Lisbon Guides

Six long-form guides that each settle one decision the rest of this Lisbon city guide only touches in passing: which Belém ticket if you do one, whether the 28E earns its queue, how far ahead anything really needs a slot, Sintra or Cascais, what fits in a layover, and what the morning of 1 November 1755 did to the city you are walking through.

The Manueline keep of the tower at Belém seen across the water at first light with the long monastery facade behind, the two choices in the Belém Tower vs Jerónimos decision, Lisbon

Belém Tower vs Jerónimos: Which One Morning Slot to Book

A river fort with a spiral stair and a two-storey cloister a kilometre apart, both timed, both shut on Mondays. Which one earns the morning if you only book one.

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The footbridge to the river fort at Belém at nine in the morning with a short line of people holding phones at the slot check, the timed ticket that decides how far ahead to book Lisbon

How Far Ahead to Book Lisbon: Slots by Season, Walk-Ups

Four tickets in and around the city sit behind a slot or a clock; a dozen of the best things can be bought at the door. The lead times, ticket by ticket and season by season, with the official rules beside our judgement.

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A yellow Remodelado tram climbing the narrow curve of Rua das Escolas Gerais in Alfama at half past seven in the morning with no queue, the early ride that answers whether tram 28 is worth it, Lisbon

Is Tram 28 Worth It? Queue, Fare and What to Ride Instead

A 1930s tram through Graça, Alfama and Chiado for the price of a bus ride — and a forty-minute line to board it at midday. When the 28E earns the wait, and what to ride instead when it does not.

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A red-line metro platform sign at Aeroporto station with a traveller and a cabin bag heading for the city, the start of a Lisbon layover

Lisbon Layover: What 4 to 8 Hours Really Buys You

The airport is inside the city and the cruise terminal is across the road from Alfama, which makes Lisbon one of the few places a layover is a real visit. The arithmetic, on the 2026 fares.

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Pena Palace on its wooded ridge at left and the Cascais seafront at right in one split morning view, the Sintra or Cascais day-trip choice from Lisbon

Sintra or Cascais: Which Day Out of Lisbon to Take

One is a hill with a timed palace on top; the other is a beach town at the end of a train line. Same fare, same forty minutes, very different days.

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The roofless Gothic arches of the Carmo church open to a pale morning sky above the Rossio, the memorial the 1755 Lisbon earthquake left standing

The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake: What Fell, What Still Stands

At about twenty to ten on All Saints' morning the churches were full. What followed took the city apart in three acts, and the grid you walk through in Baixa is the answer it built.

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