Three days is the perfect first taste of Lisbon: enough to get pleasantly lost in Alfama's lanes and catch the light from a miradouro, a proper morning in Belém among the monuments of the Age of Discoveries, and one unmissable day trip to the candy-coloured palaces of Sintra. The centre is walkable but hilly, so you'll lean on trams, funiculars and the metro — and your budget goes into pastéis de nata, grilled sardines and long riverside evenings rather than taxis. This plan keeps one day for the old quarters, one for Belém and the river, and one for Sintra or the Atlantic coast.
March to May and September to October are the sweet spots — warm, sunny days, jacarandas or a still-swimmable sea, and thinner crowds. June to August is peak: brighter, busier and pricier, though the Atlantic breeze keeps Lisbon milder than inland Spain. Winter is mild and green with the occasional Atlantic storm, and the cheapest beds of the year.
Lisbon's hills are best handled by its tram, funicular and metro network — load a Viva Viagem card or buy a 24-hour Carris ticket for trams, buses, funiculars and the Santa Justa lift, far cheaper than single fares. Tram 28 is the scenic ride through the old quarters (go early; it doubles as the pickpocket ride). The airport is a cheap metro hop from the centre, and CP trains run from Rossio and Cais do Sodré to Sintra in about 40 minutes and Cascais in about 35. Watch your feet on the calçada — those beautiful porcelain cobbles are lethal when wet.
Morning
Castle ~€15 · Alfama free
Start high at the Castelo de São Jorge, the old Moorish hilltop fortress whose walls give the best panorama over the red-tiled roofs and the Tagus — the peacocks roaming the ramparts are a bonus. Then drop downhill into Alfama, Lisbon's oldest quarter, a tumble of laundry-draped lanes, azulejo-tiled walls and hidden staircases where getting lost is the whole point.
Castelo de São Jorge, LisbonAfternoon
Tram ~€3.70 or day pass · Sé treasury ~€2.50
Flag down the yellow Tram 28 near the castle and let it clatter down through Alfama, Baixa and Graça — the great introduction to the city, so ride it early to dodge the crowds. Hop off at the Sé, Lisbon Cathedral, a squat Romanesque fortress that survived the 1755 earthquake, and pop into its treasury before wandering back into the old town.
Tram 28, LisbonEvening
Miradouro free · fado dinner €25–€45
As the sun drops, claim a spot on a tiled miradouro — Portas do Sol or Santa Luzia — for the golden light on the rooftops and the river. Then stay in Alfama for dinner with live fado, the mournful Portuguese guitar that gives the city its soul; the little family taverns here are more intimate than the big houses in Bairro Alto.
Miradouro de Santa Luzia, LisbonMorning
Jerónimos ~€10 · tower ~€8 · pastéis ~€1.30 each
Take the tram or train west to Belém, the riverside quarter of the Age of Discoveries. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is a UNESCO masterpiece of carved Manueline stonework built on spice-trade money, and the fortified Torre de Belém once guarded the harbour where the caravels set sail. Then queue — briefly, gratefully — at the 1837 Pastéis de Belém for a warm custard tart dusted with cinnamon.
Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, LisbonAfternoon
MAAT ~€9 · LX Factory free
Follow the Tagus east along the waterfront to the futuristic MAAT museum and the buzz of LX Factory, a converted thread mill now packed with shops, a wall of books and easy lunch terraces. If you'd rather see fish than factories, the Oceanarium at Parque das Nações — one of Europe's best — is a short metro ride north as an alternative.
LX Factory, LisbonEvening
Santa Justa lift ~€6 · dinner €20–€40
Cross back to the grand riverside Praça do Comércio, where the city opens to the water under the Rua Augusta arch, and walk the neat Pombaline grid of the rebuilt Baixa. Ride the iron Santa Justa lift for the view, then eat and drink in the lanes of Cais do Sodré and Bairro Alto as the night begins.
Praça do Comércio, LisbonMorning
Train return ~€5 · Pena ~€14 · Regaleira ~€12
Take the CP train from Rossio (about 40 minutes) to Sintra, a fairy-tale hill town of palaces in the mist. The candy-coloured Pena Palace crowns the peak, the Quinta da Regaleira hides its spiralling initiation well in the woods, and the Moorish Castle walls snake along the ridge. Book Pena online for a timed slot and use the 434 bus or a tuk-tuk to hop between sights.
Pena Palace, SintraAfternoon
Train ~€5 · market lunch €12–€20
Either ride the same coastal line on to Cascais for its Atlantic beaches, old citadel and grilled seafood, or return to Lisbon for the ground floor of the Time Out Market — the city's best cooks under one roof — and a last coffee. Either way, keep it light ahead of a proper Portuguese send-off.
Cascais, PortugalEvening
Drinks €5–€10 · dinner €20–€40
Finish the way Lisbon does: a drink on the cobbled, lantern-lit steps of Bairro Alto or one last miradouro at dusk, then a final dinner of grilled sardines, bacalhau or a petisco board with a glass of vinho verde or a Porto. It's the easy, golden goodbye the city makes so easy.
Bairro Alto, LisbonMid-range estimate: a good 3–4 star hotel just inside the centre, one sit-down dinner plus a market or daily-lunch menu, the major monument and castle tickets, and a Sintra or Cascais train day trip. Excluding flights, three days lands around €330–€690. Dorm beds and lunch menus halve it; a boutique hotel in Chiado or private tours roughly double it. Tipping is light — round up a coffee, leave 5–10% at dinner.
Estimated daily total
€110–€230 per person, per day
| Season | Typical range | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Spring (Mar–May) | 10–22°C / 50–72°F | Mild, sunny and in bloom — the loveliest months, with warm days, cool evenings and jacarandas in late spring. |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | 16–29°C / 61–84°F | Warm, dry and bright with very long days; peak crowds and prices, but the ocean breeze keeps it kinder than inland Spain. |
| Autumn (Sep–Nov) | 13–24°C / 55–75°F | The sea stays swimmable into October, the crowds thin and the light turns golden — an excellent, underrated window. |
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | 8–15°C / 46–59°F | Mild and green, occasionally blustery with Atlantic rain; low prices, short queues and a festive Christmas. |
SmartVoyage shows the live forecast, or seasonal averages for far-off dates, next to every day of a generated itinerary.
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