In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Book Pena Palace first: you choose a date and time when you buy, and arriving late means being turned away with no refund. In Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery (€18) and Belém Tower (€15) both close on Mondays and can sell out, so buy them from the official ticket office. The Lisboa Card (€31 for 24 hours) does not get you into either on demand: card holders reserve a slot, and only after collecting the physical card. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift are shut; only the Graça funicular runs. Lisbon charges €4 a night in tourist tax, for up to 7 nights. Or book a tour: the Belém guided tour with Jerónimos ticketsad (from £37.58) and the Sintra small-group tour with ticketsad (from £58.08) put entry, a guide and, for Sintra, the transport in one booking. For a visit on your own, the official ticket is cheaper.
What to book before you go
Prices are the adult rate, from each operator’s own page on 1 October 2026.
Alfama and the Tagus. Photo: Dale Cruse, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
| Sight | Book how far ahead | Adult price | Book at | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pena Palace | You pick a date and time when you buy; afternoon slots are quieter | Essential €20, Complete €45, park only €12 | bilheteira.parquesdesintra.pt | No leeway for lateness: allow 30 minutes from the park gate to the palace. Online tickets can be moved until 18:00 the day before. |
| Jerónimos Monastery | The operator says tickets often sell out and cannot be bought on the day | €18 | Museus e Monumentos de Portugal | Closed on Mondays. The operator provides no audio guides. |
| Belém Tower | Timed slots since 27 May 2026; the same warning applies | €15 | mosteirojeronimos.torrebelem.gov.pt | Closed on Mondays. Wheelchair access to the ground floor only. |
| Oceanário | Online or on the day, subject to availability | €25.50 to €29.90 by time slot | tickets.oceanario.pt | The price depends on the hour: €29.90 from 10:00 to 11:30, €25.50 from 16:00 to 18:30. |
| Castelo de São Jorge | Online or at the ticket office | €17 | castelodesaojorge.pt | Open to 21:00 until 31 October, then to 18:00 from 1 November. Free for adults with the Lisboa Card. |
| Quinta da Regaleira (Sintra) | Entry slots every 30 minutes, with a one-hour grace period | €20 | regaleira.byblueticket.pt | The operator names this as its only official online ticket office. |
| Lisboa Card | Buy online, then redeem the voucher at an Ask Me Lisboa desk | €31 for 24 hours, €51 for 48, €62 for 72 | shop.visitlisboa.com | Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery need a reserved slot, see below. |
- Buy from the operators. The links above go to the monuments’ own ticket offices. GetYourGuide’s ticket-only listings for the Jerónimos Monastery (£15.38) and Belém Tower (£12.81) cost about what the official €18 and €15 tickets do, so a tour is worth paying for the guide, not the entry.
- Pena Palace has its own guide: the Essential and Complete tickets, the fast-track tickets and the Viver Sintra combined ticket.
What the Lisboa Card does not cover
The card gives unlimited public transport, including the CP trains to Sintra and Cascais, and free entry to 51 museums and monuments (Visit Lisboa, 1 October 2026). It is a physical card, personal, redeemed with the order email at an Ask Me Lisboa desk.
- Belém is by slot. The Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery are marked “Required to book date and time”. You enter the card number to choose a slot, which you can do only after redeeming the voucher, and access is subject to the daily capacity for card holders.
- Closed for works: the National Tile Museum and the National Museum of Ancient Art are closed for renovation, so the card gets you into neither.
- Pena Palace is not on the list. The only Sintra site on the card’s free list is the Sintra Myths and Legends interactive centre.
Closed days
- Monday: the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower are closed, and so are the museums in Cascais. The Castelo de São Jorge, the Oceanário and the parks and palaces of Sintra are open.
- Holidays: the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower are also closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday (28 March 2027), 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. 13 June is the feast of St Anthony, Lisbon’s municipal holiday; see Santos Populares.
- Sintra: every Parques de Sintra site, Pena included, is closed on 24 and 25 December and on 31 December and 1 January. They can also close for wind or fire risk.
