Most people see Graça through the window of a tuk-tuk. They are whisked up to the famous viewpoint, given ten minutes for photographs, and driven back down again, never realising they have just passed through the most authentically Portuguese corner of central Lisbon.

Graça sits on the highest hill in the city, and that elevation has always set it apart. While Alfama sells its soul to the cruise crowds and Mouraria fills with the energy of a dozen cultures, Graça keeps its small-town rhythm. You will find locals putting the world to rights over coffee in the kiosks, family-run shops that have served the same streets for generations, and laundry strung from wrought-iron balconies above your head. Yet there is nothing sleepy about it. The bars along the Travessa do Monte fill up after dark, the murals keep changing, and there is always a reason to be out in it.

There is far more to the neighbourhood than the one viewpoint the tuk-tuks race up to. 'd point you towards the magnificent São Vicente de Fora monastery, where the Bragança kings lie in their pantheon beneath walls of Azulejo tiles, and the often-overlooked Convento da Graça, with its strange room of scratched-out saints. Wander the side streets and you will find some of the finest murals in the city, tucked down alleys where few tourists ever tread.

When my Portuguese wife and I went looking for a home in Lisbon, we wanted two things that rarely sit together: somewhere still properly Portuguese, but alive and progressive. We found both in Graça, and we have lived here ever since. So this guide comes from living here, not visiting: the best viewpoints, the bars and cafés worth your time, the murals worth seeking out, and a route that spares your legs the worst of the hills.

 

 

Miradouro da Senhora do Monte: The highest viewpoint in the city, and the one the tuk-tuks make for. Come back once they have gone, in the early morning or the last hour of light, and you get the whole of Lisbon spread out below with the terrace almost to yourself. Couples once climbed up here to escape their parents' eyes, and it has kept that air about it.

Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora: A vast 16th-century monastery that most visitors walk straight past. Inside lie the tombs of the Bragança kings, walls of blue-and-white Azulejo telling La Fontaine's fables, a great Baroque church, and a roof terrace with one of the best views in Graça.

The everyday neighbourhood: The kiosks, the family-run restaurants, the shops along the main street going about their business much as they always have. This is the part the tours never stop for, and the part I would tell you to slow down for.

Murals and street art: Graça is an open-air gallery. Whole apartment blocks wear murals down one flank, and the side alleys hide smaller pieces that change from one visit to the next. Look up, and look down the lanes the crowds skip.

Graça is a residential neighbourhood, and for most of its history a working-class one. It sat within the 14th-century Fernandina wall, but for centuries it was little more than farmland on the hill, sparsely built and quiet. Two things changed that: the 1755 earthquake, which sent workers up here to rebuild the city and settle on cheap land close to downtown, and then the railway and the Santa Apolónia station below, which turned the slopes industrial. The neighbourhood only shed the last of its rural character in the early twentieth century.

What it has kept is its character. Where Alfama now belongs to the tour groups and Mouraria hums with a dozen cultures, Graça stays stubbornly local, a small town somehow lodged in the middle of a capital. The Rua da Graça runs through the centre of it, and the number 28 tram runs with it. To the west is the highest point in the city and its string of viewpoints, after which the hill drops sharply into Mouraria. To the east the streets give way to 1980s apartment blocks, and there is little reason to go that way.

Insight: Graça is really the old, informal name. On official maps the area is São Vicente, and it stretches further than most people think, all the way down to Santa Apolónia station. But ask anyone who lives here and it is Graça.

The Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora

The Travessa do Monte side street contains many excellent restaurants and bars

You can avoid the crowds of tourists at the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte by heading to the peaceful terrace viewpoint in the Jardim da Cerca da Graça instead.

The open-air 'Cantinho Da Fátima' or the ‘O João’ on the Travessa do Monte both sell inexpensive Portuguese meals, and is where locals go to eat.

The terraced seating of the Milorde café, to the north of Graça, is the best location to relax the day away.

