This guide to Lisbon in 3 days has several routes on foot and by tram, so you won't miss any interesting places in the city, making the most of the time available.
During the first two days you will have toured Lisbon's most important neighbourhoods such as Alfama, Bélem, Baixa, Chiado and Bairro Alto, as well as visiting its most important sights. On the third day, we suggest you choose to visit some of the wonders that are close to the city, such as Sintra and Cascais.
This itinerary for Lisbon in three days is based on the experience of our trip to Lisbon in 4 days, in which we wrote this guide to Lisbon. Let's get started!
Useful tips for Lisbon
This list of tips will help you to have a good first contact with the city:
To get from the airport to the centre of Lisbon or to your hotel, you have several options: metro, bus, taxi or this direct transfer to the hotel.
For more information about the transfer you can check this post about how to get from Lisbon airport to the city centre.To sleep in, we recommend This is Lisbon Hostel, our accommodation during our trip, which is located in the beautiful Alfama neighbourhood and has a terrace with magnificent views. Two other great value for money accommodations located very close to Rossio Station are the Rossio Garden Hotel and the Inn Possible Lisbon Hostel. For more information, check out this post on where to stay in Lisbon.
A good way to save money in Lisbon in 3 days is to buy a 24-hour ticket for a price of 6,15 euros, which includes all public transport.
See if it is worth booking the Lisbon Card which includes public transport and several attractions such as the Jerónimos Monastery, the Belém Tower, the Santa Justa Elevator, etc.... You can find more information about this tourist card in this Lisbon Card post.
Book this free tour of Lisbon and this free tour of the Alfama neighbourhood to learn more about the history and anecdotes of the city.
Get away from the touristy restaurants and places to listen to fado. The tavern A Tasca do Jaime, right in front of the Rua Graça stop of Tram 28, was our chosen option and after the experience we can only recommend it.
For more recommendations you can check out this post on essential tips for travelling to Lisbon.
First day in Lisbon
The first day of your three-day trip to Lisbon starts early in the morning at the Portas do Sol viewpoint, one of the best viewpoints in Lisbon, which you can easily reach by Tram 28.
After this visit, you can walk to the Santa Luzia viewpoint, very close to Postas do Sol, with a beautiful tiled terrace.
Note that these two viewpoints are located in the Alfama district, which you can walk through until you reach the banks of the Tagus River, enjoying one of the best known and most charming neighbourhoods in the city.
Portas do Sol
The Lisbon in 3 days itinerary continues with a visit to the Cathedral of Lisbon or La Sé and passing in front of the beautiful façade of the Casa dos Bicos, to then continue with a stroll along the commercial street Rua Augusta, where you will cross the Arco Triumfal, which is the gateway to the popular Plaza del Comercio.
From here, taking tram 15, you will reach the Belém neighbourhood in less than half an hour, which will be the next stop on the route. Another great option to get to this neighbourhood is to book this boat ride from Praça do Comércio, which will drop you off at the Belém Tower.
Since it will already be midday, you can take the opportunity to have lunch near the square, where you have several recommended restaurants such as Da Prata 52 and Paladarium, or go to Taberna dos Ferreiros, O Recanto or Miolo, located near the Jerónimos Monastery, other of the most recommended places to eat in Lisbon.
And of course, after lunch we can't forget dessert and there's nothing better than enjoying some freshly baked pastéis de Belém at the Pastelería o Pastéis de Belém.
After this gastronomic stop, the first visit in the Belém neighbourhood will be to the Jerónimos Monastery, a World Heritage Site and one of the must-see places in Lisbon. The entrance is included in the Lisbon Card or you can buy it in advance from this page or take this offer that includes the entrance to the Belém Tower and an audio guide of the city.
After the visit to the monastery, the afternoon tour of Lisbon in 3 days continues with views from the top of the Monument to the Discoveries, ending at the magnificent Belém Tower. You can book entry to the tower from this page.
Bélem Tower in Lisbon in three days
Near the tower is the port of Doca do Bom Sucesso, where we recommend booking a boat cruise on the Tagus River at sunset or returning to Praça do Comércio to watch the sunset.
The first day of Lisbon in three days ends with dinner in the Bairro Alto up the Santa Justa elevator. There are several recommended restaurants in this area such as Restaurante Duque and Tasca Mastai.
(More information about the first day here)
Route map of the first day in LisbonSecond day in Lisbon
The second day of Lisbon in three days starts with breakfast at Alfama Doce, Fábrica da Nata or Basílio, depending on where your hotel is located, before heading to the magnificent St. George's Castle, which opens at 9am. On leaving the castle, we recommend a short walk through the Castelo neighbourhood, another of the city's most beautiful and charming places, from where we recommend a visit to the Graça viewpoint, with magnificent views of Lisbon.
Walking down through the Alfama neighbourhood you will reach the next visit of the morning, the National Pantheon, where every Tuesday and Saturday, the popular Feira da Ladra market takes place, another of the places not to be missed in the city if you happen to be there on those days of the week.
Near the Pantheon you have the Voz do Operário stop to take tram 28E, which will take you to Martin Moritz square, the next stop on the route, which will also allow you to enjoy this historic tram that passes through the most interesting neighbourhoods of the city and is a great option to see Lisbon from another perspective.
