Start in the Principe Real area, a purpose-built neighborhood to host the wealthy bourgeoisie of the nineteenth century, where your local guide will be waiting at Embaixada Concept Store to take you on this dilettante journey. Let yourself be amazed by the eclectic architecture of colorful facades, with restaurants in every corner and relaxed squares. Visit concept stores, taverns and indulge yourself with the Lisboners favorite pre-evening snack in an art nouveau bakery.
Continue to the viewpoint of San Pedro de Alcantara and enjoy the fantastic view over the Baixa Pombalina, Castelo de São Jorge and the Tagus River. Learn about churches, old funiculars still in use, 19th buildings converted into trendy restaurants and bars.
Enter Bairro Alto, the heart of Lisbon's bohemian par excellence where you will learn how journalists, intellectuals, prostitutes, and sailors gathered in the dark streets in the 19th century for nights of Fado and vice, creating the free spirit through which the Bairro Alto is still known today. See where the old meets new through grocery and drugstores stores, butchers, carpenters, that survived alongside shops offering new products: handcrafts, exotic furniture, piercings and tattoos, hats and second-hand vintage clothes, and where Fado is still sung in fashionable bars. From here, you’ll make your way to the Bica district and explore what is possibly the most photographed street in Lisbon, thanks in part to the iconic yellow funicular traversing the steep, narrow street. This area offers a beautiful view of the river, and maintains its colorful 17th- and 18th-century buildings, many of which have open doors, flower-filled balconies, and laundry hanging out to dry. You'll have a break amidst sightseeing to enjoy the habit that Lisbon locals love: soaking up the district’s postcard-like views with a cold drink in hand.
Next, get down the hill and finish at what was an ill-reputed area and became a mandatory point of passage for the Lisbon nightclubs, where a custard tart (Lisbon's most beloved pastry) awaits. Here your local guide will be happy to give you directions back to your accommodation, or recommendations on other places to continue your bohemian journey on your own.