The Jardim da Cerca da Graça

Graça is only a small neighbourhood, but it is a fantastic area just to stroll around and enjoy the sights, cafes and many art pieces. A planned tour of the area typically takes 90 minutes, which could be extended to two hours by visiting the Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora. For lunch, it is suggested to head to the Mercado de Sapadores, which contains a small food market.

Warning: There are a lot of steep hills in Graça, and any tour of the area will involve a lot of uphill walking. One way to reduce the number of uphill climbs is to get an Uber, Bolt or taxi to drop you off at the highest point, the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte (GPS 38.7190, -9.1325). From here, it is a downhill walk through the neighbourhood to the Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora.

The interactive map below shows the main sights and a suggested tour of Graça. The tour begins from the northern side of the Alfama district, which is the way most visitors walk into Graça, and ends at the Panteão Nacional. The green markers are sights of Graça, and the yellow markers are notable murals or street art. The shaded area is the historic boundary of the Graça area. (Note: Zoom in or out to see all of the markers)

Sights: 1) Jardim da Graça 2) Graça Viewpoint 3) Igreja da Graça 4) Convento da Graça 5) Largo da Graça 6) Barros Viewpoint 7) Jardim da Cerca da Graça 8) Senhora do Monte Viewpoint 9) Travessa do Monte 10) Royal Cine 11) Mercado de Sapadores (food market) 12) Vila Berta 13) Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora 14) Arco Grande de Cima 15) Mercado de Santa Clara 16) Panteão Nacional
Murals and street art: 17) Saudade 18) Fado Tropical em tons RGB 19) Peace Guard 20) Shepard Vhils 21) Once Upon a Time 22) Street art 23) Animated Revolution

One of the best ways to discover Lisbon and meet fellow travellers is to join a guided tour. We have worked with Getyourguide.com for the last six years, and some of their best tours of Lisbon include:

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The Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora is one of Lisbon's most impressive religious buildings. Inside this vast complex, you will discover a stunning Baroque church, the pantheon of the Bragança royal family and a delightful collection of Azulejo tile paintings depicting Fontaine's fables.

The monastery was established by Afonso Henriques in the 12th century and is dedicated to Saint Vincent, the patron saint of Lisbon. The majority of the monastery seen today dates from the late 16th century, while the extensive Azulejo tile paintings were added in the 17th century.

There is a lot to see here, including the twin cloisters, the magnificent church, the tower-top viewpoint, a collection of sacred artefacts, the ancient cistern and an exhibition of Fontaine's fables tile paintings. The entrance fee is just 5 euros and offers excellent value compared to Sé Cathedral or the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.

The Igreja de São Vicente de Fora.

The twin cloisters with the cruise terminal far below on the edge of the Alfama district

The beautiful tile paints of the sacristy

One of Fontaine's fables - "The Astrologer Who Fell in a Well" - depicts an astrologer so focused on reading the stars and predicting the future that he fails to see a well, which he falls into! The exhibition on the upper floor contains over 25 of these charming tile paintings.

The view from the top of the Igreja de São Vicente de Fora tower

As the highest point in central Lisbon, Graça is home to several scenic viewpoints, and these are on the western side of the neighbourhood.

The most famous is the Miradouro da Graça, which lies in front of the Convento da Graça and overlooks the castle. This is a popular location with tourists, as it is close to the Alfama district and has a traditional Kiosk (the Esplanada da Graça), where you can sit, drink, relax and admire the magnificent view.

Situated at the highest point of Graça, the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte is the best viewpoint of Lisbon. However, it does involve a steep uphill walk if you arrive here on foot. This location is a popular stop-off for tuk-tuk tours, and the viewpoint can get crowded at peak times.

For a more peaceful and relaxed viewpoint, there is the Jardim da Cerca da Graça. This location is not as high as the previous two viewpoints, but it is a wonderful setting at sunset. Also within the park is a drinks kiosk, the Quiosque Popular.

The final viewpoint is the Miradouro dos Barros partway between the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte and the Jardim da Cerca da Graça.

The Miradouro da Senhora do Monte can get busy during the day with the endless flow of tuk-tuk tours.

