3 Day Lisbon Itinerary: The BEST way to spend 3 days in Lisbon (+ Map)

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Are you planning a trip to Portugal and want to know the best way to spend 3 days in Lisbon?

We have visited Lisbon numerous times in recent years and it is one city break that we always love going back to. Lisbon has a great combination of city and beach life, as well as offering excellent day trip options to Sintra or Cascais.

Lisbon also has a consistent climate, meaning it is a perfect city break option throughout the year. This 3 day Lisbon itinerary will take you through everything you need to spend the perfect day in Lisbon, including hotel, restaurant and activity recommendations around the city.

Is 3 days in Lisbon enough time?

3 days in Lisbon should be enough time to enjoy the best of the city without feeling like you are in too much of a rush. While certain locations like Belem Tower are a little bit outside of the city centre, everything in Lisbon is still quite easy to reach.

Lisbon is a very hilly city so it is not the kind of place you should be in too much of a rush to see unless you have great cardio levels.

Ideally, we would suggest spending at least 3 days in Lisbon and using at least one of these days taking a day trip to Sintra or else Cascais depending on the time of year. If you visit during particularly good weather, we would recommend taking a trip to Cascais, a picturesque town around 30 minutes from the city.

How to get from Lisbon Airport to the city centre

Public Transport

Lisbon airport is very easy to navigate – if you are staying in the city centre, the easiest way to get there is to follow the signs in the airport for the underground which is about a 5 minute walk from arrivals.

Once you get there, go to the ticket machines where you will have the option of purchasing a single ticket which is €1.80, or you can purchase a 24 hour pass for around €6.60, which can then be used throughout the day on the public transport network.

If you are staying in the city centre, take the red line towards Sao Sebastiao for 9 stops before changing to the Green line at Almaeda towards Baixa Chiado, for a further 6 stops. This will bring you to the Baixa area which is in the heart of the city. The total journey time from the airport using this method is around 35 minutes.

Taxi

You can also take a taxi from the airport, which is around a 25 minute journey. Taxis are much more affordable in Lisbon than many other cities in Western Europe. Download the Bolt app before you visit to get the best prices available from the airport. We were able to find options for less than €10 when we visited.

Car Rental

You can also rent a car in Lisbon to get around. We would recommend taking this option if you plan to explore Portugal more broadly but it isn’t a necessity otherwise. Lisbon has excellent public transport so you can easily rely on that throughout your trip.

If you would like to rent a car, we would recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rate for your rental.

How to get around Lisbon

Walk

Lisbon is walkable but be warned in advance, it is incredibly hilly and the majority of the streets are cobbled stone so your choice of footwear is an important decision.

That being said, you can still largely get around by foot but would be better off using public transport/taxis to visit places like Belem Tower, Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and LX Factory which are a little bit out of the city centre.

Bolt

Unlike many cities in Western Europe, taxis are extremely affordable here, particularly if you use the ride sharing app, Bolt. To give you an example, we took a 10 minute taxi journey using Bolt that cost €3.65 in Lisbon, whereas the same journey at home in Dublin would have cost €10+.

City Pass

The best value way to get around the city is to get a Lisbon City Pass, these are available for 24/48 or 72 hours and include unlimited access to public transport (including the train to Sintra and Cascais), as well as entry to over 50 local attractions including Belem Tower and discounts for shopping and nightlife.

Guided Tour

If you only have 1 day in Lisbon, the best way to maximise what you see is to take a guided tour. Option 1 is to take the traditional hop on/hop off tours which provide great flexibility. Option 2 is to take a more private tuk tuk tour which will take you around all of the main attractions in the city without any of the stress of figuring out the logistics.

Where to stay in Lisbon

The best area to stay in Lisbon based on our experience is Baixa. There are a huge range of hotels in Baixa and it is within walking distance of many of Lisbon’s main attractions including the Santa Justa lift and Rua Augusta.

The last time we visited Lisbon we stayed at Eurostars Lisboa Baixa and would highly recommend it to anyone spending a day in Lisbon. The hotel is central, stylish and within walking distance to many of Lisbon’s main attractions – making it perfect for a short stay in Lisbon.

Map of Lisbon

3 day Lisbon Itinerary

Day 1 Morning – Coffee, Breakfast & Belem Tower

If you are a coffee/brunch lover then you have come to the right place in Lisbon. The city is filled with great options to start your day with a good coffee. Get your day started with breakfast at Hygge, a Copenhagen inspired brunch spot with a relaxed feel in the heart of the city.

