The Ultimate guide to visit
Lisbon in 4 days
By Two World Backpackers
Are you thinking of making a getaway to Lisbon and want to know what you cannot miss? In this blog post, I will tell you about the tour I did with my family when we visited Lisbon in four days.
Lisbon was the last stop on our vacation in Portugal for 15 days, and if you want to more about what we visited on those fifteen days in Portugal, you can read more about that trip here.
Table of Contents
How to move around the city
The first thing you should take into account is how to move around in this city. For this we recommend you to get a VIVA VIAGEM or 7 COLINAS card (they are the same but the design varies) for public transport, they also only cost € 0.50 and you can top them up as many times as you need.
Another option is to get a travel plan that lasts 24 hours and costs € 6.40. But this option includes the metro, bus, tram or if you prefer to include ferries as well, the price will be € 9.55.
You can buy them at any kiosk, tobacco shop, metro station, etc. But it is definitely worth buying one since the prices without using this card are exorbitant and for example, there are trams that cost € 4 simply for 1km of journey.
FIRST DAY: Plaza Del comercio, Cathedral, San George’s Castle and Alfama’s neighbourhood.
Our first stop was the Praça do Comércio, which is the most famous square in Lisbon and where it was located the Royal Palace until it was destroyed by the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake. However, the Marquis of Pombal decided to rebuild it in a U-shape, and in it, you can see the Triumphal Arch of Ria Augusta, which you can climb to take panoramic photos) and the equestrian statue of José I in the centre of the square.
Then we took a walk along the longest pedestrian street in the city, and the main one in the Baixa neighborhood that leads to Praça do Rossio. In this street, you will find all kinds of shops, restaurants, and cafes.
On this street, you will also find Santa Justas’s lift. It is a neo-gothic style elevator that connects the Baixa Pombalina and Chiado neighbourhoods to which we go up to enjoy beautiful views; Now, we did it without paying since the entrance fee to go up two floors costs € 5.15, and to enter the viewpoint €1.50. Therefore we went through the back of the elevator to Praça do Carmo and went up to the first terrace for free. There is also a bar very close by where you can enjoy a coffee or a beer and the typical cake with cream with beautiful views of Lisbon.
Then we headed to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Maior, which is the oldest in the city, being modified several times, and having survived several earthquakes, it has a mixture of different architectural styles.
If you want to visit it, it is open every day from 09:00 to 19:00 and on Sundays until 20:00. The entrance to the cathedral is free, however, if you want to enter the cloisters, the price is € 2.50, and the ascent to the treasure is €2.50 as well. Students or people with youth cards are on luck as if you are a student or have a youth card, you have a 50% discount!
After the cathedral, we went to what it was my favourite part of the day, watching the sunset at St. George’s Castle. We recommend you sit on the walls and enjoy the beautiful views that offer this place.
You can find the castle on the hill of St George, which played an important role in the history of Lisbon, having served as a location for fortifications successively occupied by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Moors before being conquered in 1477 by the Portuguese in the siege of Lisbon.
On the other hand, if you like to visit the castle, the entrance fee is €10 for adults; €8.50 for those over 65 years old; €5 for young people from 13 to 25 years old, and free entry for children up to 12 years old.
We ended the day wandering around the Alfama neighbourhood, which is one of the oldest boroughs in Lisbon and, despite tourism, maintains its traditional atmosphere with clothes hanging on the windows, narrow stairs, flowers, and particular corners that I liked a lot. It is also a perfect place for enjoying a good beer or having dinner accompanied by traditional Portuguese music on its numberless terraces.
SECOND DAY: Free tour, Ruins of the Do Carmo Monastery, Church of Sao Domingo the cursed and viewpoints.
If you would like to know a little more about the history of the city you visit, curious facts or tips about places that are not as touristy as we are, we recommend you take a free tour.
We did one through the Chiado neighborhood, lasting two and a half hours, where we learned a little more about the history of the most touristic spots in Lisbon.
The starting point was the sculpture by Fernando Pessoa, where legend has it that if you sit next to him, you will return to Lisbon.
So now you know, don’t forget to sit next to the statue of the poet!
Behind the statue, there is one of the oldest coffee shops in Lisbon, La Brasileira, which the poet used to frequent.
To eat, we recommend going to the central market, which offers a great variety of food, although we found it a bit overwhelming due to the amount of people there.
After lunch, we went to see the Ruins of the Do Carmo Monastery located on one side of the Carmo Convent. The convent church was the largest Gothic church in the city, and on the day of the earthquake, it held many religious people who went to this church to pray for it to end but, the building gave way, and many people lost their lives.
The opening hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and during summer, it closes one hour later. The ticket price is €4 per person for adults; €3 for students, and free admission for those under 14 years of age.
From here, we went to visit the Church of Sao Domingo the cursed located very close to Rossio Square. It is a beautiful church with a tragic history.
In the Inquisition’s history, it was the site of the 1506 Lisbon Massacre, also known as the 1506 Easter Massacre, where hundreds of people accused of being Jews were persecuted, tortured, and killed. Right in front of this church, you will see a monument to remember the event.
Did you know that this church has been destroyed many times during its history?
The earthquake of 1531 damaged it, and the earthquake and tsunami of 1755 destroyed almost all of it. However, it was rebuilt, and years later, in 1959, there was a great fire that killed two firefighters.
To end the day, we went to the viewpoints of Santa Lucia and Das Portas do Sol connected by some stairs, and where we enjoyed another point of view of the city. There are also craft markets where you can buy souvenirs.
THIRD DAY: Jerónimos de Belem Monastery, the monument to the discoverers, Belem Tower and a walk through the Moreira Neighbourhood.
