4 Days in Lisbon, the Capital of Portugal - Tourist Attractions, What to Do in Lisbon
Lisbon is one of those cities that will go directly into your heart. A lively, colorful, active city that gives you the energy and good mood you always expect in a trip.
It is the second oldest capital in Europe, a city full of stories, which will fascinate you and make you want to discover as much as possible of the history of the place and the country.
Our visit in the Portuguese capital was part of a week-long trip to Portugal, which I invite you to read about here: 7 Days In Portugal - How much does one week in Portugal cost.
In Lisbon we had two days to explore the city, and I will write about our program below. We used the other two days to make day trips, one to Sintra, with its imposing palaces, and another one to Cascais and Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in Continental Europe.
Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) is the capital of Portugal, a country located in the southwest of Europe, in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the largest city in Portugal, with a population of around 550,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area exceeds 2.7 million inhabitants, being one of the most congested urban areas in Europe.
Also known as the city of 7 hills, Lisbon is located on the west coast of the country, opening to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Tagus (Tejo) river, the largest river in the Iberian Peninsula and which crosses the city, flowing directly into the ocean.
It is one of the oldest cities in Europe and the second oldest capital on the continent, after Athens, with a history dating back to the 12th century AD. The Phoenicians were the ones who settled here more than 3000 years ago, and over time Lisbon was under the occupation of several nations, among them the Greeks, the Romans and the Moors. The Muslim Moors conquered the city in the 8th century, fortified it and named it Lissabon. In 1147, the Christian fighters under the command of Dom Afonso Henriques conquered the city.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, the city experienced a real period of glory, thanks to the world's great travelers (Vasco da Gama or Ferdinand Magellan), Lisbon thus becoming the capital of the first modern colonial empire.
On November 1, 1755, three major earthquakes hit Lisbon, followed by a tsunami and a devastating fire. All this led to the death of tens of thousands of people and the partial destruction of the city. Most of the city became a ruin, thus stopping the culmination that Lisbon had until that moment. The reconstruction works started immediately, giving birth to the new city of Lisbon, and the buildings in the central area are proof of the reconstruction after 1755.
Today, Lisbon is one of the most touristic European capitals, with a climate that allows people to visit it in any season of the year.
How do you get around in Lisbon
Lisbon has a very well organized public transport system.
To use public transport, you will need a physical travel card, called Navegante Card (formerly called Viva Viagem). You can purchase this from any travel ticket vending machine, which you can find in the transport stations. You will pay the price of a 0.5 euro for the physical card, and on it you can load the amount of money with which you will pay for the trips. A trip costs 1.5 euros. The card is not transferable, so only one person can travel with this card at a time.
There are also day passes, which you can buy separately on the same travel card. A 24-hour ticket costs 6.45 euros, with unlimited access to the subway, bus, tram, elevator or funicular.
There is also the option of a 24-hour ticket that includes tickets on regional trains, such as to Sintra or Cascais, and it costs 10.70 euros.
- Navegante Card (formerly called Viva Viagem): €0.5
- Single-trip ticket: €1.65 – poti schimba mai multe mijloace de transport in decurs de o ora
- Carris one-day ticket (bus, tram, funicular)/Metro: €6.60
- Carris one-day ticket (bus, tram, funicular)/Metro/CP (regional trains): €10.70
- Ticket for a single journey by regional train: it varies depending on the area, but approximately, a ticket to Sintra or Cascais costs €2.5
An interesting experience is to ride the tourist trams, specific to Lisbon, such as tram 28, 12 or 15.
You can also go for the Bolt / Uber option. The prices are quite affordable in Portugal for these applications, and if you traveling more people, you pay approximately the same as a trip by public transport.
How to get from the airport to Lisbon
The Lisbon airport is practically inside the city, so the transfer from the airport to the city center is not difficult.
From the airport departs the red metro line, which you can change afterwards with the blue or green lines, which lead to the center. The price of a trip is 1.65 euros.
Lisbon Card
As in any important touristic city, in Lisbon you can buy a tourist card too. The card is called Lisbon Card, and it includes free entrance to various tourist attractions, with skip the line (Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery, etc.) and public transport.ransportul cu mijloace de transport in comun.
The card can be used for 24 hours (22 euros), 48 hours (37 euros) or 72 hours (46 euros). (37 euro) sau 72 ore (46 euro).