After breakfast, grab a short Bolt ride to Belem Tower & the Monument of Discoveries – Bolt taxis are very inexpensive in Lisbon compared to many European cities. On our last trip to Lisbon, we took the train to Sintra without realising there was to be a train strike that afternoon. We thought we were either a) stranded in Sintra for the night with no way back to the city or b) one very expensive taxi ride away and a complete mood wrecked for the day.

As it turns out, we were able to get an Uber and despite the drive taking around 45 minutes it only ended up costing under €20. So if you do end up stuck somewhere in Lisbon, Bolt/taxi fares are not wallet altering compared to the same mishap in New York or London.

Belem Tower

Belem Tower is the first place we visited after getting engaged so it always holds a particularly nostalgic feeling for us. The tower is one of the main symbols of Lisbon with a unique architecture and was originally used as a gateway to the city. Tickets to go inside the tower cost

To get the most out of Belem and the nearby Jeronimos Monastery we would recommend taking this walking tour which we used the last time we visited Lisbon. The tour includes entry to Belem and Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, which is a UNESCO World heritage site, filled with beautiful architecture and historical significance.

While you are in this area, we would also highly recommend taking a quick visit to the Maat Museum where you will find one of the best views of the Ponte 25 de Abril bridge in the entire city. (Ideally we would recommend going there at sunset if you have more than a day in Lisbon to get the best view.)

Afternoon – LX Factory & Pink Street

LX Factory

Next up is one of or favourite places to visit in Lisbon and a great place to grab some lunch on the return back to the city – LX Factory. LX Factory was once a huge textiles factory that has now become a trendy urban centre lined with quirky shops and a wide range of bars and restaurants.

We would recommend spending some of your afternoon exploring this trendy area, grab a souvenir from your trip in one of the shops and get a pizza at Sophia Pizzoteca. You should also check out the amazing book shop here, Ler Devagar. You will recognise it by the cardboard cut out of a girl on a bicycle dangling from the ceiling.

Just around the corner there is also a beautiful viewpoint that very few tourists know about – Miradoura de Santo Amaro. This spot also has incredible views looking out over the Tagus river and the bridge so you could easily choose to go here rather than the Maat Museum if you only have a day in Lisbon to save time.

Pink Street & Green Street

On the way back in to the city, you could also make a stop along the colourful umbrella lined Pink Street and Green Street. To be honest, we didn’t love those areas compared to other parts of the city but as you don’t need to spend much time there, they are good for a photo opportunity if nothing else.

Evening – Dinner & A Pastel de Nata Class

Start your evening off by taking a walk along the Rua Augusta to snap some photos at the beautiful Arco Triunfal monument before going for a cocktail at Imprensa. This stylish cocktail and oyster bar is in the heart of the city and just a 5 minute walk from Eurostars Lisboa Baixa if you decide to stay there on your visit to Lisbon.

After that, go for dinner at Rocco PT, a stylish Italian restaurant in the heart of the city. This restaurant is perfect for a special occasion but is slightly more expensive than average with main courses costing around €30-40 per plate. This restaurant is very photogenic as well so if you want to get some nice photos of your outfit for the occasion then the interiors here provide a beautiful backdrop.

For your dessert, you can not leave Lisbon without having one of their most famous exports a – a pastel de nata. This pastry filled with custard and cinnamon is a everywhere in Lisbon but we would recommend getting yours from either Pasteis de Belem or Manteigaria.

If you really wanted to, you could also even do a baking class during your stay in Lisbon to learn how the dessert is made. Embracing the local food and learning a new recipe to take home and impress with is the perfect addition to complete your 1 day Lisbon itinerary.

Day 2 Morning – Breakfast & Santa Justa

Start your day off with breakfast in the city centre. We would recommend Miolo or Cotidiano, particularly if you are a fan of acai bowls/granola style dishes.

After grabbing some breakfast, take the short walk to one of Lisbon’s most renowned attractions – the Santa Justa Lift. The lift is widely known for its unique appearance but it is primarily used to connect the lower Baixa area of the city to Bairro Alto – something that is key in a city as hilly as Lisbon.

The queue for the lift tends to be quite long as it can only carry 20 people at a time. Tickets for the lift cost around €5.30 and while it does bring you to a nice viewpoint, the wait might not necessarily be worth the outcome. As an alternative you could also try the Carmo lift nearby, which will bring you to a terrace offering the same views.

