Lisbon’s a popular city to visit, and with so many recommendations and history there, of course I had to visit. There are so many great things to do in Portugal’s capital city, and these are my top recommendations.

Lisbon’s Top Sights

Since Lisbon is so popular, there are lots of places that tourists flock to. Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular.

One of the most beautiful places is the castle that overlooks the city, Castelo de Sao Jorge. Despite being one of the city’s most iconic places, little is actually known about its origins, though the area had been settled and used as defense for about 2000 years. The castle existent today may date around the 13th century. It’s currently in a ruined state with only its strong walls retained but the area you can explore is still so big and still has some lovely gothic architectural elements. It feels like a romantic garden.

One of my favorite parts was seeing (and hearing) all the peacocks that live at the castle! There is also an excellent museum of archaeology that has artefacts found in the area of the castle, where you can learn more about Lisbon’s long history.

Need a lift? There’s a place called Elevador do Castelo that’s a free elevator taking you closer to the castle. It’s located at R. dos Fanqueiros 176. When you get to the top, if you want to go even farther with an elevator, you can go to the Pingo Doce across the street and at the end of the square at Largo Chao do Loureiro. There’s a free elevator there.

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The area of Belem is one of the most popular (and iconic) of Lisbon. One of the best places to see is Jeronimos Monastery which dates back to the 16th century and is in the Portuguese Manueline style. Your visit includes the cloisters and a few other rooms, but the main draw is the cloisters with their stunningly carved windows. It really is stunning. I did not see its match in all of Portugal.

Tickets can be bought online or across the street from the monastery but they’re not timed tickets, and none are skip-the-line. You’ll need to go down the pedestrian avenue lined with trees and the ticket booth will be there.

A huge drawback of Jeronimos Monastery is that there’s generally a 2 hour (!!) wait, or at least it’s advertised as such. If you’re looking at the monastery, there are two large patches of grass going along the side. When I visited, the line was halfway along the first patch of grass. This was about a 30 minute wait. So if the line is all the way down both sections of grass then it makes sense that the wait would be 2 hours. I thought a 30 minute wait was fine but since you really only get to see the cloisters, a 2 hour wait would have been excessive. Hopefully they implement a more efficient ticketing system in the future.

There is also the Church next to the monastery which is free to visit, but I visited on a Sunday morning so the church was closed to visitors.

Probably the most iconic building of Lisbon is Belem Tower which dates to around the same time as Jeronimos Monastery. It was used as the gateway to Lisbon back in the 16th century onwards and is a beautifully carved Manueline tower. I walked around it but did not go inside because there was yet another 2 hour advertised wait, and I heard it’s not that exciting inside. If you’re travelling solo, maybe bring a book or something to Belem.

If you have the time, you can also wait in line (another line!) for the Pastel de Belem which is where the iconic treat originated (after being made in Jeronimos Monastery). I recommend trying some pastel de nata in Lisbon, but this is said to be the best. I didn’t wait in the long line but everyone I talked to said the Belem pastels are actually better than average, so… maybe I should have! Belem is lovely but you’ve got to come prepared to wait in lines for a looong time.

There’s also the Monument to the Discoveries that commemorates the Portuguese explorer Henry the Navigator. It was inaugurated in 1960. And there’s no line to see it!

Some places to see in Lisbon include Rossio Square, also known as Dom Pedro IV Square. It’s a big square with lots of people transiting, and lots of tourists staying. I stayed kind of near Rossio and it was convenient because there are so many bus, metro and train lines going around and out of the city.

There’s also the waterside Praca do Comercio or Comercio Square. It was once a port with the Ribeira Palace but it was destroyed in the earthquake of 1755, rebuilt as a commercial square (as the name implies) in the style of the old palace. It’s also here you can see the Arco da Rua Augusta. The architecture here is beautiful and worth a stop by.

A bit of history: Lisbon experienced an earthquake in November of 1755, now known as the “Great Lisbon Earthquake.” Buildings were destroyed in the earthquake, the subsequent tsunami, and all the fires that resulted. It was a huge devastation to Lisbon and it’s often mentioned if you go to learn anything about the city’s past. It’s also why so many of the buildings in Lisbon today date to the 18th century and after.

One building that did survive the earthquake is the 16th century Casa dos Bicos which is notable for its facade of spikes. It looks really cool! It now hosts an archaeological collection but I didn’t go inside.

The miradouros, or viewpoints, are also very popular to see in Lisbon. There are several including Miradouro Sao Pedro de Alcantara, Miradouro Dos Partos do Sol which is next to Miradouro de Santa Luzia. My favorite was Miradouro da Senhora do Monte which is high up, but you get a good view of the castle and the bridge – two icons of Lisbon. These are just a few that I visited – there are many more in the huge hills of Lisbon!

Other Places to Visit in Lisbon

Of course, there are so many other things to do in Lisbon, and honestly some of the less popular things were amongst my favorites.

I really enjoyed the National Tile Museum which gives a history of tile art so quintessential of Portuguese architecture, but of course it’s done through some of the country’s beautiful tile work through the ages. There’s also a gorgeous church inside to visit.

