Humble Alfama, the oldest and most atmospheric of Lisbon’s neighbourhoods, was once the city’s most desirable quarter, and today it is creeping back into vogue. It was first settled by the Romans but flourished in Moorish times, when the tightly packed becos (alleyways) and tiny squares comprised the whole city. The Moors took advantage of Alfama’s slopes, building the fortified Castelo de São Jorge on the crown of the hill and turning the city into a defensive stronghold.

But even that couldn’t hold off the crusaders forever. The city was captured by Afonso Henriques in 1147, and the seeds of Alfama’s decline were sown in the Middle Ages when wealthy residents moved west for fear of earthquakes, leaving the quarter to fishermen and paupers. Many of its buildings survived the 1755 earthquake – although no Moorish houses still stand – and the quarter retains its kasbah-like layout. Compact houses line steep streets and stairways, their façades strung with washing, and daily life still revolves around local grocery stores and small, cellar-like taverns.