Three days in Lisbon is enough to see the old center, spend a full day in Sintra and finish in Belém without rushing. Spend day one in Baixa and Alfama with São Jorge Castle and a ride on tram 28, day two in Sintra by train for Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle, and day three in Belém before an evening in LX Factory and Bairro Alto. Expect to spend about EUR 82 per adult on entry tickets and about EUR 30 on transport across the three days, using 2026 prices we checked against the operators’ own sites.
Lisbon in 3 days at a glance
| Day | Area | Main sights | Paid entries (adult, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baixa, Alfama, Graça | Praça do Comércio, Sé, Miradouro de Santa Luzia, São Jorge Castle, tram 28, fado | Castle EUR 17 |
| 2 | Sintra | Pena Palace and park, Moorish Castle, Sintra town, optional Quinta da Regaleira | Pena EUR 20, Moorish Castle EUR 12 |
| 3 | Belém, Alcântara, Bairro Alto | Jerónimos Monastery, Belém Tower, Pastéis de Belém, LX Factory, Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara | Jerónimos EUR 18, Belém Tower EUR 15 |
Add a fado show or a food tour and you have a full trip. The Lisbon and Sintra map on Guidez (in Hebrew) pins Sintra’s palaces and Lisbon’s viewpoints and lanes, so you can see the plan on one screen.
What changed in Lisbon in 2025 and 2026
Several things older guides still get wrong:
- The historic lifts are closed. After the Glória funicular derailed on 3 September 2025, Carris stopped the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift. A year later, in September 2026, none of the four had a confirmed reopening date, and Carris plans to replace Glória with a new lift in the first half of 2029. The separate Graça funicular reopened on 30 April 2026.
- Belém Tower reopened. It closed for about a year of restoration and reopened on 27 May 2026 with phased entry: 60 people every half hour, 900 a day.
- Pena Palace has two main ticket levels. The Essential visit (park and palace) costs EUR 20, and a Complete visit with more of the interior costs EUR 45.
- Fares went up on 1 January 2026. The prices below are the new ones.
Carris has split tram 28 at Largo Camões more than once since November 2025, with buses or minibuses covering the Campo de Ourique end. Check Carris service changes before you plan a full end-to-end ride.
How to get around Lisbon: 2026 fares
Buy a reusable navegante occasional card (EUR 0.50) at any metro station machine and load it with single tickets, Zapping credit or a 24-hour ticket. Paying on board costs much more on trams.
| Ticket | Price (2026) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Tram ticket bought on board | EUR 3.30 | One tram ride |
| Bus ticket bought on board | EUR 2.30 | One bus ride |
| Carris/Metro single on navegante | EUR 1.90 | One journey on the whole Carris and Metro network within 1 hour |
| Zapping (stored credit) | EUR 1.72 per trip | Pay-as-you-go on the same card |
| 24-hour Carris/Metro | EUR 7.25 | Unlimited buses, trams and metro |
| 24-hour Carris/Metro/CP | EUR 11.40 | Adds CP urban trains, including the Sintra and Cascais lines |
Sources: the Metro de Lisboa 2026 fare sheet and CP’s 24-hour ticket page. The 24-hour Carris/Metro ticket beats single tickets from four rides in a day (five if you use Zapping), which is easy on day one.
Lisbon is steep and the lifts are out of action, so wear shoes with grip. The limestone pavements get slippery when it rains.
From the airport to the center
The metro’s red line starts at Aeroporto station, right outside arrivals. Change to the green line at Alameda for Rossio, Baixa-Chiado and Cais do Sodré, or to the blue line at São Sebastião for Restauradores. One Carris/Metro single (EUR 1.90 on a navegante card) covers the whole trip, because it’s valid for an hour across the network. With big suitcases, a taxi or ride-hailing car is simpler, since several central metro stations involve long stairways and the Baixa streets are cobbled.
Day 1: Baixa, Alfama, the castle and tram 28
Morning. Start at Praça do Comércio on the river and walk up Rua Augusta through the grid of Baixa to Rossio square. Take the metro or walk to Martim Moniz and board tram 28 at its first stop, ideally before 9 am when queues are short. Ride it up through Graça and get off near Largo das Portas do Sol. Keep bags zipped and in front of you, because tram 28 is a known pickpocket spot.
Late morning. From Portas do Sol, the Miradouro de Santa Luzia looks over Alfama’s rooftops to the Tagus. Walk uphill to São Jorge Castle, where an adult ticket costs EUR 17 (EUR 8.50 for ages 13 to 25). Give it at least 90 minutes for the walls and the views west over Baixa.
Afternoon. Wander down through Alfama’s lanes to the Sé, Lisbon’s cathedral. If you’d rather taste your way through the old quarters with someone who knows the family-run spots, the Alfama, Mouraria and Baixa food tour fills an afternoon with tastings and history. In the late afternoon, head up to the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte in Graça, one of the highest viewpoints in the city, for sunset.
Evening. Alfama is the home of fado. For a short, seated show rather than a long dinner, book the live fado show at Casa Lundum in Alfama, which includes a glass of port and sits a few minutes’ walk from the Sé.
Day 2: Sintra day trip from Lisbon
Sintra is the day most people get wrong, mainly by arriving late and queuing for buses. Leave Lisbon by 8:30 am.
How to get to Sintra by train
CP urban trains run from Rossio station (in central Lisbon, by Restauradores) to Sintra, the end of the line, in about 40 minutes. A single costs EUR 2.55 at 2026 fares, loaded onto a navegante card. If you’ll use the 434 bus in Sintra, CP’s Train & Bus day ticket (EUR 14) covers the train plus Scotturb buses 434 and 435 for the whole day, which is cheaper than paying for them separately.
