This is Lisbon's front porch — the place the whole city turns to face at the end of the day, where the land stops and the Tejo takes over. It's barely two and a half kilometres, but you'll want to do it slowly, and you'll want to do it at dusk.
Start at Cais do Sodré and walk east to the water. The Ribeira das Naus is the stepped lawns and timber decks built over the old royal shipyards — the ones that fitted out the ships for India — and it's now simply where Lisbon comes to sit. Find a step facing the river and understand the appeal at once.
Carry on to Praça do Comércio, the great yellow square that was the king's front door until the 1755 earthquake rearranged the city. At its centre, the Cais das Colunas — marble steps descending straight into the Tejo, the old ceremonial landing. Walk down to the bottom step. Then back through the Arco da Rua Augusta for the city behind you and the river ahead, and the metro at Terreiro do Paço when the light finally goes.