- Castelo de São Jorge: open every day except 1 January, 1 May, and 24, 25 and 31 December.
- Oceanário: open daily; it opens at 11:00 on 25 December and 1 January, and closes at 19:00 on 24 and 31 December.
- Funiculars and the lift: the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have carried no passengers since the Glória funicular accident on 3 September 2025. The Graça funicular reopened on 30 April 2026 and runs daily from 7:00 to 21:00; it is €4.30 for two trips, by card or contactless only. Plan hills on foot, by metro or by tram; Tram 28 and the funiculars has the route, the fares and what to ride instead.
- Strikes: the Metro stopped for the whole of the general strikes on 11 December 2025 and 3 June 2026. Check the day before you travel.
Lisbon tourist tax
Hotels and other accommodation charge €4 per person per night for up to 7 nights, so €28 at most, for guests aged 13 and over, and show it as a separate line on the bill (Deco Proteste). Check whether the price you booked includes it.
Getting in from the airport
Fares are the Metro’s and Visit Lisboa’s, as listed on 1 October 2026.
- Metro Red Line: from Aeroporto, €1.90 on a Navegante occasional card (€0.50, bought once), every day from 6:30 to 1:00 (metrolisboa.pt). Change at Alameda for the Green Line (Rossio, Baixa-Chiado, Cais do Sodré) or at São Sebastião for the Blue Line (Marquês de Pombal, Restauradores, Baixa-Chiado, Terreiro do Paço, Santa Apolónia).
- Taxi voucher: bought at the Askme Lisboa desk in the arrivals hall, fixed price: €16 to central Lisbon by day and €19.20 from 21:00 to 6:00, at weekends and on holidays (Visit Lisboa shop). To Cascais, Estoril or Sintra it is €53.40 by day and €64 at night.
Getting around
From 1 January 2026, a Carris and Metro single is €1.90, valid for an hour, and a 24-hour Carris/Metro ticket is €7.25. Adding the CP trains to Sintra and Cascais makes it €11.40. Each is loaded on a Navegante occasional card (€0.50) (metrolisboa.pt, carris.pt). Contactless bank cards open the Metro gates for €1.92 a ride: tap in and out with the same card, one card per person. On board, a bus ticket is €2.30 and a tram ticket €3.30, and the articulated trams take no cash.
Day trips
Sintra is about 40 minutes from Rossio by a €5.10 return train, and Cascais 38 to 40 minutes from Cais do Sodré for the same fare. Évora, Porto, Óbidos and Nazaré, Fátima and the Algarve are further. Day trips from Lisbon compares them on train time, fare, what a tour costs and the one thing to know about each.
Sintra’s National Palace. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Where to eat
Where to eat in Lisbon ranks the tascas, bakeries, seafood halls and tasting-menu restaurants by how many independent sources name each one, with the closed days and how to book. Pastéis de Belém and Manteigaria lead the pastel de nata; Cervejaria Ramiro leads the seafood.
Getting there, getting around and where to stay
- From the airport: Lisbon airport to the city centre prices the Metro, the buses and the fixed-price taxi voucher.
- Getting around: Lisbon public transport explains the tickets, the Navegante card and which trams and funiculars run.
- Where to stay: where to stay in Lisbon compares the areas, hotels near Belém suits the Jerónimos Monastery and the Tower, and Lisbon hotels with a rooftop pool gives each pool’s months.
- From a cruise ship: Lisbon cruise port to the city centre covers both terminals, the Metro, the buses and a day in port.
- Itineraries: 3 days in Lisbon and Lisbon in one day plan the visit round the bookings.
- When to go: best time to visit Lisbon has the weather month by month and Web Summit week; Santos Populares covers the June festival, Christmas in Lisbon and New Year in Lisbon the closures in winter.
- Food: Lisbon food tours, pastel de nata classes and fado evenings compares them on length, price and what is included.
Itineraries
Day-by-day plans for a first visit.
Itinerary
3 Days in Lisbon: Itinerary with What to Book
Three days in Lisbon: the old town and São Jorge Castle on day one, Belém on day two, Sintra and Pena Palace on day three. What to book before you fly, which day each sight closes, and how to fit the plan round a Monday, with the funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift out of service, checked 1 October 2026.
