Hotels near Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora

Around 100,000 azulejos remain in place on the walls and staircases here, one of the largest tile ensembles left in situ anywhere. The church was built between 1582 and 1629 to a design attributed to Filippo Terzi, and the cloisters carry an eighteenth-century cycle illustrating the fables of La Fontaine, made when Portuguese tile production had shifted to the Royal Rato factory. The former refectory was converted into the Bragança Pantheon, where the monarchs of Portugal's last royal house are buried. The roof terrace is the part most visitors skip, and it looks straight over Graça, the Tagus and the white dome of the Panteão Nacional.

Winter hours, from 1 November to 31 May, are 10:00 to 18:00 daily with last entry at 17:00. Adult admission is €8, dropping to €6 for over-65s and Lisboa Card holders and €4 for under-25s, and under-12s go free; a guided tour adds €4. During Web Summit week the free viewpoints around Graça fill with delegates at sunset, but the monastery roof shuts an hour before that, so the terrace stays quiet while the miradouros a few streets away do not. The trade-off is distance: 6.5 kilometres from the venue, and a change of mode.

Pro Tip: Ride a Comboios de Portugal suburban train from Oriente to Santa Apolónia, two stops and under ten minutes, then take Carris bus 734 to Voz do Operário. Go up to the roof terrace first and the cloister second: the tiles are lit all day, the view is not, and the terrace is at its best between 10:00 and 11:30.