Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and Torre de Belém
Two UNESCO-listed Manueline buildings a short walk apart in Belém, carved with the rope-and-knot stonework you will not find anywhere else.
Lisbon in pictures
Lisbon
Hills, trams, and a metro map that changes in 2027
Destinations › Europe › Lisbon
Lisbon is built on hills steep enough that the city installed funiculars to haul people up them, and three of the four are currently out of service after a fatal accident in 2025. What does work — the 28E tram, the metro, the river ferries and the urban trains — works well, but the metro network is in the middle of a rebuild, so verify before you rely on any map.
TAP Air Portugal, Air Canada and Air Transat all fly Toronto Pearson to Lisbon nonstop, typically as an overnight of roughly seven hours eastbound. You land at Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), which is unusually close in. The Metro Red Line (Linha Vermelha) has its own station, Aeroporto, at Terminal 1, and the airport's own site puts central Lisbon at about 20 minutes away. Carris routes 705 and 744 also serve the airport with the 208 covering the night, but city buses cap luggage at 50x40x20 cm, so with a real suitcase the metro is the only sensible public option.
Metro de Lisboa runs four lines by colour — Blue, Yellow, Green and Red. Carris operates the trams and buses, including the 28E between Martim Moniz and Campo de Ourique, plus the one funicular currently running. CP runs the urban rail: the Linha de Sintra out of Rossio and the Linha de Cascais out of Cais do Sodré. Payment is the navegante occasional card, a reusable card you load with either single tickets or 'zapping' pay-as-you-go credit, valid across Metro, Carris and CP. Metro Lisboa also accepts contactless Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay directly at the gate, tapping in and out with the same card — but that covers the Metro only, and Carris and CP still expect the navegante card.
Two UNESCO-listed Manueline buildings a short walk apart in Belém, carved with the rope-and-knot stonework you will not find anywhere else.
A working Carris commuter route rather than a tourist ride — board at the Martim Moniz end if you want a seat, and keep a hand on your bag, because it is the city's most notorious route for pickpockets.
From the hilltop walls you get the whole Baixa grid and the Tagus in one frame, which is the fastest way to understand how the city is laid out.
Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle and Quinta da Regaleira sit in the hills a straightforward urban-rail ride from a station in the middle of town.
The flat grid the Marquês de Pombal rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, running from Praça do Comércio on the river up to Rossio. Central, level, and served by metro at Baixa-Chiado and Rossio — and the Baixa-Chiado station's long escalators and lifts are a genuine shortcut up the hill to Chiado, which is otherwise a climb. Convenient and beautiful, but this is the busiest, noisiest and most visitor-heavy part of the city.
The old Moorish quarter that survived the earthquake, and it shows: stairs, blind alleys, washing lines, fado drifting out of doorways, and miradouros with the best views in Lisbon. The most atmospheric place to stay and by a wide margin the hardest to walk. Mouraria and Martim Moniz next door are Lisbon's most multicultural blocks, with a large South Asian community, Indian, Nepali and Bangladeshi kitchens, halal butchers and Indian grocers — genuinely useful if you're travelling with vegetarian parents who will want a proper meal by day three.
The compromise base. Príncipe Real is leafy and upmarket with a garden square and small independent shops; Avenida da Liberdade is a wide, flat tree-lined boulevard with metro stations along it. You're a short downhill walk from Baixa, and it's quieter and greener than the centre. The word to notice is downhill — coming home is uphill. The Glória funicular that used to carry people up from Restauradores has been suspended since the fatal derailment in September 2025, so plan on a bus, a taxi or a steep walk rather than counting on it.
Riverside and utterly different in scale: the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the MAAT and the Coach Museum, all spread along a flat green waterfront. Easy for wheelchairs and strollers and lovely for a full day. As a base it's a bit sleepy after dark and away from the city's evening life, but it's reachable on tram 15, the one modern low-floor route in the tram network.
Custard tart in flaky pastry, served warm with cinnamon and icing sugar to shake on yourself. Every pastelaria in the city makes them; the Belém version made to the old monastery recipe is the famous one and has its own queue. The right order is one with a bica (espresso) or a galão (milky coffee in a glass), standing at the counter, mid-morning.
Salt cod, the national obsession, done a reputed hundred ways — à Brás shredded with egg and potato, com natas baked in cream, or as pastéis de bacalhau, the fried croquettes sold everywhere. Beyond cod: whole grilled sardines, which take over the city in June for the Santo António festivals when Alfama and Graça cook them in the street, plus arroz de marisco and simply grilled whole fish. Look for a plain tasca in Alfama, Graça or Campo de Ourique, and Mercado de Campo de Ourique for the market version.
The everyday lunch. A bifana is thin marinated pork in a crusty roll; a prego is the same idea with steak. Counter-service snack bars and cervejarias across the city do them fast and cheap, and it is what people actually eat at midday. The Mercado da Ribeira at Cais do Sodré — the food-hall half of the building — is the tidied-up, sit-down version of the same food if you have a group with different appetites; the other half is still a working produce market.