Afternoon – Time Out & Elevador de Bica

Start your afternoon by getting something to eat at Time Out Market. Time Out Market is a large food court where you can find a huge range of restaurant and bar stalls with local cuisine and fresh meat and fish from the area. There is often live music being played there as well so it is a good option to enjoy a variety of reasonably priced lunch options in a good atmosphere.

A few minutes from Time Out Market you will be able to take the Elevador de Bica. This historic funicular tram takes you on a short elevated journey to Bairro Alto, where you will find some beautiful views overlooking the city. Trams are synonymous with Lisbon’s culture and this one provides you with some excellent photo opportunities to remember your visit to the city. Tickets for the tram cost €4.20 and are valid for 24 hours.

Finally, along your walk back we would highly recommend stopping at one of the most picturesque streets we came across in Lisbon – Rua da Vinha. This residential street is lined with pastel houses and as it is exactly that, a residential area, it is not somewhere that is typically busy with tourists meaning you can snap some nice uninterrupted photos there en route back to the centre.

Depending on what time you are in this area we would also recommend a stop at Foxtrot, a cool speakeasy stye cocktail bar and one of the oldest bars in Lisbon. Foxtrot only opens at 6pm but it would be a great place to start our evening if you are nearby at the time.

Evening – Alfama

For your evening, we recommend visiting our favourite part of Lisbon, Alfama. Alfama is the oldest neighbourhood in Lisbon and possibly its most beautiful, with medieval streets, a romantic and almost nostalgic feel, as well as some of Lisbon’s best views from the hills above.

Rather than walking to Alfama, we would recommend taking one of Lisbon’s most renowned experiences, tram 28. The iconic tram runs right through Alfama so you can get on and off wherever you like but we would recommend walking around the area as well to get a feel for the neighbourhood.

Start your tour off shortly before sunset, passing by the Se Cathedral, before making your way to Miradoura Santa Luzia. In our opinion, this is the best place to watch the sunset in the city and has stunning views of the city below. There is also a really relaxed feel here, with locals playing guitar and socialising as the sun starts to set.

You could also go to Miradoura das Portas do Sol for a higher viewpoint but we particularly like the setting of Santa Luzia, lined with bougainvillea along the pergola.

After that, take a short walk to a ‘hidden gem’ – Cafe da Garagem, a lesser known bar/cafe set in side of a theatre with a beautiful window view of the area. If you visit during the colder months or you just enjoy hot chocolate, we would also highly recommend visiting Casa Sao Miguel for one of the best hot chocolates in the city.

Day 3 – Day trip to Sintra

For the final day of your 3 day Lisbon itinerary, we recommend taking a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra.

How to get from Lisbon to Sintra

Train from Lisbon To Sintra

Public transport in Lisbon is very affordable and the train from Lisbon to Sintra is no exception. Despite the journey from Lisbon to Sintra taking around 40 minutes our train ticket was only €2.50 each way which is incredibly cheap. We took the train from Rossio station in Lisbon City Centre.

However, our visit was also slightly tainted by the fact that unknown to us there was a train strike on the afternoon of the day we visited. While we had no issues getting to Sintra by train, the journey back was a nightmare and ultimately ended up in having to get a taxi back to Lisbon instead.

Based on our experience, we think a guided tour around Sintra is the best option for convenience. While we enjoyed our trip from Lisbon to Sintra, there are numerous points of interest to visit, and it is an extremely hilly area making it slightly more difficult to get around unassisted.

Where to visit in Sintra

When you arrive in Sintra, the number 434 bus is located just outside the train station that can take you directly to Pena Palace, a UNESCO World heritage site and probably the main point of attraction in Sintra. The bus costs around €14 and follows a loop around the hills of Sintra, with dropoff points along the way.

When you arrive at Pena Palace there is still a reasonably steep walk to the palace itself so that is worth considering for anyone with accessibility issues or taking a pram. The bus ticket does include access to the Pena Palace grounds but you will have to purchase a separate ticket to get inside the building itself.

Aside from Pena Palace, we would also highly recommend visiting Largo Ferreira de Castro, the medieval 9th Century Moorish Castle and to spend some time around the historic centre of Sintra itself.

We struggled to find man places to eat while we were in Sintra but two places we would recommend from our experience are Tasco do Strauss or Nau Palatina.

Final Thoughts

We hope you find this 3 day Lisbon itinerary beneficial with lots of suggestions for things to do, places to eat and day trips from Lisbon. We would love to get your feedback to help make this guide more beneficial so please leave a comment below with your feedback.