Where to stay in Lisbon
The best place to stay in Lisbon would be in the central area, where you are close to all the tourist attractions, as well as the metro stations. From the airport you have good connections to the center with the metro lines, in a very short time.
If you plan to take a trip to Sintra, stay in the Rossio Square area. There you will be close to the train station from where the train to Sintra leaves.
Lisbon is a city built on hills, but it's good to know that in the central Baixa area (on the axis Commercio Square - Rossio Square), the land is quite flat. If you want to avoid many descents and ascents when you go to your accommodation, try to avoid the Alfama neighborhood. It is wonderful to admire it, but walking often on those streets can be quite tiring.
If you want to be as close as possible to the airport or the main train station, stay in the area of the airport or the Oriente station.
Aceasta a fost cazarea noastra in Lisabona: Hotel Residencial Florescente.
Coming from Porto, one evening we had to stay close to the airport, having a very early morning flight the next day. This was our accommodation near Lisbon airport: Be My Neighbour.
What to eat in Lisbon
The most famous culinary product that a tourist can eat in Lisbon is Pasteis de Nata, a delicious dessert represented by a mini tart filled with egg cream. The original recipe was created by the monks of the Jeronimos Monastery, and at the pastry shop in Belem, next to the monastery, it is said that the original recipe is still being prepared (the products are called Pasteis de Belem). It is absolutely necessary for every visitor to try this if he arrives in Lisbon. The price of a box of 6 Pasteis de Nata costs around 6-7 euros.
Also in Lisbon you must try the different fish dishes, called Bacalhau (dried and salted cod). I mention here Bacalhau a Bras, a dish prepared from cod, onion, finely cut potatoes and eggs, and Pasteis de Bacalhau, or Codfish cakes, a pastry made from cod, potatoes and cheese.
If you want to taste a local drink, I recommend trying Ginjinha, cherry liqueur served in a chocolate glass.
What to do in Lisbon - Daily Itinerary
We visited Lisbon at the end of November, when we had good weather compared to other destinations in Europe at that time, with maximum temperatures of 15-17 degrees. Being off-season, an airy city received us, not very crowded, and the advantage was that we didn't have to wait in line at any tourist attraction. The only downside was that it got dark pretty quickly, at 5 PM, so the day to visit ended pretty quickly.
We had 2 full days to explore Lisbon, and I will write about the visited sights below, with the mention that, unfortunately, we did not manage to check all the tourist attractions that we would have liked in such a short period of time. We used the other two days to organize two trips outside of Lisbon: to Sintra, respectively Cascais and Cabo da Roca.
Day 1
We started the day with a Free Walking Tour, in which we learned very interesting things about Lisbon and the history of the city. We usually take part in such tours with a local guide whenever we arrive in a city with a rich past, where the information received could help us understand the city even better.
This was the tour we booked (https://www.freetour.com/lisbon/alfama-free-walking-tour), but there are many other such tours you can choose from. In this tour we started from Rossio Square, passed through Figuiera Square, Martim Moniz and then went up towards the Alfama district.
After the Walking Tour, we continued walking around the city on our own, to discover the central area of Lisbon, Baixa, Barrio Alto and Chiado districts.
Rossio Square (Praça Dom Pedro IV / Praça Rossio)
Rossio Square is one of the most frequented public squares in Lisbon and one of the most popular tourist areas. In the middle of the square is the statue of Dom Pedro IV, former king of Portugal and emperor of Brazil. Also here is the Dona Maria II National Theatre, in the northern part of the square, and the Rossio train station, a building with an imposing architecture, from where locals and tourists can take the regional train to Sintra.
A Christmas market is held here in December, which we caught open.
From Rossio square, we quickly reached Figuiera square, and then Martim Moniz square, where you can take different means of transport: here is the starting point of tram 28, or you can take a bus or tram towards Alfama or Belem.
Alfama District
From Martim Moniz Square we started walking towards the Alfama district. Alfama is the oldest district in Lisbon, located between Sao Jorge Castle and the Tejo River. During the Moorish domination, Alfama included the entire city, which later expanded to the west, towards today's Baixa district.
Alfama is one of the few areas in Lisbon that survived the natural disaster of 1755, so that the original architecture of the buildings and the narrow streets are still part of the landscape nowadays.
It is a pleasure to walk here, to admire the colorful and faceted houses with various models of ceramic tiles, specific to Portugal. You can't help but notice the life going on here, even through the clothes lying on almost every window. It is a common image in this neighborhood.
