Overview
Planning Your Trip to Lisbon
1, 2 or 3-day itineraries, the Lisboa Card comparison and the city map, the planning building blocks for your Lisbon trip at a glance.
Contents
The five planning building blocks
This page brings together everything you need to structure your visit, and none of it costs anything. Three itineraries take the ordering off your hands: Lisbon in 1 Day for the compact old town, Lisbon in 2 Days as a well-rounded weekend route covering the old town and Belém, and Lisbon in 3 Days with room to spare for Sintra or museums. Alongside these are the Lisboa Card vs. Individual Tickets comparison and the Map of Lisbon with every location at a glance.
If it's your first visit, the two-day plan works best: day one takes you from São Jorge Castle through Alfama to Lisbon Cathedral and via Praça do Comércio into Baixa, day two belongs to the Age-of-Discovery district of Belém with Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower.
What's free and what costs admission
Lisbon is surprisingly affordable to explore. Free, and with no opening hours to work around, are the big viewpoints - Miradouro de Santa Luzia above Alfama and Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara in Bairro Alto, as well as Praça do Comércio. At Lisbon Cathedral the nave is free (cloister €7, €5 with the Lisboa Card), and at Jerónimos Monastery the monastery church is free (cloister €18). At the Santa Justa Lift, the upper level is reachable on foot via Largo do Carmo at no cost; the viewing platform costs €5, and a single lift ride costs €6.10.
Admission is unavoidable at São Jorge Castle (€17, concession €8.50, seniors €14, children under 12 free) and Belém Tower (€15, concession €7.50). Both are free with the Lisboa Card. Whether the pass pays off for you is what the Lisboa Card vs. Individual Tickets comparison works out.
Tips for planning in 2026
There are three things worth sorting out before you leave. First, book your time slot: São Jorge Castle, Jerónimos Monastery and, capped at 900 visitors a day since May 2026 - Belém Tower can only be visited without delay if you've reserved a slot. Second, check the closing days: Jerónimos and the Tower are both closed on Mondays, and the Castle closes its ramparts and towers as early as 17:30 in winter. Third, check your transport options: the Glória Funicular up to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara has been out of service since September 2025; bus 51E is the alternative, and the walk up from Baixa is short but steep.
Frequently asked questions
Which parts of trip planning in Lisbon are free?+
The planning tools themselves cost nothing to start with, the three itineraries, the Lisboa Card comparison and the map. Many stops on the routes are free too: Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara are free and open round the clock, and Praça do Comércio is freely accessible (only climbing the Rua Augusta Arch costs €5). The nave of Lisbon Cathedral (Sé) and the monastery church at Jerónimos are also free, you only pay to walk the cloister.
Which itinerary should I choose for Lisbon?+
For a first visit, the two-day weekend route is the most useful plan, day one covers the old town with São Jorge Castle, Alfama and Baixa, day two is Belém with Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower. With just one day, focus on the old town; with three days, there's room for a day trip to Sintra or for museums.
How many planning tools does Lisbon have?+
Five: three itineraries for 1, 2 and 3 days, the Lisboa Card versus individual tickets comparison, and the interactive map of Lisbon. Between them they cover what to see in what order and whether a pass is worth it.
Is the Lisboa Card worth it for Lisbon?+
It pays off once you're visiting several paid monuments a day and riding the tram and metro a lot, most clearly on a Belém day, since the Jerónimos cloister (€18) and Belém Tower (€15) are both included free. As a rough 2026 guide, not guaranteed: around €44 for 48 hours, around €56 for 72 hours. The regional train to Sintra or Cascais isn't included.
What should I watch out for when planning for 2026?+
São Jorge Castle, Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower all need a time slot booked in advance; the Tower has been capped at 900 visitors a day since May 2026. Jerónimos and the Tower are both closed on Mondays. The Glória Funicular up to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara has been out of service since September 2025, bus 51E is the alternative, or you can walk the short, steep route on foot.