Lisbon: Private Walking Tour with Alfama, Baixa & Chiado

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(360 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We’d barely started when an old man leaning out his Alfama window called down to our guide, Inês. She just grinned and waved back — apparently he does this every morning. I tried to catch what he said (my Portuguese is hopeless), but it sounded like a joke about tourists getting lost in the “labyrinth.” The air smelled faintly of grilled sardines even though it was still early, and I remember thinking: so this is Lisbon — a little chaotic, kind of warm in that lived-in way.

Walking those narrow streets, Inês pointed out azulejos that looked almost too pretty for real life — some chipped, some bright as new. She told us how the Romans and Moors shaped these alleys. We ducked into the Sé Cathedral where the stone felt cool against my hand. At Miradouro das Portas do Sol, the city just spilled out below us in a mess of red roofs and laundry lines. I took a hundred photos but none really caught it. Someone nearby was playing Fado on a guitar; honestly I got goosebumps for a second.

Later we wandered through Baixa and Chiado — she showed us where poets used to argue over coffee (I tried ordering a bica and probably butchered it; Inês laughed). The Santa Justa Lift looked like something out of a storybook. By the time we reached Rossio Square my feet were tired but I didn’t want to stop. There’s something about seeing Lisbon on foot with someone who actually lives here — you notice small things, like how locals tap their fingers on café tables or the way sunlight hits those old stones late in the day. It sticks with you.