Itinerary
Lisbon in One Day: Itinerary and Bookings
With one day in Lisbon, spend the morning in Belém at the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, then Alfama and São Jorge Castle in the afternoon; on a Monday, when Belém is closed, do the castle and the old town. The bookings for each, opening times, a plan for cruise passengers at both terminals, and the tours that fit, checked 1 October 2026.
Which ticket to buy
The official ticket, the tours that include entry, and which sells out first.
Tickets
Pena Palace Tickets: Which One, and When to Book
A Pena Palace ticket fixes the time you enter the palace, with no tolerance for lateness and no refund. Essential is €20, Complete (with the private apartments) is €45 and has six start times, and park only is €12. The tickets, the fast-track and combined Viver Sintra options, and what to see, checked with Parques de Sintra on 1 October 2026.
Tickets
Jerónimos Monastery Tickets: Booking and Queues
A ticket to the Jerónimos Monastery's cloister costs €18 and is booked for a day and an hourly slot. The church next door is free, and the monastery is closed on Mondays. The price, the slots, the queues, the tours that include entry and the rules, checked 1 October 2026.
Tickets
Belém Tower Tickets: Timed Entry Since Reopening
Belém Tower reopened on 27 May 2026 after its first major works since 1998, and now admits visitors in half-hour slots, 60 at a time. A ticket costs €15, and the Tower is closed on Mondays. The price, the slots, the tours with entry and the rules, checked 1 October 2026.
Tickets
São Jorge Castle Tickets: Price, Hours, Queues
A ticket to Lisbon's São Jorge Castle costs €17 and includes free guided tours in English and a camera obscura. It is open seven days a week until 21:00 in summer, and free with the Lisboa Card. The price, the hours, the queues, how to get up the hill and the resales that cost more, checked 1 October 2026.
Tickets
Lisbon Oceanarium Tickets: Time Slots and Prices
The price of an Oceanário de Lisboa ticket changes with the hour of the visit: €29.90 for an adult in the morning, €25.50 after 16:00. The penguin colony is out of view while its habitat is renovated. Prices, the online discount, guided tours and how to get to Parque das Nações, checked 1 October 2026.
Tickets
Is the Lisboa Card Worth It? The Belém Slots
The Lisboa Card costs €31 for 24 hours, €51 for 48 and €62 for 72, and covers public transport and free entry to 51 sights. Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery need a slot booked with the card, after you collect it in Lisbon. The sums against buying tickets one by one, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trips from Lisbon
Out and back in a day, with the tours compared against going on your own.
Day trip
Day Trips from Lisbon: Train or Tour, Costed
Sintra and Cascais are €5.10 return CP trains, Évora is a 1½-hour train, Porto is nearly three hours each way, Óbidos, Nazaré and Fátima are buses or one coach tour, and the Algarve is an 11 to 12 hour tour day. The day trips from Lisbon compared on train time and fare, what a tour costs and the one thing to know about each, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Sintra Day Trip from Lisbon: Train or Tour
Sintra is about 40 minutes from Lisbon's Rossio station by a €5.10 return train. Pena Palace is a timed slot with no tolerance for lateness, and since 8 July 2026 tour coaches stop outside the town centre. The train, the buses, the new Viver Sintra combined ticket, what each palace costs and the tours, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Cascais Day Trip from Lisbon by Train
Cascais is a CP train from Cais do Sodré: 38 to 40 minutes, €5.10 return, a train every 20 minutes through the weekday. Its museums close on Mondays, a €9 CP ticket covers the train and four of them, and engineering works put a replacement bus on the line in the evening. The train, the sights and the tours, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Évora Day Trip from Lisbon: Train, Bus or Tour
Évora is a CP Intercidades from Lisboa Oriente, 1 hour 36 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, €13.90 single or €25.50 return in second class. The Chapel of Bones is €7, the cathedral €5 and the Roman temple free. The Rede Expressos bus is €21.20 return, and a tour is worth it only for Monsaraz or the megaliths. Trains, bus and sights, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Porto Day Trip from Lisbon by Train or Bus
