In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Day 1: Baixa, Alfama and São Jorge Castle, then fado. Day 2: Belém, with the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, then the river. Day 3: Sintra, with Pena Palace at an afternoon slot. Book two things before you fly: Pena Palace (you pick a date and time when you buy, and arriving late means being turned away) and the Belém monuments (€18 and €15, both closed on Mondays and, the operator says, often sold out on the day). With a Monday in your three days, make it Day 1 or Day 3. Or book a tour: the Belém and Jerónimos Monastery tourad (from £58.94, 3 hours) and the Sintra tour with ticketsad (from £58.08, 9 hours) include a guide; on your own, the official tickets are cheaper.
Before you go: what to book
Prices from each operator’s own page, 1 October 2026.
| Booking | Book | Price | Closed on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pena Palace, Essential Visit | You choose a date and time when you buy; afternoon is quieter | €20 | 24 and 25 December, 31 December and 1 January |
| Jerónimos Monastery | Once your dates are fixed; the operator says it often sells out | €18 | Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June, 25 December |
| Belém Tower | Once your dates are fixed; timed slots since it reopened on 27 May 2026 | €15 | The same days as the Monastery |
| São Jorge Castle | Online or at the ticket office | €17 | 1 January, 1 May, 24, 25 and 31 December |
The Oceanário (€25.50 to €29.90 by time slot) is on the fourth-day plan at the end. The Lisboa Card makes Belém free but cannot book it before you have the card in your hand: you collect the physical card in Lisbon, then reserve the slots from a limited daily allocation (Visit Lisboa shop, 1 October 2026).
Fitting the plan to your dates
- If your three days include a Monday, make it Day 1 or Day 3. Belém is closed, and the castle and Sintra are open.
- From 1 November to the end of February São Jorge Castle closes at 18:00 (last admission 17:30) and the towers at 17:30; from 1 March to 31 October it is open to 21:00. Start Day 1 early in winter.
- The funiculars are shut. Walk or take a tram between Baixa and Chiado; the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have been out of service since 3 September 2025.
- At Christmas, New Year or on 13 June, Belém and the castle can be shut; see Christmas in Lisbon, New Year in Lisbon and Santos Populares, and best time to visit Lisbon for the weather.
- On a Metro strike day the whole network can stop: the general strikes on 11 December 2025 and 3 June 2026 did. Keep a taxi as the backup, and see Lisbon public transport.
Day 1: Baixa, Alfama and the castle
Baixa and Alfama
On foot, from Rossio or Baixa-Chiado Metro · 3 hours with a guide
Start in Baixa, the flat grid between Rossio and the river, and walk to Praça do Comércio and back up Rua Augusta. Then climb into Alfama, the steep old quarter below the castle. Tuk-tuks cannot enter 337 streets of the old town, in force since 1 April 2025 (Lisboa para Pessoas), so the lanes are for walkers. With a guide, the Best of Lisbon walking tour: Rossio, Chiado and Alfamaad (from £18.79, 4.9 stars from 3,353 reviews, 3 hours) covers it, and the Alfama and Mouraria e-bike tourad (from £21.35, 4.8 stars from 3,849 reviews, 3 hours) takes the hills for you.
The Rua Augusta Arch on Praça do Comércio. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
São Jorge Castle
Open daily · €17 · 9:00 to 21:00 in summer, to 18:00 in winter
The ticket includes a guided “Discovering the Castle” tour of up to an hour, and a Camera Obscura tour of about 20 minutes, weather permitting; the archaeological site opens only with the guided tour. Buy online or at the office, and queue in the Lisboa Card lane if you hold one. To reach it, take bus 737 from Praça da Figueira, or tram 28E to Santa Luzia or Portas do Sol and walk five minutes; the castle puts the walk from Rossio Metro at 11 minutes, uphill (castelodesaojorge.pt, 1 October 2026). The e-ticket with audio guidead is from £21.22 (4.3 stars from 2,644 reviews), more than the €17 official price.
Fado
Evening · 50 minutes · from £11.95
Fado is sung in small rooms in Alfama and Chiado. The fado show with winead is from £16.35 (4.8 stars from 7,138 reviews, 50 minutes), and the traditional fado and port winead from £11.95 (4.7 stars from 5,689 reviews). For a longer evening, Lisbon food tours and fado evenings compares them; the food and wine small-group walking tourad (from £59.79, 4.9 stars from 5,081 reviews, 3 hours).
