11 Best Sights in Alfama, Lisbon

Although St. George's Castle was constructed by the Moors, the site had previously been fortified by Romans and Visigoths. To your left as you pass through the main entrance is a statue of Dom Afonso Henriques, whose forces in 1147 besieged the castle and drove the Moors from Lisbon. The ramparts offer panoramic views of the city's layout as far as the towering 25 de Abril suspension bridge. A residence of the kings of Portugal until the 16th century, the palace remnants now house a small museum showcasing archaeological finds and a snack bar with a pleasant terrace. From the periscópio (periscope) in the Torre de Ulísses, in the castle's keep, you can spy on visitors going about their business below. Beyond the keep, traces of pre-Roman and Moorish houses are visible thanks to recent archaeological digs, as well as the remains of a palace founded in the 15th century. The castle's outer walls encompass a small neighborhood, Castelo, the medieval church of Santa Cruz, restaurants, and shops.

A tile museum might not sound thrilling, but this magnificent space dedicated to the city's eye-catching azulejo tiles is one of the city's top tourist attractions—and with good reason. Housed in the 16th-century Madre de Deus convent and cloister, it displays a range of individual glazed tiles and elaborate pictorial panels. The 118-foot-long Panorama of Lisbon (1730) is a detailed study of the city and its waterfront and is reputedly the country's longest azulejo mosaic. The richly furnished convent church contains some sights of its own: of note are the gilt baroque decoration and lively azulejo works depicting the life of St. Anthony. There are also a little café and a gift shop that sells tiles.

The large domed edifice is the former church of Santa Engrácia. It took 285 years to build, hence the Portuguese phrase "a job like Santa Engrácia." Today, the building doubles as Portugal's National Pantheon, housing the tombs of the country's former presidents as well as cenotaphs dedicated to its most famous explorers and writers. A more recent arrival is fado diva Amália Rodrigues, whose tomb is invariably piled high with flowers from admirers.

Lisbon's austere Romanesque cathedral was founded in 1150 to commemorate the defeat of the Moors three years earlier. To rub salt in the wound, the conquerors built the sanctuary on the spot where Moorish Lisbon's main mosque once stood. Note the fine rose window, and be sure to visit the 13th-century cloister and the treasure-filled sacristy, which contains the relics of the martyr St. Vincent, among other things. According to legend, the relics were carried from the Algarve to Lisbon in a ship piloted by ravens; the saint became Lisbon's official patron. The cathedral was originally built in the Romanesque style of the time but has undergone several rebuilds and refurbishments over the years, and today its rather eclectic architecture includes Gothic, baroque, and neoclassical adornments. Visitors are expected to dress respectfully.

This Italianate dwelling is one of Alfama's most distinctive buildings. It was built in 1523 for Bras de Albuquerque, the son of Afonso, who became the viceroy of India and conquered Goa and Malacca. The name translates as House of Spikes, and it's not hard to see why—it has a striking facade studded with pointed white stones in diamond shapes. The top two floors were destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, and restoration did not begin until the early 1980s. Since 2012 the building has housed the José Saramago Foundation, a cultural institute set up in memory of the only Portuguese-language winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, with two floors dedicated to his life and works.

Housed in a former warehouse not far from the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, this gallery is owned by, and bears the name of, one of Europe's leading female art dealers. Her roster includes leading local and international artists like Ângela Ferreira and Dan Graham.

Notable for its pretty terrace with blue-and-yellow azulejo tiles, the Miradouro de Santa Luzia has great views of the rooftops of Alfama and the boats along the Tagus River. Street musicians draw crowds with jazz and samba performances, and artists sell reasonably priced etchings of the scene. There's a pleasant kiosk serving coffee, cocktails, and snacks that you can enjoy at the nearby tables as you savor the views.

The Italianate facade of the twin-towered St. Vincent's Monastery heralds an airy church with a barrel-vault ceiling, the work of accomplished Italian architect Filippo Terzi (1520–97), finally completed in 1704. Its superbly tiled cloister depicts the fall of Lisbon to the Moors. The monastery also serves as the pantheon of the Bragança dynasty, which ruled Portugal from the restoration of independence from Spain in 1640 to the declaration of the republic in 1910. It's worth the admission fee to climb up to the rooftop terrace for a look over Alfama, the dome of the nearby Santa Engrácia, and the river. Guided tours of around 90 minutes run Tuesday to Sunday for a modest extra charge; be sure to reserve in advance.

Visitors intrigued by the haunting sounds of fado drifting from doorways in Alfama and nearby Mouraria can learn about the celebrated Portuguese music at Lisbon's small but carefully curated fado museum. A permanent exhibition outlines the emergence of the style and its key artists throughout history, while occasional live performances provide a chance to hear modern day stars of the fado scene.

This small museum close to the cathedral displays some of the few visible traces of Roman Lisbon. The space was once a Roman amphitheater with capacity for 5,000 spectators and was built by Emperor Augustus in the 1st century BC. It fell into disrepair during the Middle Ages and lay buried and forgotten until reconstruction of the area began in the 18th century. Columns and other interesting artifacts are on display here, and multilingual touch-screen kiosks explain everything.

The spirit of heroism is palpable in the sprawling barracks and arsenal complex of the Lisbon Military Museum, which houses one of the largest artillery collections in the world. You can ogle a 20-ton bronze cannon and admire Vasco da Gama's sword in a room dedicated to the explorer and his voyages. As you clatter through endless, echoing rooms of weapons, uniforms, and armor, you may be lucky enough to be followed—at a respectful distance—by a guide who can convey exactly how that bayonet was jabbed or that gruesome flail swung. In this ornate building there is also a collection of 18th- to 20th-century art. The museum is on the eastern edge of Alfama, at the foot of the hill and opposite the Santa Apolónia station.