Janelas Verdes, Madragoa and São Bento: the varinas' quarter between the river and Parliament

West of Cais do Sodré, the hill above Santos was settled from the 16th century around the royal palace of Santos and its convents (the Trinas, the Bernardas, the Inglesinhas); in the 18th and 19th centuries fishermen and varinas (fishwives) from Ovar, Ílhavo and Murtosa on the Aveiro lagoon made Madragoa their quarter. The walk climbs from the river to the Ancient Art Museum's garden viewpoint, crosses Madragoa's lanes and ends at the Parliament. Start: Santos (tram 15E or 25E stop, or CP Cascais line). End: Rua de São Bento (tram 28E stop 'R. S. Bento / Cç. Estrela').

Best time: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00, when the Puppet Museum is open (10:00-18:00)

The route, stop by stop

1. 1
   Rua das Janelas Verdes and the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

   Walk up from Santos along Rua das Janelas Verdes. The national Ancient Art Museum (no. 59) is closed for works in 2026, but look at the façade; just down the street, the building at nos. 70-78 is covered in Art Nouveau tile reliefs from the early 1900s. 10 min.

2. 2
   Rocha Conde de Óbidos viewpoint

   Also called Jardim das Albertas, after the Carmelite convent whose site the museum occupies; its name honours the Portuguese troops of the Battle of La Lys (9 April 1918). The miradouro looks over the docks and the river to the 25 de Abril Bridge. 20 min.

   A garden terrace over the port and the 25 de Abril bridge, picked by Spotted by Locals as a quiet place residents use to relax, away from the crowded central viewpoints.

3. 3
   Puppet Museum

   Back east and up Rua de Santos-o-Velho to Rua da Esperança 146: the city's puppet museum in the old convent of the Bernardas. Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, last entry 17:30. 45 min if you go in.

   Puppets and marionettes from Portugal and around the world in a former convent in the old fishermen's quarter of Madragoa.

4. 4
   Rua das Trinas and the Madragoa lanes

   The heart of the old varinas' quarter: wander Rua das Trinas, Rua Garcia de Orta and Rua de São João da Mata, past palaces built when the court was at Santos. 20 min.

5. 5
   Palácio de São Bento

   Begun in 1598 as the Benedictine monastery of São Bento da Saúde (design by Baltazar Álvares) and the seat of Parliament since 1834; see the neoclassical front from Rua de São Bento. 10 min.

6. 6
   Café de São Bento

   Rua de São Bento 212, opposite Parliament: end at the steak house opposite Parliament. 60 min.

   Behind a little red door opposite Parliament, this 40-year-old steak house is where politicians and locals go for bife with creamed spinach.

Walking directions

More walks in Lisbon

• Baixa to the castle through the old Sé quarter2.8 km · 3 h 30 min
• Belém riverside: monastery, tower and custard tarts3.5 km · 4 h
• Baixa-Chiado food grazing: bifanas, tins, pastries and the market3 km · 3 h
• Flea market, pantheon and the highest viewpoint2.6 km · 3 h 30 min
• Chiado to Príncipe Real at sunset2.4 km · 3 h
• Campo Grande museums and Alvalade tascas3 km · 3 h 30 min
• Estrela garden to Prazeres cemetery on the tram 28 line2.2 km · 2 h
• Mouraria to Intendente: the cradle of fado and Lisbon's most multicultural streets1.6 km · 2 h 30 min
• Príncipe Real to Amoreiras: gardens, cisterns and the end of the aqueduct1.6 km · 3 h
• Xabregas, Beato and Marvila: palaces, convents and factories of the eastern riverside3.5 km · 3 h 30 min
• Avenidas Novas: Art Nouveau houses, a 1922 pastelaria, the neo-Moorish bullring and the Gulbenkian2.6 km · 3 h 30 min