I adore Lisbon though I'm not such a fan of her hills. The city is built on seven of them and looks very pretty for it. But when I'm going to arrive at a meeting all hot and sweaty because I've had to march up a hill to get there, I'd rather Lisbon was flat, with canals and bicycles.

Luckily, there is plenty of public transport and it's fairly cheap, so I duck down onto the metro or grab a bus or a tram when I can. The easiest way to get around these days without pockets full of coins or dozens of separate tickets is with a "7colinas" card (named after the seven hills) that you can buy in metro ticket-machines and ticket-counters. Ask for a sete colinas com zapping (yes, it's really called zapping) and charge it with up to €10.  It makes life very much easier.

The Ascensor da Glória funicular railway climbs one of the steeper slopes on the Chiado side of town. It has an early twentieth century tram carriage and the only modern equipment inside is the ticket scanner and the driver in company garb.

Tourists and locals trundle up the hill together, and middle aged men get all misty eyed with the century old workmanship.

Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

Last year, I was showing a friend from the blogosphere round the city. I was keen to show her one of Lisbon's more useful monuments. The Ascensor da Glória was going to take us, sweat-free, from the Baixa up to Chiado and Bairro Alto where there are dozens of shops and restaurants. 
 
When we got to the ascensor it was annoyingly closed for repairs, due to a wall starting to collapse on top of the track. We walked up the horrendous hill anyway, instead of taking the longer, but gentler, route up of Rua do Carmo, Rua Garrett and Rua da Misericordia.

View from Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara

It almost killed us. The old ladies who overtook us didn't help our egos much, either. The sightseeing spot, Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, is just next to the top of the ascensor, so we at least had somewhere spectacular to catch our breath.

Ascensor da Glória re-opened a few months later.  I was happy.  So were my legs.

The closest metro to Ascensor da Glória is Metro Restauradores.

There are two other ascensors/funiculars in Lisbon: Ascensor da Bica and Ascensor da Lavra. 

Go Further: Read Meg's guide to her favourite miradouros in Lisbon with the most spectacular views.