One of the most known Lisbon spots is The Elevator. Right in the touristic center of the city, in one of the narrow streets, snuggled between buildings . Even though it seems hidden, you cannot miss it. Especially that it is always highlighted on the maps and tourist programs.
And yea - it is worth seeing. But I don't think it is worth waiting in a long queue an pay (I don't know how much) to go a few stories up. Unless you really want to say you did it and and put a ✔️ on your "things to do in Lisbon" list.
So no, you do not have to do it to get the view from the top. You can just go around on some stairs, more narrow streets passing more lost tourists and end up right u there too :)
That's what I did a few years ago. By accident really as I just wanted to walk around an see what's in the unknown. I ended up on a nice little square with big trees right in from of the Carmo Convent. From there is just few more steps and you are on the eleators walk where you can stay as long as you want andd enjoy the nice city view.
Now here is a fun part. Yesterday as I was browsing though my feed I saw 
I didn't shoot the Elevator itself, though I should have. You can check
Link to Akida's post.
An here is what you can see from there:
Right on top of the hill is Saint George's Castle - another must go to spot. It is a nice climb up and an expensive entry, but worth checking out.
More to the left you have King Pedro IV Square with his statue in the middle of it. You can see it on the photo. I shot the bubbles from THIS POST there :)
And just a bit on the right, on the same photo above you can spot a white façade of Church of St. Dominic which I have posted about not so long ago HERE.
All that from behind the locked up fence :)
And while you enjoy the view, right behind you, you have the lovely Convent
With some extra, feathered tourists. I bet she was waiting for someone to rop some food :p
I am surprised she didn't fly away at this point.
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Shot with Nikon D5500 + Nikkor 18-55mm lens
All photos and text are my own.