Ginjinha is sour-cherry liqueur, sweet and strong, served in a small glass sometimes with a cherry in the bottom, sold from tiny hole-in-the-wall counters around Rossio and Largo de São Domingos where you drink standing on the pavement. Petiscos are the Portuguese equivalent of tapas — small plates like ameijoas à Bulhão Pato (clams with garlic and coriander), presunto, and cheese from the Serra da Estrela.
Start on the level in Baixa: Praça do Comércio on the river, then up Rua Augusta through the arch to Rossio. Add the Elevador de Santa Justa if the queue at the bottom isn't absurd — you can also reach its upper level from Largo do Carmo at the top, next to the roofless earthquake ruin of the Carmo Convent, which is worth the detour on its own.
Up into Chiado on foot or via the Baixa-Chiado metro lifts, then on to Príncipe Real. The Glória funicular from Restauradores is out of service, so this is either a steep walk up the Calçada da Glória or a bus. Either way, stop at the Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara at the top for the view back across to the castle.
Walk or take the metro down to Cais do Sodré for the Mercado da Ribeira, then out along the riverfront. It's flat, the light on the Tejo at sunset is the reason people fall for this city, and you're at the terminus for tomorrow's tram.
Belém on tram 15 — the modern articulated one, not the vintage 28 — from Praça da Figueira, picking it up at Cais do Sodré if that's closer. Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and its cloister first (book ahead), then the Torre de Belém, Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the MAAT along the water. It's all flat but it's spread out, so allow more walking than the map suggests.
Back into town and do Alfama from the top down, which is the whole trick. Ride tram 28 or a bus up to Graça, then walk downhill: Miradouro da Senhora do Monte, Miradouro de Santa Luzia, the Castelo de São Jorge, and finally the Sé cathedral, landing you back in Baixa.
Parque das Nações for a complete change of pace — metro Red Line to Oriente. The Oceanário is one of the best aquariums anywhere and works for every age, the cable car runs along the river, and the whole district is modern, flat and shaded. A good recovery day after two days of hills.
Palaces and gardens in a misty wooded hill range: the Pena Palace on its crag, Quinta da Regaleira with its initiation well, the ruined Moorish castle walls, and the Monserrate gardens. CP's Sintra line runs from Rossio station right in the middle of Lisbon to Sintra, and the line is a straightforward suburban service. Two warnings — the sites are steeply uphill from the town and the hop-on bus up is the sensible move rather than walking, and the major palaces use timed entry tickets that need booking well ahead.
A former fishing town turned seaside resort at the end of the line, with a flat promenade, small beaches in the bay, and the Boca do Inferno sea cave along the cliffs. CP's Cascais line goes from Cais do Sodré and runs beside the river and then the Atlantic the whole way, which makes the journey part of the trip. This is the easy day trip — level ground, short distances, and you can walk or cycle the seafront path towards Estoril.
A walled UNESCO town on the plains inland: a Roman temple standing in the middle of the old centre, a fortress-like cathedral, whitewashed lanes and the Alentejo's heavier, slower cooking. CP intercity trains run there from Lisbon, and it's a full day rather than a half. Go for the change of landscape as much as the monuments — the ride out through cork oak country is a different Portugal entirely.
Be honest with yourself about Lisbon: of these three cities it is by far the hardest on anyone with limited mobility, and pretending otherwise will ruin somebody's trip. It is built on seven hills and the pavements are calçada portuguesa — small limestone cobbles set by hand in patterns. They are beautiful, they have been polished glassy by a century of feet, and they are slippery when wet and awkward for a cane, a walker or small wheels at any time. Add gradients that regularly hit the point where the pavement turns into steps, and you have a city that punishes the unprepared. The metro helps, but only partly. There are fifty-six stations across four lines, and the newer stations have lifts while a number of the oldest ones are escalators and stairs only. The important habit is this: check that BOTH your departure and your arrival station are step-free before you set off, and confirm on the day, because a station listed as accessible is no use if its lift is out. There are wide gates for wheelchairs, strollers and large bags, but they're often set to exit-only and you may need staff to let you through. Trams need untangling. Tram 28 is the famous one and it is a Remodelado — a rebuilt pre-war wooden car with steps up, no wheelchair space, standing room only when it's busy, and a reputation as a pickpocket's office; Canada's travel advice names trams 15, 25 and 28 specifically. Routes 12, 18, 24, 25 and 28 all use these historic cars. Tram 15 to Belém is the only route running modern articulated low-floor trams, so it is the one to use with a wheelchair or a stroller. Carris's modern low-floor buses are frequently the better answer than either. The funiculars and the Santa Justa lift are Victorian machinery with steps, so they were never accessible transport — but right now they are also not something to build a route around. Carris operates three funiculars in total: Glória, Bica and Lavra. The Glória has been suspended since 3 September 2025, when a car ran away and derailed into a building, killing sixteen people and injuring twenty-one; it had not reopened as of the most recent information available. The Bica was also listed as suspended for inspection. Check what is actually running before you count on any of it, and do not promise a grandparent a funicular ride. One piece of strategy is worth more than any of this: always go up by machine and come down on foot. Take the metro lift, the bus or the tram to the top of a hill and walk down through it. People who try to walk up Alfama or up to the castle in the afternoon regret it, and in July and August, when the miradouros and Belém offer almost no shade, that regret comes fast. The good news for a family arriving from Toronto: Humberto Delgado airport is inside the city, on the metro Red Line, which is one of the newer lift-equipped lines, so the arrival is genuinely painless. The flight is the shortest of these three cities, an overnight from Pearson landing in the morning. Lisbon runs five hours ahead of Toronto in summer — an hour behind Barcelona and Amsterdam, which matters if you're connecting onward.
