Lisbon travel guide: where to eat, the trams, and getting in from LIS

Lisbon is the Atlantic capital that has been climbing the must-visit lists for the last decade for reasons that hold up on arrival: the light, the trams, the food, the affordable hotels in a Western European country, the seven hills that make every corner of the center a viewpoint. A long weekend covers the headline experiences. A week unlocks the side trips to Sintra, Cascais, and Setúbal.

On this page

• Getting in from the airport
• Festivals and big annual events
• Where to stay
• Where to eat

Getting in from the airport

Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (Lisbon) (LIS) sits about 7 km north of the center and is one of the closer European airport approaches. The red metro line connects directly into town.

Mode	Time	Cost	When to use
Metro Red Line (Linha Vermelha)	20 to 30 min	€1.85 single + €0.50 for a Viva Viagem card	The default. Direct from the terminal to São Sebastião, then transfer to the Blue or Yellow line for most of the central hotels
Aerobus	20 to 30 min	€4 single	Direct to Praça do Comércio and Cais do Sodré. Useful if your hotel is on the riverfront and you do not want to manage the metro transfer
Uber / Bolt / FreeNow	15 to 30 min	€10 to €18 to the center	Cheap and easy. Lisbon rideshare is one of the more reliable markets in Europe
Taxi from the rank	15 to 30 min	€12 to €20 metered	The legal rank cars run a real meter. A small luggage surcharge applies. Do not pay anything else outside the meter

Festivals and big annual events

Lisbon's festival calendar runs on the Catholic feast cycle, with one weekend in mid-June that is bigger than the rest. The city also sits on the international summer-festival circuit, which moves a few weekends.

Event	When	What it changes
Festas de Lisboa (Santo António)	June 12 evening and June 13, around the whole month	The city's patron-saint festival. Grilled sardines on every street corner, paper decorations strung over the Alfama and Bairro Alto, marriages at the Sé Cathedral on June 13 (Saint Anthony being the patron saint of matchmakers). The Marchas Populares parade along Avenida da Liberdade on the evening of June 12 is the centerpiece. The version of Lisbon that locals come back for
Carnaval (Carnival)	The week before Lent, mid-February to early March	Lisbon's version is small compared to Brazil's. The bigger Portuguese Carnival is in Torres Vedras (45 minutes north) and Loulé in the Algarve. Worth knowing about as a hotel-pressure week even if the city itself is quieter than the postcards suggest
NOS Alive	Mid-July, three days	The biggest international music festival on the Portuguese calendar. Held at Passeio Marítimo de Algés on the river west of the center. Around 165,000 across the weekend. Hotels along the western waterfront book months ahead
Rock in Rio Lisboa	Even-numbered years, two weekends in late June	The Portuguese branch of the Rio megafestival, at Parque Tejo. Around 80,000 a night. Year-on-year-off pattern, so check the calendar before assuming it runs the year you are visiting
Super Bock Super Rock	Mid-July, three days	The other big summer festival. Smaller and more rock-leaning than NOS Alive. Held at Meco Beach south of the city
Web Summit	Mid-November, four days	The tech conference at Altice Arena. 70,000+ attendees. The single biggest hotel-pressure week of the Lisbon year by some margin. If you are not attending, do not visit that week
Lisbon Marathon	Mid-October	Road closures along the riverfront and through Belém. The smaller half-marathon runs in March

The two trip-shaping events are Santo António in mid-June (the reason to plan a Lisbon trip around mid-June) and Web Summit in mid-November (the reason to avoid mid-November unless you are attending). Both are heavy on hotel inventory and need at least a month's lead time on bookings.

If sardines and city festival are the trip, pair Lisbon with Porto for São João on the night of June 23, which is the slightly wilder northern version of the same kind of evening.

Where to stay

Property	Note
Moxy Lisbon City	Pinned

These are the hotels I have pinned from prior stays. Each links to the pin with the address, the rough nightly band, and any notes.

Where to eat

Portuguese food is the casual Mediterranean side that overlaps with Spain on the surface but diverges in important specifics. Bacalhau (salt cod) in every form, pastéis de nata, grilled sardines in summer, ginja cherry liqueur in shot glasses, the casual neighborhood tasca where lunch costs €10. The picks below lean casual.

Spot	Rating
Affair Restaurante & Bar	Pinned
Beira Gare	Pinned
Benedita bakery & breakfast	Pinned
Cafetaria Landeau Chocolate	Pinned
Dallas Burger Joint - Pink Street	Pinned
Floresta das Escadinhas	Pinned