Lisbon Travel Guide
Three Days in Lisbon
The first-timer itinerary that books the timed slots in the right order — Jerónimos and Belém Tower on day one, the castle and Alfama on day two, Pena Palace on day three — and fills the gaps with viewpoints, custard tarts and fado.
Lisbon is compact on a map and exhausting on foot, because almost everything worth seeing sits on or between its hills. The trick to three good days is to group the sights by area, book the handful of things that need booking, and accept that you will spend part of each day going up and down. Here is the plan that works for most first-timers: Belém and the riverside on day one, the castle, Alfama and the Baixa on day two, and Sintra on day three, with evenings for viewpoints, dinners and fado.
Before you fly: the booking cascade. Three bookings matter. First, the Pena Palace in Sintra: the interior can only be visited with a ticket for a specific date and time, and if you miss your slot you lose your entry, so choose a mid-morning slot on day three. Second, the Jerónimos Monastery cloister, which uses timed entry and sells out in busy periods. Third, Belém Tower, which reopened in May 2026 after a year of restoration with a new system of timed half-hourly slots; a combined ticket with Jerónimos is the simplest choice. Both Belém monuments are closed on Mondays, so do not put day one on a Monday. Optionally, book São Jorge Castle online to skip the ticket queue, and reserve a table at a fado house for the evening of day two.
Getting around. Buy a rechargeable navegante card at any metro station and load it with credit, or buy a 24-hour ticket for buses, trams and metro; both are cheaper than paying the driver. The Lisboa Card bundles transport with free entry to many museums and monuments and can pay off on a dense sightseeing day. Note that several of the historic hill lifts are out of action: the Glória funicular has been closed since its fatal crash in September 2025, and the Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa lift were also closed pending inspection as of late 2026. Plan to walk, ride the trams, or take a taxi up the hills.
Day one — Belém and the river. Take tram 15 or the train from Cais do Sodré to Belém, arriving for opening time at the Jerónimos Monastery. See the free church first — the tombs of Vasco da Gama and Camões, the palm-tree columns — then your timed cloister slot. Walk across the gardens to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the giant monument to the navigators, and along the riverside to Belém Tower for your slot. Climb the narrow spiral stair to the roof terrace for the view of the Tagus. On the way back, stop at Pastéis de Belém for warm custard tarts; walk past the takeaway queue and sit inside. In the afternoon, return to Cais do Sodré for a late lunch at the Time Out Market, then walk along the riverfront to Praça do Comércio. Go up the Rua Augusta Arch for the view over the Baixa, and stay for sunset on the Cais das Colunas steps. Dinner in the Baixa or the Chiado.
Day two — the castle, Alfama and the old city. Take tram 28 or a taxi up to São Jorge Castle for opening time, and spend two hours on the walls, the terrace and the archaeological site. Walk down to the Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol for the view over Alfama, then lose yourself in the lanes going downhill. Stop at the Lisbon Cathedral on the way down if it is not a Sunday, and have lunch in a small tasca. In the afternoon, visit the Fado Museum at the bottom of Alfama to understand what you will hear later. If you have energy left, take tram 28 west through the Baixa to the Chiado for a coffee in the old cafés, then walk up to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara for the light on the castle. In the evening, return to Alfama for dinner with fado.
Day three — Sintra. Take an early train from Rossio station to Sintra, about forty minutes, then the bus up to the Pena Palace for your timed slot. Explore the palace interior and terraces, then walk in the park, perhaps up to the Cruz Alta viewpoint. Head down to the old town for lunch and a travesseiro pastry. In the afternoon, choose one more site, not three: Quinta da Regaleira with its initiation well and grottoes, or the Moorish Castle's ramparts. Return to Lisbon by train in the early evening. If you would rather not manage the logistics, a guided day trip handles the transport and often adds Cabo da Roca and Cascais on the coast. Back in Lisbon, have a relaxed dinner near your hotel.
If you have a fourth day. Spend it on the museums and the modern city: the Gulbenkian Museum's superb collection, the National Tile Museum, the Oceanário de Lisboa and the Expo-era riverfront at Parque das Nações, or a slow day in Príncipe Real and the LX Factory. Or take the train along the coast to Cascais for the beaches.
Where to base yourself for this plan. The Baixa, the Chiado and the area around Praça do Comércio put you at the centre of the transport network, with the trains to Belém and Sintra, the metro and the main tram lines within a walk. Alfama is more atmospheric but hillier, and the Avenida da Liberdade is calmer and close to the metro. Whichever you choose, check the walk to the nearest metro or tram stop before booking, and remember that a hotel on a hill is wonderful for views and harder at the end of a long day.
The honest adjustments. With small children, swap the fado night for the Oceanário and keep Sintra to Pena and its park. In the heat of July and August, start every day early, rest in the middle of the day and save the viewpoints for the evening. In winter, sunset comes in the late afternoon, so put outdoor sights first and museums later. And whatever the season, leave one unhurried afternoon on a café terrace or a viewpoint with a glass of wine: that is when Lisbon reveals itself.