Porto is 2 hours 39 minutes from Lisbon on CP's fastest Alfa Pendular, so a day trip means about five and a half hours on trains for roughly eight in the city. The return fare is €64.50, CP has a road transfer on the northern line from 3 October to 1 November 2026, and a night in Porto is the better plan. Trains, buses and fares, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Óbidos and Nazaré Day Trip from Lisbon
Nazaré is a FlixBus from Lisbon, 1 hour 25 minutes at the fastest, and Óbidos a Rodoviária do Oeste bus with a stop 100 metres from the walls. Batalha Monastery is €15, and the big waves need a winter swell. On your own, pick one; a tour from £43.05 links Óbidos, Nazaré, Batalha and Fátima in 9 to 10 hours. Checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Fátima Day Trip from Lisbon: Bus, Train or Tour
Fátima is a FlixBus from Lisbon Oriente, 1 hour 20 minutes at the fastest, at least 14 coaches a day, and entry to the Sanctuary is free. The last coach back leaves at 21:15, before the 21:30 rosary and candle procession; the pilgrimages include 12 to 13 May and 12 to 13 October. The bus, the sights and the tours, checked 1 October 2026.
Day trip
Algarve Day Trip from Lisbon: Is Benagil Worth It?
A day trip from Lisbon to the Algarve and the Benagil Cave is a tour of 10 to 12 hours, most of it on the road: the fastest coach to Lagos takes 3 hours 40 minutes. Tours run from £76.02 to £133.25, the cave is entered by boat only, and a night in Lagos gives more time at the coast. Tours, trains, coaches and the cave rules, checked 1 October 2026.
Where to stay
Areas and hotels, chosen for a visitor rather than a resident.
Where to stay
Where to Stay in Lisbon: Areas Compared
For a first visit, stay in Baixa, the flat grid between Rossio and the river, or in Chiado if you can take the hills. Alfama is closest to the castle but has no Metro, Belém suits the Jerónimos Monastery and the Tower, and Avenidas has the shortest ride from the airport. The areas compared on what you can walk to and how you get in from the airport, hotels with addresses read on their own sites, and the €4 a night tourist tax.
Where to stay
Hotels Near Belém: Jerónimos and Belém Tower
The Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower are closed on Mondays and sell timed tickets, and the Tower reopened on 27 May 2026. Stay in Belém and you walk to both. Hotels from 140 m from the Monastery to 365 m from the Tower, with straight-line distances, what each has, and how Belém connects to the centre by tram and train, checked on 1 October 2026.
Where to stay
Lisbon Hotels with a Rooftop Pool: Opening Months
Seven Lisbon hotels say on their own sites that their pool is on the roof: EPIC SANA Lisboa, HF Fénix Music, Lumen, Altis Belém, JAM, Jupiter Lisboa and Lux Lisboa Park. Lumen shuts from 1 November to 30 April, Lux heats its outdoor pool all year, and most pools are for guests only. Addresses, hours and months from each hotel's own site, read on 1 October 2026.
Airport transfers
From the airport to the centre, every option priced and timed.
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Getting around
Tickets, passes and the transport a visitor actually uses.
Getting around
Lisbon Public Transport: Tickets and Navegante Card
A Lisbon Carris/Metro single is €1.90 for 60 minutes, the 24-hour ticket is €7.25, and tapping a bank card at the Metro gate is €1.92 a ride. The old Viva Viagem card is now the Navegante occasional card, €0.50. Only the Graça funicular runs: the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have been out of service since September 2025. Fares in force from 1 January 2026, checked 1 October 2026.
Getting around
Lisbon Cruise Port to City Centre: Metro, Bus, Taxi
Lisbon's main cruise terminal is a 10-minute walk from the centre, beside Santa Apolónia station and the Metro Blue Line, with buses 206, 210, 728, 735, 759 and 794 outside. The Rocha Conde de Óbidos terminal is served by Santos station on the Cascais line. Terminals, fares and what to book, checked 1 October 2026.