Lisbon Tram[
The stop where you can get off to continue the Lisbon in 3 days is Martin Moritz, very close to Figueira Square, where you will find a great atmosphere in its terraces and cafes and where, of course, you should take the opportunity to try some of the cakes of the Confeitaria Nacional.
A few metres further on you will reach another of Lisbon's most famous squares, Rossio, surrounded by interesting buildings such as the Dona Maria II National Theatre, Rossio Railway Station and the statue of Pedro IV, where on one side you will find the Church of Santo Domingo, whose interior is surprisingly completely burnt as a result of a fire.
On leaving the church you can go to the bar A Ginjinha, where you can try the sweet liqueur Ginja.
Church of Santo Domingo
The Lisbon in three days itinerary continues at Restauradores Square, where in addition to the Eden Theatre and the Foz Palace, you will find the Glória elevator, which will take you to the garden of St. Pedro de Alcántara in the Bairro Alto with an excellent view.
Being lunch time, you can take advantage of the fact that near the viewpoint you have several recommended restaurants such as Tapa Bucho and Flor da Laranja, or the Marisqueira M.
After lunch, Lisbon in three days continues with a walk along Rua Garrett in the Chiado neighbourhood, the city's famous bohemian quarter, where you will find bookshops, original shops and cafés such as the famous Café a Brasileira. In this neighbourhood you will also find the Convento do Carmo, a religious building that was left without a roof after the earthquake of 1755 and that we recommend you not to miss.
Visiting the Convento do Carmo in Lisbon in 3 days
Next to Chiado is the Bairro Alto with the Luís de Camões Square as the highlight and the Ascensor da Bica, the most photogenic spot. This funicular takes you up one of the steepest and most beautiful streets in Lisbon, although we recommend walking down it to get to the Mercado da Ribeira, full of Asian and Portuguese food stalls, and to the picturesque Pink Street, a street with a pink painted floor.
On the funicular back to the Bairro Alto you can start a route to Praça do Príncipe Real, stopping for a drink at the original Pavilhão Chinês, one of the best things to do in Lisbon. Another good option is the Cervejaria Trindade, located in a former monastery, which we are sure will be an unforgettable choice.
To finish the second day of the Lisbon in 3 days you can watch the sunset at the viewpoint of San Pedro de Alcantara, then have dinner at the tavern A Tasca do Jaime, while listening to fado, which you can reach by Tram 28 getting off at Rua Graça or eat in the restaurant area of the Barrio Alto on the first day and book this fado show in Chiado.
Map of the Lisbon itinerary in 2 daysWhat to see in Lisbon in 3 days
On the third day of the Lisbon in 3 days we suggest an excursion to one of the most beautiful places to see in Portugal, Sintra.
This World Heritage city, located in a natural park just half an hour from Lisbon, is known as the city of palaces and for its magnificent gardens.
The most famous and most visited place in Sintra is the hilltop Pena Palace, which looks like something out of a fairy tale with its brightly coloured facades and architectural elements of different styles.
The palace is a bit far from the centre, but can be reached on foot in less than an hour from the train station, or by taking the circular bus 434.
We recommend not arriving too late at the ticket office, especially in high season, if you don't want to run out of tickets, as it is usually a very touristy visit.
After visiting the interior of the palace you can take a stroll through the magnificent gardens of the Parque da Pena and go to the Vale dos Lagos to enjoy an incredible landscape of nature.
For more information you can check this post about how to visit the Pena Palace in Sintra.
Pena Palace
Very close to the Palacio da Pena is another highlight of Sintra, the Castelo dos Mouros, which, although in ruins, offers good views of the Sintra Mountains.
The next stop on the Lisbon in 3 days tour of Sintra is the Quinta da Regaleira, another of the town's wonders. This palace located in the lower part of Sintra, a 10-minute walk from the historic centre, stands out for its impressive gardens in which you will find the initiatory well, a stone well with a spiral staircase, very photogenic.
In addition to the gardens, be sure to visit the Palace and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity.
Quinta da Regaleira
Other must-sees in Sintra, if you have more time, are: the Monserrate Palace and its park, the Capuchin Convent and the National Palace of Sintra.
But before leaving the city, you can't miss a stroll through the narrow streets of the historic city centre with its colourful facades and craft shops, where you will also find several recommended restaurants to eat a good bacalhau à bràs, such as Bacalhau na Vila.
Sintra is, without a doubt, one of the best excursions from Lisbon, if not the best.
To get from Lisbon to Sintra you can take the train from Rossio, Oriente or Sete Rios Station in a short time, as the trip takes only half an hour.
If you have more time, you can take a bus to Cascais, 20 minutes from Sintra, an old fishing village with beautiful beaches and a pleasant historic centre.
To make sure you don't miss anything important in this town, we recommend you complete this list of must-see places to visit in Cascais.
A great option if you want to know the history and anecdotes of all these places told by a guide in English is to book this excursion to Sintra and Cascais that includes the entrance to the Pena Palace or this one that includes access to the Quinta da Regaleira.
If you already know Sintra and Cascais, or have more days available, you can take an excursion to Óbidos and Fátima, where you can visit one of the most famous pilgrimage shrines in the world and stroll through the beautiful medieval village of Óbidos.
Another option for nature lovers is to book the excursion to Arrábida and Sesimbra, where you will combine the cliffs and blue sea landscapes with the fishing villages.
If you have more time, you can follow this guide to Lisbon in 4 days.
