Top 10 Best Things To Do In Lisbon
Located along the Atlantic coast, Lisbon boasts decent weather almost the entire year. As a result here are the 10 best things to do in Lisbon when you visit.
Take a ride on the number 28 tram
Take a classic tram journey that passes through popular tourist districts of Graca, Alfama, Baixa and Estrela. The trams go from Martim Moniz to Campo Ourique.
Enjoy the view as the trams that date back to the 1930’s trundle along the narrow streets of Lisbon.
You can buy a single ticket on the tram for around €3. Better value is a 24 hour public transport ticket from any metro station at around €7.
Enjoy a visit to the Mercado da Ribeira
If you love your food, then one of the Top 10 best things to do in Lisbon is to visit the Mercado da Ribeira.
Built in 1882, the Mercado da Ribeira, also known as the Time Out Market was renovated in 2014. It boasts a great variety of food stalls and eateries. You can eat and drink at the many restaurants that serve both local and international cuisine.
There are cooking workshops taking place throughout the week. These give you a hands-on experience of preparing cuisines from around the world. In the evening you can also enjoy live shows and events.
The Mercado da Ribeira is at Av. 24 de Julho 49, 1200-479 Lisbon and open from10 am to 11pm every day.
Visit the Oceanario de Lisboa
The Lisbon Oceanarium is the world’s largest saltwater Oceanarium with over 400 different marine species. These include sharks, rays, otters, penguins and many crustaceans among its marine life. It is also one of the few aquariums in the world to have a sunfish.
The four large tanks represent the four major oceanic ecosystems found throughout the world. It also has a massive 1000 sq metre central tank.
Tickets are €10 for ages 4 – 12, €19 for ages 13 – 64, €13 for those over 65 and the cost of a family ticket is €47.
Opening hours are January 1st from 12 PM to 6 PM. 31st March from 10 AM to 8 PM. December 25th from 1 PM to 6 PM.
The Oceanario de Lisboa is located at Doca dos Olivais, Parque das Nações.
You can find more information on their website by clicking here https://www.oceanario.pt/en.
Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum)
Azulejo is a form of Portuguese and Spanish painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo is an art museum in Lisbon dedicated to the azulejo. It has one of the largest collections of ceramics in the world.
Tickets cost €5 and discounts of 50% for 65’s are available. The Museu National do Azuelo is located at Rua da Madre de Deus, 4, 1900-312 Lisboa.
You can find more information on their website by clicking here http://www.museudoazulejo.gov.pt/en-GB/Default.aspx
Enjoy A Football Stadium Tour as one of the Top 10 best things to do in Lisbon
Two of the three big teams in Portuguese football are located in Lisbon. Enjoy the stadium tours of Sporting Clube de Portugal and Benfica Football Club.
Take a joint tour of the Sporting Clube de Portugal museum and football stadium The guided tour takes in the players changing rooms, the stands, trophy room as well as the pitch. Afterwards, tour the museum at the Estádio José Alvalade . Find out much more of the history of Sporting Lisbon from its founding in 1906 right up to the present day.
You can find more information on their website by clicking here
Benfica Football Club’s tours of the Estádio da Luz and their museum can be booked separately or together.
You can find more information on their website by clicking here
Take A River Tagus Sightseeing Tour
Get to see the city’s highlights from the spectacular vantage point of the River Tagus. The River Tagus Tour is certainly one of the top 10 best things to do in Lisbon.
Take a traditional cargo boat along the river Tagus as your guide tells you about Lisbon. See some of Lisbon’s famous landmarks, Commerce Square, Sao Jorge Castle, Belem Tower and the Palace of Ajuda.
Prices start from around €20 and the tours normally take just under two hours.
Take A Street Art Tour
See Lisbon from a different perspective through the eyes of a street artist by taking a street art tour. Discover street art from some of Portugals established artists like Vhils, Daniel Eime and Pantonio as well as new emerging talent like Nomen, Ram and Bigod.
Like the street art in Porto, Lisbon street art is a mix of works of protest, pieces revealing the rich history of Portugal and also purely aesthetic works of art.
Booking a tour through Lisbon Street Art Tours helps directly finance the creation of new street art pieces through the Yes You Can Spray Collective
Enjoy The Seafood And View In Cascais
Cascais is a traditional and charming Portuguese fishing town located on the Portuguese Riviera with many restaurants serving freshly caught locally sourced produce throughout the day.
Enjoy Bacalhau with potatoes and rice with a jug of Sangria while watching the waves crash against the cliffs at the scenic Boca do Inferno. Savour the view of the beautiful stretch of calm sandy beaches of Praia da Conceição and Praia da Duquesa.
Trains to Cascais leave from the Cais do Sodré train station to Cascais regularly throughout the day. The journey takes around 30 minutes or you can drive along the scenic coastal road Avenida da Marginal enjoying the wonderful views as you go.
Vising Cascais is unquestionably one of the Top 10 best things to do in Lisbon
Take The Santa Justa Lift
The Santa Justa lift was built in 1902 by Raoul Mesnier de Ponsard, who was an admirer of Gustave Eiffel the designer of the Eiffel Tower. It is an elevator in Lisbon that links the Baixa neighbourhood to the Bairro Alto district and is the fastest way to get between the two. You will get to see the impressive views over Baixa from the observation deck.
A fun fact about the Santa Justa lift is that it can carry 20 people up but only 15 when coming down.
If you do come to see the lift, be aware that it is used as a form of transportation between the two neighbourhoods. As it can only take a maximum of 20 people, you might face a long wait to get on. Also, to get the best view when going up, make sure you choose the lift next to the ticket booth.
The ticket cost is included in some multi-trip tickets but if you haven’t got one of those it will cost you €5 total to travel up and back down.
Take A Day Trip To Sintra
Sintra is a town in the Greater Lisbon area located in the Portuguese Riviera. So if you are coming to Sintra, I would advise you to spend at least a day to see all that this wonderful municipality has to offer.
As well as being famed for its picturesqueness and its numerous historic palaces and castles, Sintra is also a luxury dining and tourism destination. See places like the Pena Palace and Pena Park as well as the Moorish Castle and Palacio Nacional de Sintra.
There are many other places and sites to see in Sintra and the best way to do it is by booking an organised tour.
These are what I consider to be the Top 10 best things to do in Lisbon, a fantastic city to discover on foot. If you choose to use the transportation system, you will find the metro, trams, the Santa Justa Lift, buses as well as taxis running frequently throughout Lisbon.
The best way to pay for travel on the metro, buses and trams is by using the Viva Viagem card. It’s a bit like an Oyster card in London. It can be purchased from any metro, suburban train or ferry station at the ticket machine or ticket office. It can also be purchased from various local kiosks in the city.