Alfama

Alfama is the one Lisbon sight you can reach without any transport: its lower lanes start across Avenida Infante Dom Henrique from the Jardim do Tabaco terminal, about 8 minutes on foot. The catch is the gradient. The district climbs from the river to the castle walls on stairs and steep cobbles, so decide which way you will walk before you set off. The easiest plan for a port day is top-down. Take a taxi, a tuk-tuk or Tram 28E up to Largo das Portas do Sol, look at the view, then walk downhill through the lanes back towards the ship. Walking up and back down covers the same streets at roughly twice the effort. With 90 minutes: the Portas do Sol and Santa Luzia viewpoints, which sit a minute or two apart, then a slow walk down to Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, where the Fado Museum stands a few minutes from the terminal. With three to four hours, add the Sé (Lisbon's cathedral, closed to visitors on Sundays) or Castelo de São Jorge higher up. On a Tuesday or Saturday, the Feira da Ladra flea market fills Campo de Santa Clara, on the eastern edge of the district. On busy ship days, roughly 10:00 to 15:00 is when excursion groups crowd the viewpoints and Tram 28E arrives full. Early in your port day is calmer, and the side lanes away from the tram line stay quiet at almost any hour. What to skip if time is tight: queuing for Tram 28E only for the ride, restaurants with touts and picture menus on the main routes, and trying to see every church. The lanes themselves are the point. Alfama's irregular street plan predates the 1755 earthquake, which hit the flat Baixa far harder. People still live here, so keep voices down in the narrow residential alleys.