How to get from Sintra station to Pena Palace
Private cars can’t drive up to Pena or the Moorish Castle. You have three choices:
- Bus 434, run by Scotturb, loops from Sintra station through the town to the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace. A 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket costs about EUR 13.50, a little less online, and buses leave roughly every 10 minutes from 8:50 am.
- Walk. The Santa Maria trail from São Pedro de Sintra takes about an hour uphill, and the Villa Sassetti trail from the town center about 45 minutes.
- Join a tour from Lisbon that handles transport, like this Sintra, Pena, Regaleira, Cabo da Roca and Cascais day trip. Check which option includes palace tickets.
Sintra ticket prices in 2026
| Site | Adult ticket | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pena, Essential visit (park and palace) | EUR 20 | Park 9 am to 7 pm, palace 9:30 am to 6:30 pm | Timed palace entry |
| Pena, Complete visit | EUR 45 | Same | More of the palace interior |
| Pena park only | EUR 12 | 9 am to 7 pm | No palace entry |
| Moorish Castle | EUR 12 | 9:30 am to 6 pm | Last entry 5:30 pm |
| National Palace of Sintra (essential) | EUR 13 | 9:30 am to 6:30 pm | In the town center |
| Quinta da Regaleira | about EUR 15 | Varies by season | Separate operator, timed tickets |
Prices are from Parques de Sintra, checked October 2026. Youth tickets (6 to 17) and senior tickets (65+) are cheaper, and under-6s go free.
Book Pena first, because the palace slot sets the shape of your day. You can buy on the Parques de Sintra site or through the Pena Palace and Park entrance ticket on GetYourGuide, which sends the official dated ticket by separate email.
A Sintra day that works
- 9:15 am: arrive at Sintra station and take bus 434 straight up to Pena.
- 9:30 to 12:30: Pena Palace at your slot time, then the park. The walk from the park gate to the palace is steep; an internal shuttle runs for EUR 4.50 if you need it.
- 12:45 to 2 pm: walk to the Moorish Castle, a short way downhill from Pena’s main entrance, and follow the walls.
- 2:30 pm: lunch in Sintra town, then either the National Palace of Sintra or Quinta da Regaleira and its initiation well.
- 6 pm: train back to Rossio.
Do Pena early and the town in the afternoon. Tour buses reach the hilltop by late morning, and the 434 queue at Sintra station grows through the day.
Day 3: Belém, LX Factory and Bairro Alto
Morning. Belém is about 6 km west of the center. Take tram 15E from Praça da Figueira or Praça do Comércio, or a train from Cais do Sodré to Belém station. Go straight to the Jerónimos Monastery: the cloister ticket costs EUR 18, the church is free, and it’s closed on Mondays. It opens at 9:30 am, and the queue is shortest at opening. A Jerónimos Monastery entrance ticket bought ahead saves the ticket line, though you may still wait at the door.
Next door, Pastéis de Belém has sold custard tarts since 1837. The takeaway line moves faster than the table line.
Late morning. Walk along the river past the Padrão dos Descobrimentos to Belém Tower (EUR 15). Since it reopened in May 2026, entry runs in half-hour waves of 60 people, so check slot availability on arrival or book ahead. Both monument prices are listed on the Museus e Monumentos de Portugal ticket page.
Afternoon. Take tram 15E back toward the center and get off at Alcântara for LX Factory, a former industrial complex now full of bookshops, cafés and studios. Then continue to Cais do Sodré for the Time Out Market if you want to try several Lisbon kitchens in one place.
Evening. Walk up to the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara at the edge of Bairro Alto. The Glória funicular that used to climb here is closed, so allow 15 minutes on foot from Restauradores. Bairro Alto fills up for dinner and drinks after 9 pm.
Is the Lisboa Card worth it for 3 days?
The Lisboa Card starts at EUR 31 for 24 hours, with 48-hour and 72-hour versions at around EUR 51 and EUR 62. It covers Lisbon’s buses, trams and metro, CP trains to Sintra and Cascais, and entry to Jerónimos, Belém Tower and São Jorge Castle, among others. It doesn’t include the Sintra palaces.
On this itinerary, a 24-hour card pays for itself on the Belém day: Jerónimos (EUR 18) plus Belém Tower (EUR 15) plus a day of transport (EUR 7.25) comes to EUR 40.25. On days one and two it doesn’t, because the castle and transport add up to about EUR 24, and Sintra’s palaces aren’t covered. Card holders still need a time slot at Jerónimos and the tower, and the card’s daily quota there can run out, so activate it early in the morning.
Where to stay in Lisbon for 3 days
Stay in Baixa, Chiado or Alfama so you can walk to most of day one and reach Rossio station for Sintra in minutes.
- Next to the Sintra trains: My Story Hotel Rossio faces Rossio square, a short walk from Rossio station.
- In Alfama with a pool: Memmo Alfama has a rooftop pool and terrace over the river. It doesn’t accept children.
- In Bairro Alto for a splurge: The Lumiares Hotel & Spa has rooms from studios to a penthouse and a rooftop restaurant looking over the city and the Tagus.
Before you go
- Data: Google Maps is the easiest way to follow Lisbon’s tangled lanes. An Airalo eSIM for Portugal sets up before you land; our Airalo vs local SIM vs roaming guide compares the costs.
- Bookings: Pena Palace and fado shows sell out first. Our Viator vs GetYourGuide comparison explains cancellation rules if your dates may change.
- More maps: Maya Barkan’s Lisbon map, also in Hebrew, adds her restaurants and cafés.
If Lisbon leaves you wanting more of Portugal’s landscapes, the Azores are a short flight away: our 4-day São Miguel itinerary covers crater lakes, hot springs and whale watching. For a longer road trip, see our 10-day Iceland Ring Road plan.
