Alfama: fado and the miradouros
The cathedral, the two great river terraces, the fado lanes, and the climb back down to the water. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Sé de Lisboa
The cathedral is the start because it's the bottom of the hill and everything else is up from here. Romanesque, fortress-blunt, older than the country around it. Go in for the cloister if it's open; otherwise just stand under the two towers and start climbing.

2. Miradouro de Santa Luzia
The first of the two terraces, and the prettier one — *azulejo* (painted tile) panels along the wall, bougainvillaea over the pergola, the river below the tiled roofs. Quiet first thing; by midday the tour groups arrive. Come early.

3. Miradouro das Portas do Sol
Thirty seconds further up and the view opens wider — the whole of *Alfama* spilling down to the *Tejo*, the white dome of the Panteão off to the left. There's a *quiosque* (a garden kiosk-café) here for a coffee while you take it in.

4. Beco do Carneiro
Now drop off the terrace into the lanes. This one is barely shoulder-width, stepped, washing strung overhead — the *Alfama* the postcards don't quite manage. You'll get lost in here. That's the point; the hill always returns you to the river.

5. Largo de São Miguel
A small square in the middle of the tangle, the parish church on one side. This is *fado* country — the music was born in these lanes, and you'll still hear it leaking from doorways. Most houses sing at night, not morning; come back after dark if you want the real thing.

6. Santa Apolónia
The lanes feed down to the river edge and the station. Blue-line metro and the mainline trains east. If you've timed it for lunch, the riverfront warehouses nearby have somewhere to sit before you go.

Alfama: fado and the miradouros