Lisbon in three days, with six of your favourite people

Lisbon is the rare European city that rewards a group of six. It is small enough that you can walk most of it. It is cheap enough that one ill-judged dinner does not blow up the WhatsApp budget thread. And it is structurally hilly in a way that means by the third day, everyone has had the same calf cramp and bonded over it.

This is the itinerary we send to first-timers. It is opinionated. It works.

Day 1 — Alfama, slowly

Land in the morning. Drop bags in Príncipe Real or Chiado (these are the only two neighbourhoods where six people will be happy; ignore the Airbnbs in Alfama itself, they are charming and unworkable for groups).

Coffee at Hello, Kristof. Lunch at A Cevicheria — book it in advance, six is exactly their upper limit. Walk down through Bairro Alto into Alfama with no plan. Get lost on purpose. Watch the sun set from Miradouro da Senhora do Monte, not the more famous one — there is no queue, the view is better, and the locals are still here.

Dinner at Taberna da Rua das Flores, no reservations, get there at 6:45pm. Yes, that is early. Yes, that is the only way.

Day 2 — The hill, the tram, and the bakery

Tram 28 is overrated and you should still ride it once, briefly, between two stops. Get off at Castelo de São Jorge. Skip the queue with a pre-booked timed ticket; this is the only ticket worth pre-booking in the whole trip.

Lunch in Graça. Damas if it is open. Afternoon: walk down to Time Out Market (yes, it is touristy; yes, it is good for a group with one fussy eater). Coffee and a custard tart at Manteigaria in Chiado — not Pastéis de Belém, please, this is not 2014.

Evening: fado at Mesa de Frades, or, if you have a louder group, Povo Lisboa for live music without the silence-required reverence.

Day 3 — Belém, slowly back

Take the train to Belém in the morning. Jerónimos Monastery, the MAAT if anyone in the group is into architecture, lunch at Darwin's Café. Back to the city centre by 4pm. Last dinner at Cervejaria Ramiro — yes, with the eight-course seafood, yes, including the steak sandwich at the end. This is non-negotiable and it is the meal everyone will text about a year later.

What we always tell groups

Do not pack the days. Lisbon is a walking city pretending to be a sightseeing one. The itinerary is a scaffold; the actual trip is what happens between the items on it.

Vote on this with your group here.