Full of old world charm and friendly locals, Lisbon is a city where you will find your eyes darting around to take in the charming cobblestone streets and bright tiles while your nose enjoys the aroma of fresh seafood or sweets just from the oven. While you may be tempted to cram in as many activities as you can, keep in mind that part of Lisbon experience requires you to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the sights, sounds, and tastes the city has to offer.
Tips
- Trams 15 and 28 are great for getting around the city. They can often be packed so the best time of day to take them is in the morning or early evening. You get to see a lot of the city just by riding the trams!
- Lisbon is hilly!! Pack good walking shoes and be prepared for a great leg workout!
- Obrigado! means thank you in Portuguese. You will use and hear this phrase a lot!
- Olá is a friendly way to say hello
- Rua means street in Portuguese
- Azulejos is the term for the Portuguese painted ceramic tiles you will see throughout the city
- Most speak English in Lisbon so you should be fine getting around with little to no knowledge of Portuguese.
- Lisbon is divided into five neighborhoods that are great for tourists: Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto, Alfama and Belém. It is easiest to plan your activities around when you will be in these neighborhoods. Some are easy to move between (Baixa/Chiado)
- If you do not feel like walking through the city – it is hilly! – there are a lot of options to get around: hop on hop off buses, tuk tuks, trams, and uber/taxis (fairly inexpensive).
Activities
City Centre:
- Ruinas do Carmo (Carmo Convent) – Chiado neighborhood
- Carmo Convent was once the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and is now ruins of this gothic church devastated by the 1755 earthquake.
- Open from 10:00am to 5:00pm
- Check out the bar located directly behind the convent. It has a great view of the city, serves great drinks, and has lawn chairs you can lay out in if you want to get some sun!
- Restauradores Square and Rossio Square – Baixa neighborhood
- Two lively squares
- Elevador de Santa Justa – Baixa neighborhood – is a neo-gothic style wrought-iron lift that offers a great 360 degree view of the city. While beautiful, you do get the feeling that it seems a bit out of place. No matter because the views are spectacular! Learn more here.
- From Ruinas do Carmo you can go to the Elevador de Santa Justa.
- There is a 5 euro fee to ride the list. You can access it for cheaper (or even for free!) if you enter from the top just behind the Covento Ruinas do Carmo.
- Praça do Comércio – Baixa neighborhood – the most beautiful square in Lisbon where the royal palace once was.
- The Castelo de Sao Jorge (St George Castle) – Alfama neighborhood – offers breathtaking views of the whole city. It is a Portuguese national monument that has a rich history. At different times it was home to the Moors, the Christians, the political elite. Learn more here.
-
- Great spot to watch the sun set. Once you reach the top and walk out to the city overlook you will see sitting areas as well as a cart that sells wine and champagne.
- Adult/child/family tickets are 8,50/5,00/20,00 euro. All ticket prices available here.
- Open 9:00 – 18:00 November 1 – February 28 and 9:00 – 21:00 March 1 – October 31
- Take bus 737 or Tram 28 (tram requires an uphill walk)
- Oceanario is the largest indoor acquarium in Europe
Where to See Azulejos (tiles)
-
- They are present throughout the city but particularly in the Alfama neighborhood
- Museu Nacional do Azulejo (Tile Museum)
- Best spot for seeing a range of different azulejos. Learn more here.
- Adult/child tickets are 5/2,50 euro. Free the 1st Sunday of the month.
Other Great Views in Lisbon (if you have time):
-
- Because Lisbon is so hilly you can find great views throughout the city.
- Miradouro de Santa Luzia
- Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara – Chiado neighborhood
- Largo das Portas do Sol
- Miradouro da Graça
- Miradouro Senhora do Monte
- Panteão Nacional / Church of Santa Engrácia
- This was originally a church but is now a museum where many important Portuguese persons are buried. Learn more here.
- Adult/child tickets are 4/free euro. Free the 1st Sunday of the month
- Open 10:00am – 6:00pm, 5:00pm October – March. Closed on Mondays.
Belém (outside city centre)
- Plan to spend at least three hours here
- You can take the Tram 15 to get here or an uber/taxi.
- You can buy your tickets ahead of time to skip the lines. I would recommend the dual ticket for the Torre de Belém and Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. However, if you want to spend more time in Belém you can buy tickets to multiple attractions.
- You can hire bikes to ride around by the Electricity Museum
- The Torre de Belém (Belém Tower) is a UNESCO World Heritage monument. Learn more here.
- The Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Discovery monument) is still undergoing renovation so you may want to skip this.
- The Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (Jeronimos’ Monastery) is Learn more here.
- Open 10:00am to 6:30pm May – September, 5:30pm October – May.
