2 Best Sights in Beato and Marvila, Lisbon

This magnificent space dedicated to the city's eye-catching azulejo tiles is one of the city's top tourist attractions—and with good reason. Housed in the 16th-century Madre de Deus convent and cloister, it displays a range of individual glazed tiles and elaborate pictorial panels. The 118-foot-long Panorama of Lisbon (1730) is a detailed study of the city and is reputedly the country's longest azulejo mosaic. The richly furnished convent church contains some sights of its own: of note are the gilt baroque decoration and lively azulejo works depicting the life of Saint Anthony. There's also an azulejo-covered café with a pleasant courtyard, and a gift shop that sells, naturally, tiles.

East of most of the city's sights in the sprawling Parque das Nações, home to Europe's largest indoor aquarium, which wows children and adults alike with a vast saltwater tank featuring a massive array of fish, including several shark species. Along the way you'll pass through habitats representing the North Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, where puffins and penguins dive into the water, sea otters roll and play, and tropical birds flit past you. You then descend to the bottom of the tank to watch rays float past gracefully and schools of silvery fish dart this way and that. To avoid the crowds, come during the week or early in the day.