Lisbon's Alfama: Riding Tram 28 Through Old Lisbon

The yellow tram groans around a corner so tight you could almost touch the laundry lines strung between buildings, and that's really the whole appeal of Tram 28 in one moment. It isn't fast, it isn't quiet, and on a busy afternoon it isn't even comfortable. But it cuts straight through Alfama, Lisbon's oldest neighbourhood, in a way no bus route or walking map quite manages, and riding even part of it is the easiest way to understand why this district has survived earthquakes, centuries of rebuilding, and a tourism boom without losing its shape.

Getting on the Tram, and When to Do It

Route, Fares and Frequency

Tram 28 runs about 7 kilometres from Martim Moniz Square to Prazeres, a trip that takes anywhere from 48 minutes to a full hour depending on traffic and how many people are trying to squeeze on at each stop. Trams come every 9 to 12 minutes, a single ride costs €3.20, and a 24-hour transport pass at €7, per route breakdowns that track the line closely, pays for itself after two or three trips. Board at Martim Moniz for the best shot at a seat, since the tram fills up fast once it reaches the historic core. Riders queuing early often pass the wait the way people do in any slow-moving line, scrolling a map app, a few photos from the day before, or a new online casino app for a few idle minutes before the doors open.

Best Times to Avoid the Crowds

Timing matters more than almost anything else here. Mid-morning through early evening, the tram is packed shoulder to shoulder with tourists, and pickpockets know the route as well as the drivers do. Riding right when service starts, before 6 a.m. for the truly committed, or waiting until after the evening rush thins things out, turns the same journey into something closer to what locals actually experience. Tram 24 covers a different route with vintage cars and noticeably smaller crowds, worth considering as a quieter alternative if 28 feels like too much of a scrum.

What the Tram Actually Shows You

The route itself is the sightseeing. From Martim Moniz, the tram climbs into Graça, passing near a viewpoint and the neighbourhood's convent, before working down through Calçada de São Vicente close to the Monastery of St. Vincent and the edge of the flea market grounds. Largo das Portas do Sol comes next, giving riders a glimpse of castle walls and rooftops before the tram threads past the Sé, Lisbon's cathedral, and continues down into the Baixa shopping streets and on toward Chiado and Bairro Alto.

Along the way, the tiled façades of Alfama's houses pass close enough to read the pattern on each one, and narrow gaps between buildings frame the river or a slice of castle wall for exactly as long as it takes the tram to pass. None of it is staged. It's simply what the neighbourhood looks like from a vehicle built to fit streets that predate cars by centuries.

Getting Off to Explore Properly

The tram is the introduction, not the whole visit. Alfama rewards getting off and walking, ideally starting high and working downhill, since the district's staircases and steep lanes are far kinder in that direction.

São Jorge Castle and the Miradouros

São Jorge Castle sits at the top of most itineraries, and fairly so. Built on the site of a 1147 victory over Moorish forces, the fortified keep and battlements take about an hour to explore properly and cost €15 for adults, per an attraction guide, with sweeping views across the city as the payoff. From there, Miradouro das Portas do Sol offers what's probably Lisbon's single most photographed panorama, a sweep of terracotta roofs and whitewashed walls running down to the river, often with a cruise ship or two visible in the distance. A short walk away, Miradouro de Santa Luzia gets a fraction of the crowd despite azulejo tilework and a bougainvillea-draped pergola that make it arguably the prettier stop of the two.

Fado, the Flea Market and the Pantheon

Fado runs through Alfama the way tram tracks do, and the Museu do Fado, entry €5 and covered in visitor reviews, is the place to understand where this mournful, guitar-accompanied music actually came from before hearing it live in one of the district's small, family-run fado houses after dark. For something with a very different rhythm, the Feira da Ladra flea market takes over Campo de Santa Clara every Tuesday and Saturday, a centuries-old market where antiques, vintage clothing, and local handicrafts get haggled over in Portuguese, English, and whatever language happens to work. Arriving before 11 a.m. gets first pick before the good stalls sell through, and cash makes negotiating considerably smoother than a card ever will.

The National Pantheon rounds things out for anyone with an hour left, a baroque dome and marble interior housing the tombs of figures like poet Luís de Camões and explorer Vasco da Gama, for €10 entry.

A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Go

Alfama's terrain is genuinely steep, with staircases connecting streets that a map makes look flat. Comfortable shoes matter more here than in almost any other part of Lisbon. If disorientation sets in among the maze of alleys, heading downhill reliably leads back toward the river and familiar ground. And while the tram itself is an attraction worth riding for its own sake, treating it purely as sightseeing rather than transport, boarding early, staying alert in the crowded middle stretch, and getting off often, is what actually turns Tram 28 from a tourist checklist item into the best possible way to understand how this neighbourhood fits together.