Lisbon Sightseeing: Miradouros, Honestly
Tram 28’s social media reputation and its morning reality are two different rides. What actually waits at Martim Moniz most days is a packed carriage, a slow crawl up the hill, and organized pickpocket crews working the crush near the doors. It’s still worth doing once. It just isn’t the relaxed vintage joyride the photos suggest.
Tram 28, honestly, and the alternative
If you want Tram 28E specifically, board before 08:30 at Martim Moniz or Campo de Ourique to have a real shot at a seat, keep bags zipped and in front of you, and treat the crowd around the doors as the actual pickpocket risk it is. A calmer option covering much of the same historic ground is Tram 12E, which loops from Praca da Figueira through Mouraria, Miradouro das Portas do Sol, and Se Cathedral with a fraction of the crowd Tram 28 pulls. Ride Tram 28 as a guided small-group experience if you’d rather have a guide manage the timing and the crowd for you, or combine tram access with a 24-hour transit pass so the ride is one part of a bigger day rather than the whole point of it.
The miradouros worth the climb
Miradouro da Senhora do Monte sits highest in the city, with a wide panorama over the castle walls, the Baixa roofs, and the bridge; it’s the best sunset spot precisely because most visitors stop one hill short of it. Miradouro da Graca offers pine shade and a drink kiosk over the same view. Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol, in Alfama, are the classic postcard viewpoints, with Santa Luzia’s azulejo tile murals showing pre-earthquake Praca do Comercio. Sao Pedro de Alcantara, at the top of the Gloria funicular, is a tiered formal garden looking straight across the valley to the castle.
Praca do Comercio and its arch
The 18th-century riverside plaza, framed by yellow arcades and the equestrian statue of King Jose I, opens through the Arco da Rua Augusta. The arch itself is free to view and walk through at ground level; the clock terrace at the top charges 4.50 EUR for the elevator ride, which is worth it only if the view specifically matters to you, not for the arch itself. Ribeira das Naus, the landscaped promenade linking the square to Cais do Sodre, leads right down to the water on stone steps.
Two traps that cost people time and money
The Santa Justa Lift, the neo-Gothic iron elevator linking Baixa to Largo do Carmo, is a 45-second ride that costs 6 EUR on board, and the street-level queue for it regularly runs 45 to 60 minutes. Walk up the ramp behind Carmo Convent instead and you reach the same observation terrace for free, with no line. Separately, a 10-minute public ferry from Cais do Sodre to Cacilhas costs about 2 EUR and gives mid-river views of the seven hills and the suspension bridge that no land viewpoint matches; from Cacilhas, bus 3001 reaches the Cristo Rei monument, where the base terrace is free and the elevator to the top observation deck costs 8 EUR.
Route planning and current tram and ferry schedules sit on Carris , and general orientation for the miradouros and neighborhoods is on Visit Lisboa . Lisbon’s hills and worn calcada pavement make this a physically demanding city to sightsee on foot; budget 50 percent extra time for stairways and wear broken-in, grippy shoes rather than anything with a slick sole. For a slower, guide-led way to cover the same neighborhoods, see the walking tours guide , and for doing all of this alone rather than in a group, the solo activities guide covers the safety basics.
Verdict: Tram 12E beats Tram 28E for anyone who wants the historic-tram experience without the crowd or the theft risk, and it’s a fair trade even though it skips a couple of the famous 28 stops.
One concrete tip: walk up behind Carmo Convent for the Santa Justa viewpoint first, then decide whether the elevator ride itself is still worth the 6 EUR and the wait once you’ve already seen the view for free.