Lisbon
Seven hills, yellow trams, tiled walls and the wide water of the Tagus.
Lisbon sits on hills above the estuary of the Tagus, its old quarters climbing away from the river in stairways and steep lanes. Trams and lifts do the climbing for you; the reward at the top is always a miradouro, a terrace with a view over the roofs to the water.
Why go
It is a capital with the pace of a seaside town. The light is famous, the food is honest and generous, and the neighbourhoods — Alfama, Bairro Alto, Belém — each have a character strong enough to fill a day.
The coast is close: Cascais and the beaches are at the end of a suburban train line, and Sintra's palaces sit in the hills an hour away. It is easy to spend a week here without repeating yourself.
Highlights
What people go for, in no particular order.
01Alfama and the castle
The old Moorish quarter, a tangle of lanes below the Castelo de São Jorge, with fado in the evenings and the miradouros of Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol over the river.
02Tram 28 and the lifts
The yellow tram 28 winds through Graça, Alfama and Estrela, and the Santa Justa lift joins the Baixa to the Carmo ruins above. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars were suspended after the Glória derailment of September 2025; check with Carris, which runs them, before you plan around one.
03Belém
West along the river: the Jerónimos monastery, the Monument to the Discoveries and the Belém Tower on the water, plus the pastry shop the custard tarts are named for.
04Baixa and Chiado
The grid rebuilt after the eighteenth-century earthquake, with the Praça do Comércio open to the river, the Santa Justa lift and the cafés and bookshops of Chiado above.
05Bairro Alto and Príncipe Real
Quiet by day and loud by night, Bairro Alto's streets fill with bars after dark. Príncipe Real next door has the garden, the antique shops and the calmer restaurants.
06Sintra and Cascais
Sintra's palaces and forested hills are a day trip by train; Cascais and the Atlantic beaches at Guincho are another. Both lines leave from the city centre.
07The tiles and the food
Azulejos cover churches, stations and ordinary houses; the tile museum explains them. Grilled sardines, bacalhau, bifanas and a glass of vinho verde explain the rest.
Areas
Where to base yourself, and what each area is like.
Baixa and Chiado
Flat, central and connected to everything. The easiest base for a first visit.
Alfama
Historic, steep and picturesque, with fado houses and small guesthouses. Quiet lanes, lively evenings.
Bairro Alto and Príncipe Real
Nightlife on one side, gardens and boutiques on the other. Good for eating out; choose the street carefully if you value sleep.
Belém and the riverside
Monuments, museums and river walks, a tram ride from the centre. Calmer, with the water always in view.
When to go: Lisbon
- SpringMarch – May
- Warm days, jacaranda in bloom by May, and the terraces open. Comfortable for walking the hills.
- SummerJune – August
- Hot, bright and busy, with the June festivals filling Alfama with grilled sardines and music. The beaches earn their keep.
- AutumnSeptember – November
- Still warm into October, with the crowds thinning and the light at its softest. Rain arrives with November.
- WinterDecember – February
- Mild by northern standards, often bright between showers, and quiet. The city's cafés and museums come into their own.
Getting there
Airports
One airport in our search serves Lisbon. Distances are measured in a straight line.
- LISHumberto Delgado
Distance from
- CDGParis1,480 km
- LHRLondon1,570 km
- JFKNew York5,410 km
- DXBDubai6,140 km
- BOMMumbai8,020 km
- JNBJohannesburg8,190 km
- SINSingapore11,890 km
- SYDSydney18,180 km
Getting around: Lisbon
The metro links the airport to the centre. Trams, buses and the lifts cover the hills, though the funiculars were suspended in 2025 and may not have reopened; a rechargeable transport card works on all of them and on the suburban trains to Sintra and Cascais.
Walking is the way to see the old quarters, with stairs and cobbles to match. Ride-hailing and taxis are plentiful for the uphill ends of the day.
Practical facts
The country, its currency and languages, the time zone and the time there now.
- Country
- Portugal
- Currency
- EUR · Euro
- Languages
- Portuguese
- Time zone
- Western European Time
- Local time now
- Calling code
- +351
The atlas
Lisbon in figures
The figures under this guide: the climate on modelled 2001–2020 averages, how far it is from the UAE, and the places around it.
Climate
The weather in Lisbon, month by month
- Jan15°
- Feb15°
- Mar16°
- Apr17°
- May19°
- Jun21°
- Jul22°
- Aug23°
- Sept22°
- Oct21°
- Nov17°
- Dec15°
- Mild to warm and dry
- Mild to warm, humid or showery
- Hot
- Cool
- Wet
- Cold
Good for going, on these averages: May to October.
Mean highs run from 15°C in January to 23°C in August, with about 541 mm of rain in a year.
These are modelled averages for 2001–2020; the seasons described above are our own reading of a typical year.
Month-by-month climate for LisbonModelled averages for an area about 50 km across, not a weather station's record: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020.
Airports
How far it is from the UAE
From DXBLisbon
6,140 km
8 hrs · Estimate
From AUHLisbon
6,120 km
7 hrs 55 mins · Estimate
The great-circle distance, and a rough flying time: the distance at an average 850 km/h plus 45 minutes for take-off and landing. Real flights follow airways, meet headwinds and wait for traffic, so schedules differ.
On the map
Places near Lisbon
Plan this trip: Lisbon
Open the trip builder with Lisbon already filled in. Flights, stays and everything else are priced together in one quote, prepared by a person on our team.