Day 2: Belém and the river
The Jerónimos Monastery
Tuesday to Sunday · €18 · the cloister opens 9:30, last entry 17:00 · closed Mondays
Book the earliest slot. The operator says tickets often sell out and cannot be bought on the day, and provides no audio guides. The church opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30, and on Sundays from 14:00. To reach Belém, take tram 15E from Praça da Figueira or Cais do Sodré to Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, or a CP train from Cais do Sodré; there is no Metro. With a guide, the Belém and Jerónimos Monastery tourad (from £58.94, 4.9 stars from 1,276 reviews, 3 hours) adds an optional Tower or boat; the Monastery tickets with a guided tourad are from £37.58 (4.9 stars from 272 reviews). See hotels near Belém if you would rather sleep beside it.
The Jerónimos Monastery church, seen from the south. Photo: NorbertNagel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Belém Tower
Tuesday to Sunday · €15 · 9:30 to 17:30, last entry 17:00 · timed slots
The Tower stands on the river, 1.2 km from the Monastery in a straight line. It reopened on 27 May 2026 after conservation works, the first major works since 1998, with entry in timed slots, and the operator can close it when the weather makes it unsafe (mosteirojeronimos.torrebelem.gov.pt, 1 October 2026). Book the Tower for the afternoon, after the Monastery.
Belém Tower, from the riverside promenade. Photo: Berthold Werner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The river, in the evening
Cruise 1½ hours · from £12.82 · sunset sailing from £29.04
Return to Cais do Sodré for a cruise on the Tagus. The Tagus river cruise with a welcome drinkad is from £12.82 (4.3 stars from 6,349 reviews, 1½ hours), and the sailboat sunset tourad from £29.04 (4.9 stars from 1,634 reviews, 2 hours).
Day 3: Sintra and Pena Palace
Pena Palace
Palace 9:30 to 18:30 · Essential Visit €20 · park only €12 · timed slot
Book the afternoon slot and spend the morning in the park. The time on your ticket is the time you enter the palace, with no leeway: arrive late and you are turned away without a refund. Allow 30 minutes from the park gate to the palace, or buy the €4.50 return transfer with the ticket. You can change the slot online until 18:00 the day before (parquesdesintra.pt, 1 October 2026).
Getting there
CP train from Rossio, Entrecampos or Oriente · about 40 minutes · €5.10 return
On your own (the Sintra day trip guide has the buses and the other palaces), the train is €5.10 return, Scotturb’s 24-hour ticket for the 434 and 435 buses is €13.50 (sintra434.com), Pena is €20 and the Moorish Castle €12: about €51 in all. The Viver Sintra: Palácios Reais ticket, €42, covers Pena, the National Palace of Sintra and the 434 and 435 buses for 24 hours, against €46.50 bought separately. Since 8 July 2026 tour coaches stop outside the historic centre. The Sintra tour with ticketsad (from £58.08, 4.9 stars from 1,888 reviews, 9 hours) takes in Pena, Cascais and Cabo da Roca with entry included, and the Sintra, Pena, Regaleira and Cascais coast tourad (from £20.67, 4.7 stars from 24,221 reviews, 9½ hours) is the biggest seller.
If you have more time
With less, Lisbon in one day picks the sights for one day. A fourth day could be the Oceanário in Parque das Nações: the Red Line to Oriente, open daily 10:00 to 20:00 with last entry at 19:00, €29.90 in the morning slot and €25.50 in the late-afternoon one, and 1½ to 2 hours inside (oceanario.pt, 1 October 2026). The Oceanário entry ticketad is from £21.78 (4.6 stars from 11,578 reviews). Cascais is 38 to 40 minutes by train from Cais do Sodré; Évora, Óbidos and Nazaré, Fátima and Porto are the longer day trips, all compared in day trips from Lisbon.
For the airport, see Lisbon airport to the city centre, and from a ship, Lisbon cruise port to the city centre; for where to eat, where to eat in Lisbon; for where to sleep, where to stay in Lisbon; and for every booking and closing day, what to book before you go in Lisbon.
Common questions
Is 3 days enough for Lisbon?
Enough for the old town and São Jorge Castle, Belém with the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, and a day in Sintra at Pena Palace. A fourth day buys the Oceanário in Parque das Nações or another day trip.
What should I book for 3 days in Lisbon?
Pena Palace in Sintra (you choose a date and time when you buy, with no leeway for lateness), and the Jerónimos Monastery (€18) and Belém Tower (€15), which the operator says often sell out and cannot be bought on the day. São Jorge Castle (€17) can be bought online or at the office.
Which days should I avoid for Belém?
Mondays: the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower are closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. Put Belém on a Tuesday to Sunday.
Can I use the Glória funicular or the Santa Justa Lift in Lisbon?
No. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have been out of service since the Glória accident on 3 September 2025. Only the Graça funicular runs.
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