Euro. Cards including contactless are widely accepted and Multibanco (MB) cash machines are on every second corner. For transport, buy a rechargeable navegante occasional card at any metro machine and load credit onto it — it covers the metro, Carris trams and buses, the funiculars and the ferries across the Tejo, and paying the tram driver in cash is the slow and expensive route. The metro validates on both entry and exit, so keep your card to hand at the end of the journey as well as the start.
Service is included in the bill. A modest tip for good service is customary — rounding up, or a small percentage after a proper meal — and nothing like Canadian levels is expected. Separately, know about the couvert: the bread, olives, cheese or pâté a waiter places on your table without being asked is not free, it is an item on the bill. This is normal Portuguese practice, not a scam, and you are entirely within your rights to wave it away before it lands.
Type C and Type F sockets — two round pins — at 230 volts, 50 Hz. Canadian plugs don't fit and Canadian 120V-only appliances don't work: an adapter handles the shape, but check each device for "100–240V" before you pack it. Chargers are almost always fine; heat appliances usually are not.
Safe to drink. EPAL treats and monitors Lisbon's supply against Portuguese and EU drinking-water standards, from the reservoirs through to the tap. It is chlorinated, and the usual fix for the occasional chlorine smell is to let a jug of water stand for a few minutes. Bottled water is a taste preference here, not a health precaution.
Portuguese, and if you know Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese, be ready — European Portuguese swallows its vowels and sounds very different from either. English is widely spoken in Lisbon, particularly by younger people and anyone working in hospitality or transport; it drops off with older residents and in the outer neighbourhoods. "Bom dia", "por favor" and "obrigado" (men) or "obrigada" (women) will carry you a long way.
Lisbon is a safe city and violent crime against visitors is rare. Theft is the real issue: Canada's travel advice describes pickpocketing and bag snatching as common in Lisbon and singles out trams 15, 25 and 28. Keep bags closed and in front on the tram, and never in the overhead. The other thing you will encounter is being quietly offered hashish or cocaine on Rua Augusta and around Rossio and Cais do Sodré — a persistent, low-level street hustle, and the correct response is "não, obrigado" without breaking stride. Emergencies: 112.
Summers are hot and dry with July and August the peak for both heat and crowds; winters are mild but genuinely wet from November through March. April to June and September to October are the comfortable months. Festas de Lisboa fills June and peaks on the night of 12 June into 13 June for Santo António, with the popular marches parading down Avenida da Liberdade and street parties taking over Alfama, Graça, Mouraria, Bica and Madragoa — book accommodation well ahead for that week. If you want Pena Palace, note that Parques de Sintra sells the palace interior on a specific date and time only, and entry is at your scheduled slot.
Compare the ways to get there, then build a day-by-day plan.
TAP Air Portugal, Air Canada and Air Transat all fly Toronto Pearson to Lisbon nonstop, typically as an overnight of roughly seven hours eastbound. You land at Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), which is unusually close in. The Metro Red Line (Linha Vermelha) has its own station, Aeroporto, at Terminal 1, and the airport's own site puts central Lisbon at about 20 minutes away. Carris routes 705 and 744 also serve the airport with the 208 covering the night, but city buses cap luggage at 50x40x20 cm, so with a real suitcase the metro is the only sensible public option.
Metro de Lisboa runs four lines by colour — Blue, Yellow, Green and Red. Carris operates the trams and buses, including the 28E between Martim Moniz and Campo de Ourique, plus the one funicular currently running. CP runs the urban rail: the Linha de Sintra out of Rossio and the Linha de Cascais out of Cais do Sodré. Payment is the navegante occasional card, a reusable card you load with either single tickets or 'zapping' pay-as-you-go credit, valid across Metro, Carris and CP. Metro Lisboa also accepts contactless Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay directly at the gate, tapping in and out with the same card — but that covers the Metro only, and Carris and CP still expect the navegante card.
Summers are hot and dry with July and August the peak for both heat and crowds; winters are mild but genuinely wet from November through March. April to June and September to October are the comfortable months. Festas de Lisboa fills June and peaks on the night of 12 June into 13 June for Santo António, with the popular marches parading down Avenida da Liberdade and street parties taking over Alfama, Graça, Mouraria, Bica and Madragoa — book accommodation well ahead for that week. If you want Pena Palace, note that Parques de Sintra sells the palace interior on a specific date and time only, and entry is at your scheduled slot.