If you want to listen to Fado music, this is the place to come to. In the evening you can enjoy this traditional Portuguese music in a cozy restaurant.
Just be careful that the streets in Alfama are quite steep, and on the ground you will only find slippery cubic stone, just like in the rest of Lisbon, by the way.
If you come in this area, do not miss the panoramic points, where you have a view of the entire city. Such points would be Miradouro das Portas do Sol, Miradouro da Graça or Praça Júlio de Castilho.
Lisbon Cathedral (Catedrala Sé de Lisboa)
In the Alfama district there is also the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Maria Maggiore (Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa or Se de Lisboa), a Roman Catholic parish church. It is the oldest church in the city and seat of the Archbishopric of Lisbon, built in the 12th century.
To enter this church, you need an entrance ticket, worth 5 euros. Unfortunately, it is not possible to enter with the Lisbon Card.
Commerce Square (Praça do Comércio)
Praca do Comercio is a public square located in the lower part of Lisbon, opening onto the Tagus River. It is also known as the Palace Square (Terreiro do Paco), due to the former royal palace located here and which was destroyed by the earthquake in 1755. Later, various trade activities took place here, hence the new name of the market. In the middle of the square is the statue of King Jose I.
The riverside promenade is one of the wonderful places where you can admire the sunset, overlooking the 25th April bridge.
Arco da Rua Augusta
The triumphal arch located on the northern side of the Commerce square was inaugurated in 1875, and bears the name of the street where it is located, Rua Augusta.
The monument can be visited, and an entrance ticket costs 3 euros, or free with the Lisbon Card. From the top you have a superb view of the Rua Augusta shopping street, the Commerce square and the Tagus river.
Rua Augusta
Rua Augusta is the most animated pedestrian street in the center of Lisbon. Full of tourists, terraces and shops, here you can feel the most tourist energy of this city.
Santa Justa Lift
The lift is one of the unique tourist attractions in Lisbon, and is located near the pedestrian street Rua Augusta. It is a mechanism from the 19th century used to transport passengers at a height of 45 meters, from the Baixa district to Largo do Carmo.
Today, the elevator has only a tourist role, and a platform was created at the top of it from where the city can be admired. A lift ticket costs 5.3 euros, but it is included in the Lisbon Card.
Carmo covent
Going with the elevator up, nearby we found the ruins of the former Carmo monastery, built in the 14th century. The earthquake of 1755 destroyed this whole area, and today's ruins are like a memory of what happened centuries ago. It is a tourist attraction precisely because of that feeling of a haunted monastery.
Today the former monastery is transformed into a museum, and the entrance ticket costs 5 euros (4 euros if you have a Lisbon Card).
Pink Street
Also in the central area you will find the famous pink street of Lisbon, a street with terraces and very colorful. It is well known on Instagram and has become one of Lisbon's main sights.
Day 2
The next day we planned to visit other tourist attractions in Lisbon, and we knew that we will need entrance tickets and that we will travel a lot with public transport. That's exactly why we decided to buy the Lisbon Card for that day: we had the transport included, and the entrance tickets to the Jeronimos monastery and the Belem tower.
Tourist tram 28
We wanted to start the day with a trip on the historic tram 28, but our plans were changed a little. Tram 28 is among the oldest means of transport in Lisbon, used today especially by tourists, for the tour that this tram makes on the steep hills and narrow streets of the city, and which passes through the popular neighborhoods like Alfama, Baixa, Estrela and Grace. As a starting point, the recommendation is to take this tram from the end of the line, from Martim Motiz square.
We got to the station in the morning, but the line of people waiting to catch the tram was very long. It is known that this tram is always crowded, and the waiting times to travel with it are long. But we had another alternative from that market, we took tram 12 instead. It is also a tourist tram, with a shorter route, but which offers you the same experience as tram 28 and is much less crowded. The travel ticket was included in the Lisbon Card.
Tram 12 left us near the Sao Jorge Castle, which we also visited, by the way.
Castle of Saint George (Castelo de Sao Jorge)
Sao Jorge Castle is one of the oldest buildings in Lisbon and one of the most valuable tourist attractions in the Portuguese capital. The castle is located in the Alfama district, at the top of the highest hill of Lisbon, with panoramic views of the city. Also, the castle can be seen from almost any place in the city.
The castle was the seat of Moorish royalty until it was conquered in 1147 by Afonso Henriques, the first king of Portugal, with the help of European crusaders.
