Take the ferry from Cais do Sodre for the ten-minute crossing to Cacilhas (€1.25), avoid the street traders at the exit and turn sharp right to walk along the quay. There are wonderful old industrial buildings and eventually, the maritime museum and an elevador or a steep series of steps up to the small town of Almada and the Cristo Rei statue, from where there is a great view back across the Tejo as far as Sintra.

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This can be confusing but the best value is a Viva Viagem card and the easiest place to buy one is from the ticket machines at any metro station. It's €4 for a one-day pass (valid 24 hours from time of purchase) and that covers metro, trams, buses and funiculars. When you want to renew it will cost €3.50 a day. You can also use it for ferries as all the ticket barriers are electronic.

If you arrive at the airport a ticket on the airport shuttle bus costs a flat fare of €3 and is valid for a day's travel on public transport. The Viva Viagem card is not accepted on the airport bus though.

As the shuttle is fairly infrequent and can get very crowded (though fun for the running commentary) if you haven't much luggage I would seriously consider, especially for your return trip, catching an ordinary bus to just outside the airport (check the route map) or take the metro to Olivais on the red route and it's a pleasant 20 minute walk to the terminal.

In fact I would also recommend taking a metro to a random station, getting out and exploring. The metro stations are invariably clean, modern, efficient and uniquely decorated with tiles and murals.

Any metro station is easiest.

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Carris (main transport operator in Lisbon) offers city tours on open-top buses. €14 each hop on/hop off (every 40 min) tour valid for 24 hours so you can start any time of day/evening and valid for other forms of transport too on day of purchase. They do a circuit of a route marked by set stops and give a commentary of points of interest via headsets.
Other tours including trams are not on/off but 1-2 hours in duration. €17
Most city bus/tram tours including Aerobus (airport to city) for 48 hours costs 30€.
Save a lot of time and money and buy at the aairport (at the post office) as many passes are not on buses and only at metro stations.

Starts at Praca do Comercio at the bottom of town near Information centre.
www.carristur.pt

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You've had fun on the buses, trams, metro etc. on you day of arrival using the ticket you bought for three euros (Feb 08) on the air shuttle bus, but what about day two?

Get a card Viva for three euros fifty and have more fun, but don't throw the card away, as you can top it up for more days/journeys the following day.
I don't know if you can have two or more days added when you buy it, as I didn't know you could top it up at the time of original purchase!

Word of warning: when we went in to the shop selling Carris travel cards on Praca da Figueira on Day two of our stay in Lisbon they wanted to sell us each a plastic card (four euros apiece, not returnable, unlike the London Oyster card) and then top those up with a day pass each for three euros fifty.

Being mean (and green) and not planning to be back in Lisbon in the foreseeable future, I decided to walk to the Cais do Sodre metro station where we were sold the paper Viva card for three euros fifty each.
We found out about the top up when we showed the cards the next morning at the metro cashier to explain what we wanted (my Portuguese is limited to ordering drinks!) and the cashier took them and topped them up.

Enjoy this fab city and use your card to max on the ascensores, elevadore and the ferries as well as the trams, buses and metro.

Metro stations and (possibly) Carris ticket booths - not open in Feb.

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The loveliest - and probably steepest - of Lisbon's funiculars, the Bica hauls itself up and down from the Bairro Alto to the Rua de São Paulo (look out for the arch with the inscription 'Ascensor da Bica'), through a neighbourhood all its own, situated in a steep-sided chasm. At the bottom, the Mercado de Ribeira has a lively fish and flower market in the mornings.

Between Rua do Loreto and Rua de São Paolo;
Metro: Chiado

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Watch out for pickpockets - I know EVERYONE says this, but I used to live in Lisbon and I saw it happen time and time again on the 28 and 15 trams. - Especially by the ticket machines on the new 15s

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The airport is a confusing maze of roads and is on the edge of a very fast through route (Segunda Circular) with crazy drivers, missing road signs, and other road signs that are just plain wrong.

Bad accidents on this road are very common. Parking is near impossible anywhere central, and even expensive hotel carparks are so small that getting in and out takes some serious precision driving.

If you're staying in the downtown area Metro, walking is all you need.

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The many ferries crossing the mouth of the Tagus are very relaxing and offer both excellent views and great tanning possibilities. I tried the one from Praça do Comércio to the South bank and back and the one from Belém which is a convenient way of getting to the Caparica beach just round the corner from landing.

Along the waterfront - various places.

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Ride the 28 tram, which lurches and clangs its way though narrow winding streets. A cheap way of getting your bearings, but can be crowded.

www.carris.pt

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Beyond Estrela lies the smart, chic and self-contained district of Campo de Ourique: a grid of tree-lined streets with an almost Parisian feel, with plenty of small shops, cafes and a fresh produce market. Off the beaten track, but a pleasant (and mercifully flat) area for a stroll. South-west of here is the huge Prazeres ('Pleasures') cemetery, which has great views across the Ponte 25 de Abril.

At the western end of the 28 tram route: some trams end their journey at Estrela, so make sure the sign on the front of the tram says 'Prazeres'.

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It's just a normal tram route but it traverses the centre of town and takes in the castle, Baixa and the Bairro Alto.

Catch it going in either direction from the Praca de Comercio, or anywhere else on its route.

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If you only have a short time in Lisbon, definitely take a trip on one of the trams - you get to see a lot more and can decide where you would like to visit further.

Old ones run in the old town of the seven hills, and new run alongside the river.

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The Lisbon metro is cheap and fast for getting from the city centre to some of the suburbs and vice versa. The stations are clean and the trains are efficient. There are only four lines which are colour coded (green, blue, yellow and red) so it's easy to see which line you want. Each one is clearly signposted. A single journey costs 70 cents but it is much cheaper to buy a book of 10 tickets for 6.50 euros.

www.metrolisboa.pt

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Take tram no 28, which goes through Lisbon's oldest parts - Estrela, Chiado, Lapa. The trams in Lisbon are cheap and a scenic (but not necessarily fast) way of getting around the city.

tel: 21 361 3000;
www.carris.pt

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Go to the Stadium of Light or Estadio da Luz (yes, I am a Benfica fan). From there get the underground to the Estacao do Oriente and check out the art at each stop. Upon arrival you can shop, eat, drink or just enjoy the river front. Go to the Sao Jorge castle for incredible views, from the old to the new, and the girls are pretty too.

Catch the metro from Colegio Militar to Estacao do Oriente;
www.metrolisboa.pt

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