Ribeira das Naus: the city's front porch
Stepped lawns where the shipyards stood, the marble steps into the Tejo, the river at dusk. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Cais do Sodré
Start where the trains, the metro and the ferries all meet the river. Walk east out of the square toward the water; the riverfront opens up almost at once, the Tejo wide and golden if you've timed it for evening.

2. Ribeira das Naus
The stepped lawns and timber terraces where the royal shipyards once built the ships that sailed to India. Now it's where Lisbon sits at the end of the day — find a step, face the water, and stay a while.

3. Praça do Comércio
The grand riverfront square, all yellow arcades and a king on a horse, opening straight onto the Tejo. It was the royal palace's front door until the 1755 earthquake; it's still the city's, only now it belongs to everyone.

4. Cais das Colunas
The marble steps and twin columns descending into the river at the square's centre. This was the ceremonial landing — kings and ambassadors arrived by water here. Walk down to the bottom step; let the Tejo lap at your shoes.

5. Arco da Rua Augusta
The triumphal arch on the square's north side, framing the Baixa's main pedestrian street behind you. Turn and look back through it to the river — the whole axis from the water to the city lines up in one view.

6. Terreiro do Paço metro
The metro entrance sits right on the square, so the walk ends where it should — by the water, with the option to keep sitting until the light goes. Blue line home when you're ready.

Ribeira das Naus: the city's front porch