Monsanto: the forest hill and the graffiti viewpoint
Lisbon's big forest, woodland paths, and an abandoned restaurant with the best 360° in the city. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Sete Rios
The practical way in. From the transit hub here a city bus climbs into *Monsanto* — check the line on the day, since the routes up the hill change. Start early; the forest is best before the heat and the parakeets are loud at first light.

2. Parque Florestal de Monsanto
Lisbon's forest — nine hundred hectares of pine and eucalyptus planted on a bare hill in the 1930s. Pick the marked woodland trails over the roads; the canopy closes over and you forget you're inside a capital city.

3. Alto da Serafina
A recreational clearing with a viewpoint and one of the city's better-kept playgrounds, if you've brought anyone small. Good place to stop, drink water, and look north over the aqueduct valley before the climb to the panorama.

4. Miradouro Panorâmico de Monsanto
The carcass of a 1960s restaurant, abandoned in 2001, opened by the city in 2017 as a free graffiti-covered terrace — 306 degrees of Lisbon, both bridges, the river, the airport. Access has been intermittent lately; check it's open before you climb up, and watch your footing inside.

5. Mata de São Domingos de Benfica path
The descent. Woodland tracks drop east off the hill toward the city edge — shaded, quiet, and downhill all the way, which your knees will thank you for after the viewpoint.

6. Campolide
You come out near the railway, where buses and trains take you back into the centre. The Águas Livres aqueduct strides across the valley just north — worth a look before you leave.

Monsanto: the forest hill and the graffiti viewpoint