- Finish at Pasteis de Belém where they sell the famous pasties de nata/belem
- There are also a lot of restaurants where you can sit outside and enjoy the sun. A Margem is one restaurant that has great views.
Other attractions:
- Electricity Museum
- Gardens of Belém
- the Cultural Centre (including the Museum of Modern Art)
- Museu dos Coches
Parque das Nações (Park of the Nations)
-
- Just north of Bairro Alto/Chiado
- This is where the 1998 World Expo was held. It is a nice area to walk around, grab lunch, and shop. It is known for its modern architecture,
Sintra (40 minute train from Lisbon)
- Highly recommend you make this trip! Sinatra looks like it is right out of a fairytale. Learn more here.
- Plan to spend at least half a day to a whole day here. You can take the train from Rosso or there are also tours. Once you arrive in Sintra, you will also need transportation to get around to the various palaces. There is a bus, hop on hop off tours, tuk tuks, or drivers that will take you up the palaces. You can also walk, bike or ride a vespa if you are brave!
- If you only have half a day go to Pena palace and the Moors Castle.
Cascais
- Lisbon is on the bay so you will not find any beaches there. However, you can hop on the train to Cascais. It is about a 30 minute ride.
- Trains leave from both Belém station and Cais de Sodre. A return ticket costs 12,50 euro.
- The beach offers great restaurants with fresh seafood.
- You can rent paddle boards, paddle boats, and other water toys.
- Have ice cream from Santini
Other
- Oceanario is the largest indoor acquarium in Europe
Restaurants
Food and Drink you must try:
- Verde wine is a white sparkling wine that is good and usually inexpensive.
- Order house wines.
- Types of whites and werde wines: Alvarinho, Casal Garcia, Muralhas, Periquita, Duas Quintas, Esporao e Marques de Borba (last two a bit more expensive)
- Types of red wines: Duas Quintas, EA, Monte Yelho, Esporão, Casa de Santar, Murganheira, Quinta do Castro, Bacalhoa (there are many more)
- Porto wine
- Bacalhau (codfish) is the national dish. The Portuguese say there are 1001 ways to cook it. You can find it prepared different ways in each restaurant.
- For breakfast: look for pastelarias that read “fabrico próprio” (freshly baked): these cafés will have pastries and serve continental breakfast.
Baixa
- Confeitaria Nacional is one of the oldest and yummiest bakeries
- Mercado da Ribeira is a large market that has inexpensive dishes from many of the high-end restaurants. You can eat small plates and drink wine here.
Chiado
- Tartine is a bakery beautiful cakes and drinks
- Brasileira café is a famous cafe with a statue of Portugal’s most famous poet, Fernando Pessoa.
- Aqui há peixe is a great fish restaurant
Bairro Alto
- Cabaças has great food and is inexpensive. Try the “naco na pedra”. It is basically steak grilled on the stone”. They also have fish dishes, including Codfish (the Portuguese national dish).
Alfama
- Chapitô is a great spot for lunch or dinner. It is a circus school and has a great view of the river and bridge.
- Miradourdo da Graça (in Largo da Graça – Alfama/Graça) also has great views
- Café Portas do Sol (Miradouro das Portas do Sol – Alfama) serves light meals and has a great terrace
Principle Real (neighborhood beside Bairro Alto and Baixa)
- Petiscaria ideal is mainly tapas (small plates) of typical Portuguese dishes. The food is great and it is an informal and trendy spot
- Pharmacia is part of the Health Museum. It has great outdoor seating
- Toma la da ca has a great local flavor and is rvery good
- Lost in serves light meals
Shopping
- Walk the along Rua Chiado, which goes from the shopping centre “Armazéns do Chiado” up towards Praça do Camões (Camoes square)
- Rua Augusta is the commercial street for a lot of shopping
- A Vida Portuguesa sells old Portuguese products
- El Corte Inglês is a large department store
Drinks/Going Out
Bairro Alto
- Bairro Alto is known for a great atmosphere in the evening with people spilling into the streets for dinner and drinks. You can walk down the street and find places to eat easily.
Cais do Sodré
- In Cais do Sodré go to Rua Cor-de-Rosa (pink street).
- Listen to Fado (a Portuguese style of music) at Povo
- Pensão Amor is an old brothel converted into a trendy bar. They have a dance floor and various different rooms. One room is decorated with the ‘Sistine Chapel’ ceiling. The bar does get crowded so be prepared to wait for drinks
- Champanharia do Cais is great if you like champagne.They have multiple locations around the city.
- Sol e Pesca (with the typical tuna/sardines cans decorating the place – they are also available to taste with some bread)
Dancing
- Lux is a very famous club in Lisbon
- Urban beach
Good resources for more information regarding activities in Lisbon: