Lisbon, hill by hill.
Which Sintra tour actually gets you inside Pena. Where the sunset lands on the Tagus. Whether the tuk-tuk is worth it up to the castle. Every Lisbon tour and day trip, reviewed and ranked.
The Lisbon days everything else fits around.
Sintra’s palaces, a tuk-tuk up to the castle, the custard tarts in Belém, a Fado night in Alfama, the sunset boat on the Tagus. The handful of days most first trips are built on, and the best way to book each.
Lisbon’s most popular tours right now.
Every review →The tours more travellers take than anything else in Lisbon, and what makes each one worth its morning.
1
Lisbon City Center Tour – The Unmissable Lisbon
2.5 hours walking Lisbon downtown, from Restauradores to Praça do Comércio, with churches, Chiado, Bairro Alto, Santa Justa, and Rua Augusta. Pay what it’s worth.
From · $3
Read our review →
2
Sintra, Pena, Regaleira, Cabo da Roca & Cascais
from $23
3
Pena Palace and Park Entrance Ticket
from $11
4
Jerónimos Monastery Entrance Ticket
from $21
5
History, Stories and Lifestyle Walking Tour
from $29
6
Sunset Boat Party Cruise with DJ and Open Bar
from $27
7
Pena Palace, Sintra, Cabo da Roca, & Cascais Daytrip
from $91
8
Oceanário de Lisboa Entrance Ticket
from $29
Sintra: pick the palace, then the tour.
All 197 Sintra tours →
Pena’s painted domes, Regaleira’s initiation well, the Moorish walls, then Cabo da Roca where the land runs out. These three carry the most travellers; the full list splits the rest by how much of Sintra you want in a day.
Pena Palace, Regaleira and the old town
The painted palace on the peak, the gardens below, and Quinta da Regaleira’s spiral well: the Sintra everyone pictures, with the timed tickets handled so you are not queuing at the gate.
Regaleira’s wells, grottoes and towers
The Initiation Well, the underground tunnels and the Masonic gardens: the strangest, most photographed corner of Sintra, walked with someone who can tell you what any of it meant.
Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Cascais by car
Palace in the morning, the westernmost cliff of Europe at midday, a late lunch by the harbour in Cascais: the classic combination, one car and no bus timetables.
Where Lisbon runs into the Atlantic.
Half an hour west, the city gives way to cliffs and surf. Cabo da Roca where Europe ends, the bay at Cascais, the turquoise coves of the Arrábida. The coast rewards an early start and a full tank.
All 117 Cascais & coast tours →
Lisbon is a city of hills. Let something else climb them.
Alfama’s lanes are older than the language and too narrow for a car. The electric tuk-tuks take the gradients the buses refuse: up to the castle, through the tile-fronted backstreets, out along the river to Belém.
Some things only really happen in Lisbon.
Sunset boats and food tours you can find in any port city. A Fado cellar in Alfama, a sidecar up to the miradouros, an afternoon glazing your own tile: those belong to Lisbon.
The Fado House
Fado is the sound of saudade: a guitarist, a singer, and a room that goes silent when the first note lands. It was born in the taverns of Alfama and Mouraria two centuries ago and never left; UNESCO now lists it as heritage. The intimate houses seat a few dozen and the good tables are reserved days ahead. Dinner is optional. The silence is not.
- 1Live Fado Show with Port Wine in Historic Center★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 4,166 reviews
- 2Fado Show and Portuguese Dinner★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,531 reviews
- 3Fado Show with Wine in a Historic Venue★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,294 reviews
The Sidecar
A vintage motorcycle with a sidecar is the most Lisbon way to take the hills: open to the air, small enough for the lanes, slow enough to stop at every miradouro. Two passengers per bike, a local at the handlebars, and a route that strings together the viewpoints the coaches drive straight past. It books out early precisely because the capacity is tiny.
- 1Private Tour: Best of Lisbon by Sidecar★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 377 reviews
- 2Sidecar Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 123 reviews
- 3Belem Motorcycle Side-car Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 48 reviews
The Tile Workshop
Lisbon is tiled from doorway to roofline; the blue-and-white azulejo is the city’s signature surface. In a workshop you draw, glaze and fire your own, usually after a look at the National Tile Museum and five centuries of the craft. You leave with a tile that survives the flight home, which is more than most souvenirs manage.
- 1National Tile Museum Entry Ticket★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 868 reviews
- 2Azulejos’ Design Create Your Own Tile Workshop★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 420 reviews
- 3Arrabida Wine Tour from Lisbon: Wineries, Tastings & Tile Factory★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 154 reviews
The best of Portugal is a day trip from Lisbon.
Medieval Óbidos inside its walls, the giant waves at Nazaré, the pilgrimage at Fátima, Évora’s bones and Roman temple, the Templar convent at Tomar. All of it close enough to be home for dinner.
- 1Pena Palace, Sintra, Cabo da Roca, & Cascais Daytripfrom $91
- 2Sintra and Cascais Small-Group Day Trip from Lisbonfrom $60
- 3Three Cities in One Day: Porto, Nazare and Obidos from Lisbonfrom $133
Book these before you land in Lisbon.
Most of Lisbon you can arrange from the hotel the night before. These you cannot: they run on timed tickets, pilgrimage dates and Atlantic swells that do not wait for your flight.
- 01Sintra, Pena, Regaleira, Cabo da Roca & CascaisPena Palace runs on timed-entry tickets, and the interior slots sell out days ahead in season. There is no same-day window at the gate.
- 02Fátima, Nazaré, Batalha, and Óbidos Guided TourOn the 12th and 13th of May and October the sanctuary draws hundreds of thousands; the tours and beds around those dates go months in advance.
- 03Three Cities in One Day: Porto, Nazare and Obidos from LisbonThe giant waves only break from roughly October to March, when the Atlantic swell hits the Nazaré canyon. You can plan the season, never the day.
- 04Live Fado Show with Port Wine in Historic CenterThe intimate Fado houses seat a few dozen and the tables worth having are reserved days out. The walk-in option is the big touristy rooms.
What your money buys in Lisbon.
Every tour on the site, sorted by what it actually costs. A good Lisbon day starts at the price of two pastéis and a coffee.
Tuk-tuk spins, tile workshops, food tours and Fado nights — the everyday best of Lisbon.
The full day trips: Sintra with tickets, the Nazaré and Óbidos circuit, sunset sails with drinks.
Private guides, a car and driver for the coast, and the once-a-trip splurges that earn it.
Lisbon keeps its rain for winter. Go indoors and go deeper.
The city is dry and bright most of the year, but the Atlantic fronts roll in from November to February. The best answers are under a roof: a tile workshop, a cooking class and a market lunch, a Fado dinner, a cellar of Setúbal wine. None of them care what the sky is doing.
Lisbon looks best from the middle of the Tagus.
All sunset cruises →Sunset Boat Party Cruise with DJ and Open Bar
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Tagus River Cruise to the Ocean & Dolphin Watching
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By place — city and coast
Alfama26 tours
Belém45 tours
Sintra197 tours- Cascais117 tours
- Cabo da Roca56 tours
Óbidos59 tours- Nazaré60 tours
- All destinations →
Three days in Lisbon, and the coast.
The Tagus at duskThe latest Lisbon reviews.
All recent →
2 hours Private City Highlights Tuk-Tuk Tour for two
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Private Boat Trip, Guided Walking Tour, Bike & Tram
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Private All Inclusive Setúbal & Arrábida Wine Tour
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