The Miradouro da Graça is an enjoyable location to take a break from sightseeing and the hills of the neighbourhood

The Jardim da Cerca da Graça is a peaceful alternative to the more famous viewpoints.

The Miradouro dos Barros

Convento da Graça
The Convento da Graça was founded in 1291, but much of the medieval building was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. It was reconstructed in a late-baroque style, and the interior is lined with beautiful tile paintings.

The unique feature of the convent are the beautiful 18th-century tile paintings in the chapter room. These depict medieval Christian martyrs in violent battle scenes or moments before their deaths, and many faces of the martyrs’ attackers have been damaged and scratched out. Bizarrely, this semi-gruesome room was used a nursery during the early 20th century.

Found within the church is the 'Senhor dos Passos da Graça', a statue of Christ carrying a cross, which is paraded through Graça on the second Sunday of Lent.

There is an excellent viewpoint from the terrace next to the bell tower and entrance is €5. The convent and church are free to visit, and are a good alternative to the Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora.

The entrance to the Graça church (right) and the convent (left)

The Igreja da Graça is very similar to many of the churches rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake.

The Azulejo tile paintings of the Chapter house with the faces of the killers scratched out.

The Senhor dos Passos da Graça statue

Villa Sousa
Graça was traditionally a working-class neighbourhood. During the 19th century, many factories provided accommodation to their workers who had emigrated from the countryside.

The Villa Sousa is the finest example of a labour house in Graça and follows the typical style of being set around a private courtyard. In the Villa Sousa, the factory owner and his family lived in the front building while the factory workers lived in the rear.

Vila Berta
The Vila Berta is another example of the working-class accommodation, and this delightful street is one of the hidden gems of Graça. Along the street, the upper-class residents had houses with wrought iron balconies, while the workers lived on the opposite side of the street.

Royal Cine
The Royal Cine was one of the most popular cinemas in Lisbon and was the first to show a movie with sound. The Art Nouveau cinema opened in 1929 and was constructed to entertain workers from the Bairro Estrela d'Ouro (Golden Star District), hence the star above the entrance.

The cinema closed in 1980 and has since been converted into a Pingo Doce supermarket. However, many of its original features were protected, including the staircase that leads from the old atrium up to upper levels.

The Pingo Doce super market has many of the original features of the Royal Cine

Arco Grande de Cima
Arco Grande de Cima connects the São Vicente de Fora monastery to its former gardens and crosses one of the medieval roads into the city. The arch was built in 1808, but in 1914, the Gil Vicente School was constructed on the monastery's gardens. This was the first school established by the newly formed Portuguese Republic.

The Jardim Augusto Gil is a small urban garden to the side of the Convento da Graça, which has an ornamental lake as its central feature.

The shaded benches of the garden are a pleasant area to sit, especially if the Esplanada da Graça café is full. In the park is the distinctive "Mãe e Filho" statue.

The Mother and Child (Mãe e Filho) statue

The 'Peace Guard' (by Shepard Fairey) is one of the most iconic murals in Lisbon. The painting commemorates the 1974 Carnation Revolution and depicts a soldier with a Carnation flower in the muzzle of her gun.

This mural actually recreates true events of the day, when a café worker (Celeste Caeiro) gave a carnation to a rebelling solder who placed it in the mussel of the gun, thus signifying that the rebelling army had no wish to fire their guns.

The mural by Mario Belém depicts the Portuguese word 'Saudade', the nostalgic feeling of missing someone or something.

The Fado Tropical em tons RGB (Tropical Fado in RGB tones) by Ozearv is one of the most vividly striking murals of Graça.

Smaller urban art pieces along the Rua Damasceno Monteiro

“Half Baked” by Shepard Fairey and Vhils, lies along the Rua da Senhora da Glória, a lower street Graça.

Animated Revolution (by Mr. Dheo and Pariz One) on the Travessa de São Vicente depicts the 1974 revolution via famous cartoon characters. It was created to appeal to the younger Portuguese generation.

'Once Upon a Time' (by Isa Silva) on the side of the Básica Natália Correia school depicts female fairy tale characters.