Graça

This guide to the Graça viewpoint in Lisbon follows Afonso de Albuquerque, the empire-builder who conquered Goa, Hormuz and Malacca for the Portuguese crown, and the decades-long wait before his remains reached the hilltop convent church here. It traces the church's own history back to its founding in 1271 as one of Portugal's oldest Augustinian houses, and the spice-trade wealth visible in the view below. From there the guide turns to the earthquake of November 1755 and how this ridge, unlike the lowlands, became a refuge for families rebuilding their lives. Look for Vila Berta nearby, one of the workers' cottage rows built here in 1902.