Life is in Lisbon

Tomorrow April 25th marks the 40th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which brought democracy to Portugal and triggered the country's rapid withdrawal from its African colonies. It is a national holiday with street parties, a film festival(indielisboa.com) and an open-air family picnic and live concert in Eduardo VII Park.

Get your bearings
After the 1755 earthquake, Lisbon was rebuilt by the Marques de Pombal, on a grid of parallel streets linking Rossio Square to the Tagus river. A triumphal arch stands on Praca do Comercio, near the Tourist Office at Rua do Arsenal 15 (9am-8pm;askmelisboa.com). You can buy a Lisbon Card here for 24 (€18.50), 48 (€31.50) or 72 hours (€39). It entitles you to limitless free rides on city transport (including the city lifts such as the Santa Justa) and free or discounted admission to many cultural attractions.

The city centre, known as Baixa, remains elegantly 18th-century. Rising into the hills to the east is the original Moorish quarter of Alfama, where the fortified Sao Jorge Castle stands above narrow streets (castelodesaojorge.pt); further afield, near the mouth of the Tagus, is Belem, from where explorers set sail in Portugal's golden age.

Take a hike
Start in the Praca do Comercio, for the first view of the city that 16th-century visiting dignitaries would have had as they alighted from their boats on the Tagus and walked up the marble steps to the Royal Palace, which was destroyed in the earthquake. With your back to the river, Lisbon's oldest café, the Martinho da Arcada, which dates to 1782, is on the square's right-hand side and is the place to stop for a bica (the local version of an espresso), under the arcades which became the new Royal Palace in the 18th century.

Walk under the triumphal arch into Rua Augusta — a pedestrianised street lined with mosaic pavements and bordered by boutiques — and continue until you meet Rua de Santa Justa. Here, turn left to the Santa Justa lift  (7am-9pm; €5 return), which was built in 1902 and is still used. Made of iron and embellished with filigree, it raises you 13 metres to Largo do Carmo and the elegant Chiado district.

Lunch on the run
Head left down Rua do Carmo and into Rua Garrett, where Café a Brasileira offers the perfect pause. Enjoy the pasteis de bacalhau, delicious cod fish cakes with a local drink for under €10. Inside the 1920s café, a favourite haunt of Fernando Pessoa, all is gilded mirrors; outside is a bronze statue of the nation's famous poet.

Window shopping
Across the road is Paris em Lisboa at Rua Garrett 77 (parisemlisboa.pt) a 19th-century family-owned store, which sells attractive tablecloths and napkins. For the artisanal crafts Portugal excels in, head down Rua Anchieta to A Vida Portuguesa at Rua Anchieta 11 (avidaportuguesa.com) with its Claus Porto soaps, olive oils and hand-woven rugs from the Alentejo. Loop back to Largo do Chiado for a dip into Vista Alegre at Largo do Chiado 20-23 (myvistaalegre.com), which makes Portugal's most beautiful porcelain and where you can also find striking Atlantis glassware.

Dining with the locals
Traditional flavours with oriental influences is how chef Joao Rodrigues describes his style of cuisine at the riverside restaurant, Feitoria at Doca do Bom Sucesso (restaurantefeitoria.com), which delivers superb dishes such as lobster and wild seabass with Alcacer do Sal rice, lime and coriander (€37). The service, setting and sensational tastes make this a favourite with Lisbon's in-crowd, so book early.

Go to church
The Church of Sao Roque on Largo Trindade Coelho (open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-6pm) has a plain exterior that belies an opulent interior with ornate hand-painted tiles and beautiful side chapels, particularly that of St John the Baptist, wrought with gold and silver, ivory and lapis lazuli. Sunday mass is held at 11.30am. In Belem, don't miss the opportunity of mass — or a wander around — in the magnificent Monastery of Jeronimos  on Praca do Imperio (open daily 10am-6pm; Sunday mass at 9am, 10.30am and 12pm; otherwise tickets €7; mosteirojeronimos.pt). Built in the 16th century, on wealth from the spices, precious stones and gold that explorer, Vasco da Gama, had returned with, it is a fitting tribute to Portugal's era of discovery. Appropriately, Vasco da Gama is buried here.

Walk in the park
Just across the road from the monastery lies the little-known Jardim Botanico Tropical on Largo dos Jeronimos (weekends 11am-6pm, Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm; tickets €2). It is a haven of peace with peacocks and ponds among the rich collection of trees from the old Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Angola and Mozambique.

Out to brunch
At the Varanda Restaurant in the elegant Four Seasons Hotel Ritz, Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca 88 (fourseasons.com/lisbon), the brunch is legendary. From the sweetest of oysters from nearby Setubal to octopus ceviche, huge joints of beef to tiny lemon tarts and runny cheese from the Serra da Estrela, it is a feast fit for the kings; €59pp.

Cultural afternoon
Download the Four Seasons Hotel's free Art Collection app (bit.ly/LisbonAC) to use as your guide to the eclectic mix of contemporary Portuguese artwork found there. Then walk to the Gulbenkian Museum at Avenida de Berna 45 (gulbenkian.pt; open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5.45pm; €5, free on Sundays). Inaugurated in 1969, this important museum contains collections that span 4,000 years, from ancient Egyptian figurines to Lalique's Art Nouveau jewellery.

Icing on the cake 
The Hills Tramcar Tour lasts 80 minutes and departs from Praca do Comercio every 20 minutes from 9.20am to 7pm (€8) and follows a similar route to the famous yellow No 28 tram around the old quarter of Lisbon, but with less risk of pickpockets and the inclusion of an audio guide.