Lisbon levels and lifts - and a day out.

Do a round trip to Montijo (ferry),Setúbal (bus), Sesimbra (bus), Cacilhas (bus and back to Lisbon (ferry).

Go to Belem for a fair time.

See Gulbenkian museum.

Use elevators.

Last but not least go to the castelo at dusk.

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The position was excellent as well, in a spacious square with trees near to a bus-stop on the Avenida de Liberdade and easy walking distance for the Baixa, Rossio and its station (for Sintra,) the Elevador Gloria and the bottom exit of the Botanical Gardens.

In Reception the staff spoke and understood English and were extremely helpful. There are no meals but there is a very good cheap restaurant diagonally opposite (not only good for breakfast - except Sunday; it served delicious hake in the evening) and the whole ambience of the surrounding area is distinctly Portuguese.

The only negative point is that the exterior on the square did look very downmarket - work was in progress so it may not now - but so what? Who sleeps outside their hotel, looking up at it as they wake?

Tables are outside as well as inside and it is near the Restauradores and Rossio squares so that there is always something going on to look at, including drunks and beggars unfortunately but the staff quickly dispenses with unwanted attentions. There is sucking pig and fish as well as chicken on the menu. There was a musical group a chicken bone's throw away when we were there.

and only a short walk, still uphill, are the lovely botanical gardens - ideal for a bit of shade on a hot afternoon. It only dates back to 1885 but is on its third power source - water, steam, electricity.

The really amazing one is the Elevador de São Justo. I shall put in a photo as I could not begin to describe the metal structure but it is still difficult to see where it goes and why. It is a large outdoor lift but quite unlike any other I know. Near the top there is a short walkway to a very different level of the city, which I was very saddened to find closed when we were there. This was built in the very early years of the 20th century.

Families may well be particularly attracted to the Museo dos Coches - we did not go but I gather it is an amazing display of coaches. What must be seen 'properly' is the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. This is one of the largest buildings in the Manueline style and was started early in the 16th Century.

In general I am not that fond of the style - too ornate by half - but I find it admirable in such a majestic large building and surely it must have been conceived for this rather than for the smaller buildings in which it irritates me so?

Last but not least, do not leave Belém without trying 'pasteis de Belém form the Antiga Confeitaría. These little tarts filled with a custardy sort of cream are marvelous but do not buy too many as they are nothing like as good next day!

The Botanical Gardens are attached to the University and there are some interesting exhibitin pavilions inside but the real pleasure is to wander downhill to the bottom exit - not an entrance!

The Estufas also contain a small outdoor area with oriental birds.

Thr tram creeps through the narrow strrets of the Alfama area - where you should walk as well. Frequently mad parking leads to long delays but it does not seem to matter much. Then steeply down to the central part of the city and up again through the posher bits to the old area of Estrela.

This is a good trip to take early in a visit as it is a unique way of establishing your geographical awareness.

To start with you take the longest ferry trip running from Praça do Comércio to Montijo. if the tide is low you will get a spectacular view of waders as you approach Montijo - bar-tailed godwits being particularly prominent. Setúbal is the end of the next stage of the trip, a nice enough journey but nothing special. The Igreja de Jesus is an early Manueline church. This is far from being my favourite architectural style and I was not too unhappy to start on the next stage by bus to Sesimbra. This was an unexpectedly scenic trip and Sesimbra is a very attractive town with a good beach and a pretty spectacular fort up above the town. it is worth using the local bus to get to the fishing port of the town at Porto de Abrigo. This is very busy and teeming with boats - nobody looking here would believe that the fishing industry is in crisis! It would be untrue to say that the next bus to Cacilhas gives much pleasure, particularly as it is now likely to be the evening rush hour. It took ages - and ages.

Then there is a shorter and very crowded crossing back to the starting point.

In one part of the museum are remains from Greece, Rome and Egypt as well as oriental works. it would be difficult to overstate how good they are. Clearly Gulbenkian only bothered with articles of the very highest standard and he put all his collection into the keeping of the Portuguese state in return for the terrific reception he received there during the second world war. The other major part is devoted to European art and again it is high class stuff. Rembrandt, van Dyck manet, Monet, and Renoir are all represented. To cap it all on a Sunday morning this feast of treasures can actually be enjoyed free!!

It's posssible for the disadvantaged to get right up to the entrance by taxi, but anybody who can should walk at least part of the way. Look carefully at a map if you are getting part way by the 28 tram, as the walk up starts from a much lower level than seems to be the case when you are there.

As for when to go, there is no doubt in my mind that this is best done when the sun is going down. The view right out over the city to the Viaduct and the far side of the river is superb.

I could certainly not manage all the steps which are part of the fun of a castle - that we all pretend is outgrown with childhood. However, it is still well worth going for the grounds, gardens, and terraces.

If you are staying more than a night in Lisbon, get full value from the castle by viewing it from a distance at the same time of day. There is a splendid viewpoint just to the right from the top of the Elevador de Glória.

When I went, some of the pavilions that are going to be used again were not yet ready but there was another large pavilion with information on the world's oceans, a chair lift right along the site and and some good outdoor garden scenery.

How to describe the Oceanarium itself? I'll start by saying that I have since visited what was previously called one of the foremost aquaria (aquariums?) in Europe and, whilst I enjoyed it, it seemed like a museum in comparison.

The easy part is to say that it is very big and round and that it is entered by a high passage which can be accessed by a lift. Basically you walk for a vast distance at different levels, connected by lift or stairs around a massive tank - so massive that you only know by reason, never by sight, that you are seeing the same water. The fish come very close but they also swim far away so that there is an ever-changing piscatorial scene close to you. This is, as it were, on the inside of you. On the outside are largely open areas to give four separate areas recreating the environments of different parts of the world's oceans. These include non-aquatic mammals - though of course it is those that spend a lot of time in the water like otters - as well as seals and penguins.

I assume there are sights of this kind on the other side of the Atlantic but I have never seen anything remotely like it in Europe.