the 15E may start from Cais do Sodré only.
Yes. Entry to the Museu do Dinheiro (Money Museum) is free every day it opens, Wednesday to Sunday, with no paid ticket and no set free days. It is in the former Church of São Julião, 5 minutes on foot from the statue in Praça do Comércio. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Only on a few days a year, announced by the Museu de Lisboa. The galleries, from the 1st century, are nearly always full of water, which is pumped out before each opening. Visits are guided, must be booked well ahead and sell out fast. You go in through a hatch on Rua da Conceição, near Rua Augusta.
No. The lift has been closed since September 2025, with no reopening date announced. Carris says the viewpoint at the top is closed too. The tower stands on Rua de Santa Justa, 9 minutes on foot from Praça do Comércio by Rua do Ouro.
Yes, but it is uphill all the way. It is about 950 m by Rua da Prata and the Escadinhas de São Crispim, with steps and cobbles. It is 13 minutes on the flat; the climb takes longer. Bus 737, which leaves from Praça da Figueira, saves the climb.