If your trip to Lisbon is in high season, I recommend you to get up early on the third day to visit the Belem neighbourhood. Of course, plan your visit to this area well since the monuments are closed every Monday.
We start with the Jerónimos Monastery. I recommend you arrive half an hour before the opening to queue, since it can be a very long line.
The Monastery was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983, and constitutes one of the main examples of Manueline architecture in Portugal. It was commissioned by King Manuel I of Portugal to commemorate Vasco Gama’s return from India.
How to get there?
To get to the monastery you can use the tram 15 Mosteiro Dos Jerónimos or Bus 728 Mosteiro Dos Jerónimos.
Schedule:
- Closed every Monday.
- From October to April: from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- From May to September: from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Prices:
- With the Lisbon Card the entry is free
- Free entry on the first Sunday of each month.
- 50% discount if you have the Youth Card
- Free entry for children under 12 years old
- Entrance to the Jerónimos Monastery + Belem Tower: € 12
- Entrance to the Jerónimos Monastery + National Archaeological Museum: € 12
- Entrance to the Monastery + Museum + Belem Tower: € 16
We chose the combined ticket to the Monastery and the Archaeological Museum. Something I did not like about the Monastery, is that we had to queue twice. The first one when we arrive at 9:00 a.m. to enter, and then once inside, you can go to see the museum or, as we did, visit the cloister. I advise you to climb some stairs that you will see to get to the viewpoint and see the chapel from above.
However, to see it from below, you have to leave the Monastery and queue again to enter where I already lost track of time.
In other words, you have to queue to visit the monastery, and then again to see the chapel in it. Of course, it is beautiful, and it’s worth a visit if you travel to Lisbon.
After the monastery, if you are a little hungry, I recommend you to enjoy the typical Portuguese cakes in the Pastéis de Belém pastry coffee shop. It is delicious! It also appears that they use a secret recipe that only a few of their workers know about it.
The next point of our visit was the Monument to the Discoverers. Built-in the shape of a ship’s prow to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator in 1960.
Schedule:
- Closed every Monday, January 1, May 1, and December 25.
- From October to February: from 10: 00h – 18: 00h
- From March to September: from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Prices:
- 20% discount with the Lisbon Card.
- Free entry for children under 12 years old.
- Young people from 13 to 25 years old: € 3
- Adults: € 6
- Over 65s: € 5
Finally, we arrived at the Belem Tower, an old military construction in the Manueline style declared a World Heritage Site in 1983.
One of its most curious decorative elements is the figure of a rhinoceros on its west façade, referring to the Asian rhinoceros that the governor of the Portuguese India sent to King Manuel I. This figure caused great expectations in Lisbon since then, plenty of Europeans were unaware of the existence of this animal.
Schedule:
- Closed every Monday, January 1, Easter Sunday, May 1 and December 25.
- From May to September: from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- From October to April: from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Prices:
- Free entry with the Lisbon Card.
- Free entry on the first Sunday of the month.
- Adults: € 6
- Free entrance for those under 12 years of age, disabled, and citizens accredited as unemployed of the European Union.
- 50% discount if you have the Youth Card, for those over 65 and families made up of parents and two children.
- Combined ticket to the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belem Tower: € 12
- Combined ticket to the Monastery + the Tower + the Archaeological Museum: € 16
If you prefer not to enter and the weather is also good, you can also enjoy the views in the beautiful park in front of the tower as we did.
In the afternoon, we walked through the streets of the Moreira Neighbourhood. Here, the “mourns” who dominated the city found the last stronghold for their survival in Lisbon during the Middle Ages just after the reconquest of the Christians that ended with the taking of St Georges’ Castle.
FOURTH DAY: Day trip to Sintra or Lisbon’s Expo 98
For the last day, I propose two options. You can visit Sintra or Lisbon’s Expo 98.
We chose the expo because local people advised us not to go to Sintra since it was the middle of August, and the queues are endless in high season. So we left it for the next time we come to Portugal.
In any case, if you decide to visit Sintra, here is how to get there and the entrance prices:
How to get there?
- By bus:with lines 403 and 417 of the Scotturb bus company that will take you to Sintra from Cascais. Line 418 will take you to Sintra from Estoril.
- By train from Lisbon: You can go from the Oriente Station (red metro line), Sete Rios (Zoo Garden, blue metro line) or from Rossio (Restorers, blue metro line as well; it is the most used). It is a direct journey of approximately 35 minutes.
- If you want to go by car,you should bear in mind that parking in the historic area of Sintra is very limited, and tends to fill up easily. We recommend going by train or bus.
If you want more information about the schedules and prices of the different parks and palaces in Sintra, have a look at the website here.
You can visit the National Park and The Pena Palace; the Park and The Monserrate Palace; the National Palace and Queluz Gardens, and the National Palace of Sintra, among others.
By the way, if you go, don’t forget to tell us if you liked it!
If, on the other hand, you decide to visit Lisbon’s Expo 98, you cannot miss the second largest aquarium in Europe with five marine environments and numerous species of mammals and fish, called the Lisbon Oceanarium.
Located in the park of nations, which is a modern, lively area with many open spaces. Also, in this complex, you will find the Gare do Oriente, which is the major train/bus/metro station.
Besides the Oceanarium, I also recommend visiting the Vasco Gama Tower, which has an incredible viewpoint; the Vasco Gama Bridge, which is the longest bridge in Europe at 18km long; and the Water Gardens.
In my opinion, Lisbon is a beautiful city that can get a bit overwhelming in high season and whose public transport seemed to me being a bit poorly organized. However, I want to go back to this beautiful city in the low season.
So far, the Lisbon itinerary in four days. What do you think? Leave us a comment below.