Have a free evening? I highly recommend taking a tile painting workshop – it was a big highlight of my trip! I went to Ceramics Sao Vicente and highly recommend it because 1) it was informative and entertaining, and 2) you get to take home 10 tiles instead of just one!

One place I really loved as a history enthusiast was Pimenta Palace. The 18th century palace isn’t super extraordinary now but it hosts an excellent museum dedicated to Lisbon’s history from thousands of years ago up to 1974. I do highly recommend a visit if you’d like to learn more about the city.

Another place I loved was Ajuda National Palace. It’s an 18th century palace where Portuguese royalty lived until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1910. The interior, which you can see a lot of, is so exquisitely decorated and you also get to learn a bit more about the last people to be Portuguese royalty. I highly recommend a visit here for history lovers as well.

Another palace to see is the Fronteira Palace which is a 17th century palace of the marquesses of Fronteira, which is still a home today (royalty in Portuguese disseminated but nobility still kept their titles). You can visit only at certain times, so please check their website for updated days and times. The house itself is pretty and there’s a beautiful room filled with 17th century tiles.

However the most beautiful part to visit is the gardens. The gardens don’t need a tour but there is a gorgeous patio that you can visit only on the house tour (photo set above, top right). It’s a bit out of the way so it’s someplace to keep on your radar if you have some extra time in Lisbon.

Unfortunately the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum was closed for renovations, which I was super bummed about because I really wanted to see their collection. However I really liked the National Museum of Contemporary Art. It has a wide mix of Portuguese art dating from the 19th century to the present. Here you’ll find everything from realistic allegorical painting to abstract contemporary videos.

I highly recommend a visit to the Ajube Resistance Museum to learn more about life under the Portuguese dictatorship and the events that led up to the Carnation Revolution of 1974. It’s very informative and eye-opening. I feel Portugal gets swept under the rug when we learn about history for this time period, which focuses more on countries like Germany and the USSR, but the Portuguese were just as oppressed and have an important story.

It’s not a European city without a cathedral, so of course Lisbon has its own Cathedral which actually dates all the way back to the 12th century! It’s a rare glimpse at medieval Lisbon.

Nearby is the Roman Theatre which you can actually see for free! Just pop in and have a look at a theatre dating back thousands of years. (It’s honestly not in the best shape but is a quick stop.) If you’re interested in Roman history, there’s also a Roman Theatre Museum across the street. It’s quite small but very informative. They do a good job of setting the scene for Ancient Roman Lisbon.

Another place to visit is the Medeiros & Almeida Museum which is a house museum of a 19th century decorative art collector, which as you can imagine is filled with decorative arts from the 17th-18th centuries. I thought it was quite pretty but perhaps someplace to keep on your list only if you have additional time in Lisbon.

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Something unique I did in Lisbon was dolphin watching. After a huge storm and lots of rain, I finally got to go on an incredibly calm day and we got to see 2 pods of common dolphins. It was so fun! I went with SeaEO Tours. Lisbon isn’t known for its marine life but there’s a lot out there.

There were quite a few other places I didn’t visit. Some of the museums include the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology or MAAT and the Museum of Ancient Art. There was also the Monastery of Sao Vicente de Fora and a few house museums – the Museum Bordalo Pinheiro which exhibits the fun, unique artwork of Pinheiro, and the Dr. Anastacio Goncalves House Museum which looks like it has a lovely collection of art. They’re on my list for next time.

Lisbon is also pretty well known for its street art, which there is indeed a lot of.

For whatever reason, I was surprised at the size of Lisbon. I thought it would be a smaller city but it felt humungous. I usually like walking everywhere but for Lisbon, taking their excellent public transit system is strongly encouraged. Not only are things far and wide but the hills are no joke! My thighs still scream whenever I hear the name “Lisbon.” You can also hire a tuktuk to give you a tour of the city to save on walking.

BUT I definitely recommend seeing different places within the city. The places along the waterfront from Alfama to Baixa to Belem are quite touristy, though lovely. But the city is indeed humungous and you can easily find good places to explore (and eat) a bus ride or two from the downtown area.

I spent about 4-5 days in Lisbon alone and got to do what I wanted and then some, so I felt that was a good amount of time to get acquainted. I thought it was a nice place, with the convenience and activities of a city, though many places felt more quaint and cosy. I see the appeal.

How to Save Money in Lisbon

The Lisbon Card is an excellent way to save money in Lisbon since it provides free entry to many attractions. It also covers public transport around the city! However I had a major fail when I visited and the places I went to using my Lisbon Card were the cheapest, so I ended up having to pay bigger ticket prices anyway and I actually lost about 12 euros. If you do use the Lisbon Card then I recommend going to the most expensive places first to get the most bang for your buck.

At the time of writing, the best discounts for adults that I recommend are:

• Castelo de Sao Jorge – save €15
• Jeronimos Monastery – save €18
• National Tile Museum – save €10
• Ajuda National Palace – save €15
• National Museum of Contemporary Art – save €10

I hope this post helped you understand more of what to expect in Lisbon and gave you an idea of how to spend your time. It’s a lovely place to be explored!

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