Getting around
Tram 28 and Lisbon's Funiculars in 2026
Tram 28 runs from Martim Moniz to Prazeres, but of Lisbon's funiculars and its lift only the Graça funicular is open: the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have been shut since 3 September 2025. What runs, the fares, what happened to tram 28's route and what to take instead, checked 1 October 2026.
What's on, month by month
Festivals, holidays and closures that change a visit.
Events
Best Time to Visit Lisbon, Month by Month
Lisbon month by month from IPMA's 1991 to 2020 averages: highs of 26 to 29°C from June to September, 134 mm of rain in November and 3 mm in July. The public holidays that close Belém and the castle, Web Summit week in November, when hotel rates rose 26.7% in 2025, and what is on in 2026 and 2027.
Events
Santos Populares in Lisbon: Dates, Parade, Closures
Lisbon's June festival peaks on the night of 12 June, with the Marchas Populares parade down Avenida da Liberdade, free, at 21:00 in 2026. 13 June, St Anthony's Day, is a Lisbon holiday that closes the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower. The dates, the Metro hours and the street parties, with 2027's rule.
Events
Christmas in Lisbon: Lights, Markets and Closures
Lisbon's Christmas lights are switched on at Terreiro do Paço on a Saturday in late November: 22 November in 2025. Belém, São Jorge Castle and every Sintra palace shut on 25 December; the Oceanário opens at 11:00. The lighting hours, the Wonderland fair and the closures from 24 December to 1 January.
Events
New Year in Lisbon: Fireworks, Cruises and Closures
New Year's Eve in Lisbon is a free party at Terreiro do Paço with fireworks at midnight; in 2025 it started at 21:30. Two river cruises sell a place on the water, from £64.06. São Jorge Castle and every Sintra palace close on 31 December, the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower on 1 January.
Food and drink
Where to eat, what to order and when to book.
Food and drink
Where to Eat in Lisbon: Tascas, Nata and Seafood
Where to eat in Lisbon, ranked by how many independent sources, in Portuguese and English, name each place: tascas and petiscos, the Portuguese classics, pastel de nata, seafood and a special dinner, with the neighbourhood, the closed days and the one thing that decides a visit, checked 1 October 2026.
Food and drink
Lisbon Food Tours and Cooking Classes Compared
Lisbon food tours from £12.81 for a two-hour walk to £119.58 by tuk-tuk, pastel de nata classes from £46.98, and fado and port evenings from £11.95. The walks, the petiscos crawls, the classes and the fado rooms compared on length, price and what is included, with GetYourGuide prices read on 1 October 2026.
Common questions
What should I book in advance for Lisbon?
Pena Palace in Sintra (a date and time chosen when you buy, with no leeway for lateness) and, in Belém, the Jerónimos Monastery (€18) and Belém Tower (€15), which both close on Mondays and can sell out. The Oceanário, the Castelo de São Jorge and Quinta da Regaleira can be bought online or at the ticket office, subject to availability.
Is Belém Tower open?
Yes. It reopened on 27 May 2026 with timed slots, after its first major works since 1998. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 to 17:30 (last entry 17:00), and closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December.
Does the Lisboa Card get you into Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery?
Only if you win a slot. Card holders must reserve a date and time for each, using the card number, and can do so only after redeeming the voucher for the physical card in Lisbon. Entry depends on the daily capacity set aside for card holders.
Do the Lisbon funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift run?
Only the Graça funicular. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have been out of service since the Glória funicular accident on 3 September 2025.
How much is the tourist tax in Lisbon?
€4 per person per night for up to 7 nights, so at most €28, for guests aged 13 and over. Your accommodation adds it to the bill.
How do I get from Lisbon airport to the centre?
The Metro Red Line from the airport costs €1.90 on a Navegante occasional card (€0.50, bought once). Change at Alameda for Rossio and Baixa-Chiado, or at São Sebastião for Marquês de Pombal and Restauradores. A fixed-price taxi voucher from the Askme Lisboa desk in the arrivals hall is €16 to central Lisbon by day and €19.20 at night, on weekends and holidays.