An entrance ticket to this castle costs 10 euros and is not included in the Lisbon Card.
From the castle we came down to Martim Moniz square, from where we took bus 714 to the Belem area, where the famous Belem Tower and the Jeronimos Monastery are located.
Jeronimos Monastery
Jeronimos Monastery is one of the most prestigious tourist attractions in Lisbon, declared a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1983. The monastery was built in 1502 to commemorate the travels and achievements of Vasco da Gama. Inside the monastery is the tomb of Vasco da Gama.
An entrance ticket costs 10 euros and can be bought online from GetYourGuide. Tourists with Lisbon Card have free entrance.
Pasteis de Belem
If you arrive in the area, don't miss going to Pasteis de Belem, to taste the original Pasteis de Nata! Even though it may seem like there are a lot of people in line, don't worry, the queue moves very quickly. There are two entrances, for those who want to eat there, or for those who want to buy for takeaway (this line moves quite quickly). A package with 6 pieces costs 7.3 euros.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of Discoveries)
From Jeronimos Monastery we set off along the banks of the Tagus river towards the Belem tower. On the way, we came across the Discoveries Monument, a monument dedicated to the great explorers of Portugal from the 15th and 16th centuries. You can climb to the top of the monument here, and a ticket costs 5 euros.
Belem Tower
A symbol of Lisbon is the Belem Tower, built on the banks of the Tagus river in the 16th century by King Manuel I with the aim of strengthening the defense system on the banks of the river. Together with the Jeronimos Monastery, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1983.
The tower can be visited, and with the Lisbon Card, entry is free. An entry ticket costs 6 euros, and can be bought also online: Lisbon: Belém Tower Entry Ticket.
If you have Lisbon Card, even though you have the entrance included in the card, be careful to go ahead to the counter, to have your card scanned and to receive the physical ticket with which you enter then the tower.
25th April Bridge
From the Belem district, on the way back to the city center, we decided to quickly visit the 25th April Bridge.
The 25th April Bridge is the longest suspended bridge in Europe, over the Tagus river, with a length of 2.2 km, and connects the city of Lisbon with Almada.
An interactive Pillar 7 Bridge Experience center is open at the base of the bridge where tourists can take an elevator and go up, on the level where the road is. There are 26 floors in total, and the experience is interesting. It's not something I necessarily recommend, but we were in the area, and since we're passionate about infrastructure, we said, why not? The entrance is included in the Lisbon Card (an entrance ticket costs otherwise 5 euros).
These are the main sights that we managed to cover in 2 days of Lisbon. Certainly, there are other tourist attractions that deserve attention and that we will most likely visit the next time we arrive in Lisbon:
- Vasco da Gama Bridge – the longest bridge in Lisbon
- Lisbon Oceanarium, cable car ride
- Santuário de Cristo Rei (Statue of Christ)
Day 3
Sintra
On the third day we took a day trip to Sintra, the city of palaces and castles. Read here how we organized this trip: A Day In Sintra, Portugal - The Land of Castles - Tourist Attractions.
Day 4
Cascais & Cabo da Roca
On the last day we wanted to visit the westernmost point of Continental Europe, and so we planned a day trip to Cabo da Roca and Cascais. Read here about what we visited that day: A Day In Cabo Da Roca And Cascais, Portugal: How To Get To The Westernmost Point Of Europe.
Tips & Tricks
- If you want to experience a trip with the historic tram in Lisbon, but the well-known tram 28 is always crowded and there are many people in line, waiting to get on the tram, you can also try a trip with trams 12 or 15. They don't have exactly the same route as 28, but the experience is the same, and you don't need to wait for long time.
- Pay attention to the cubic stone. Many streets in Lisbon are on a slope, and these stones are very slippery, especially during the rain. We heard about many falls in Lisbon, if you don't want to be among the victims, be careful!
- Before you decide whether to buy the Lisbon Card or not, do a short calculation with the places you want to visit, in the chosen time period. Sometimes it might not be worth paying for a travel card, if you don't have a lot of points to visit in one day. Also, you need to know that it does not guarantee free entry to all touristic locations: for example, you cannot enter the Cathedral or the Castle with this card, and you only get a 10% discount on some locations (for example, for Carmo Covent).
- Get ready to wait in lines! Try to get to the tourist attractions as early as possible in the morning, because very long lines can form during the day. And where possible, the recommendation is to buy tickets online in advance, to skip the line.
