Lisbon, Portugal Hotels and City Guide

Lisbon - Getting There

Arriving in Lisbon from Aeroporto da Portela

Lisbon is served by the Lisbon Portela Airport, situated is located 7km from Lisbon city centre.

Metered taxis are an easy way to access the city centre and are quite affordable at about €10.00 from the airport to the city centre, plus €1.20 per item of luggage.

Aerobus 91 runs every 20 minutes from 07.00-21.00 from the airport to the city centre and the Caisdo Sodré railway. The fare is €3.50 however this is valid for all public transport lines for one day.

Arriving in Lisbon by Rail

Lisbon as two main train stations: Santa Apolónia and Gare do Oriente. If you enter Lisbon from the south, get off at Entrecampos or SeteRios as their metro stations are a few stops closer to the city centre and old town. If you arrive from the north and centre of Portugal, use Santa Apolónia which is close to Alfama and the city centre.

Cais do Sodré is the train station for connections to Cascais and Estoril.

Arriving in Lisbon by Road: Driving

Highways
Lisbon can be accessed from six main highways - see our Maps page for an area map showing how these highways enter Lisbon. The A2 leads to the very busy 25 de Abril Bridge and across into Lisbon. It is the best option also for travel to the west (A5 to Estoril, Cascais, Sintra).

If you branch off from the A2 into the A12, you will cross Europe’s longest bridge, the Vasco da Gama Bridge. It is less busy than the older bridge, but has a higher toll. This is the best option for the eastern/northern part of Lisbon (to the airport and Praque das Nações) and to the A1 or A8 going north.

Coming from the north, there is the A1 that connects Lisbon to Santarém, Fátima, Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro, Oporto. The A1 ends near the airport. There's also the A8, which goes to Torres Vedras, Caldas da Rainha, Alcobaça, Leiria. From the west, there is the A5, which connects to Estoril, Cascais, and the IC-19 that crosses all the suburbs and ends near Sintra.

Ring roads
Lisbon has three - the 2nd Circular, which connects the A1 to the IC-19; the CRIL IC-17 which connects the Vasco da Gama bridge with the A1 and A8; and the CREL A9, which connects the A1 with the A8, IC-19, A5, and goes all the way to the Estoril coast.

Toll highways
Portugal has a unified electronic toll paying system which is usually on the left-most lanes of the toll booths, marked with a green "V" (Via Verde - "Green Lane"). If you don't subscribe to the system, pay the toll at the manned booths (cash and most debit and credit cards accepted). If you by chance get distracted and go through the Via Verde lane, you have 48 hours to go to a Via Verde office and pay the toll without a fine.

Arriving in Lisbon by Road: Buses

All nearby cities and most major towns in Portugal have direct buses to Lisbon. The Gare do Oriente, which also includes a railway and metro station and is adjacent to Parque das Nações, is Lisbon's main bus terminal. There are four trips a day to the Algarve.

The Arco do Cego, very near Praça Duque de Saldanha, is the terminal for domestic express buses (including to the Algarve) and most international buses. Praça de Espanha terminal serves Setúbal-Sesimbra, while Campo Pequeno terminal serves the north-west coast.

If travelling by bus to the Minho and Algarve, use the terminal at Campo das Cebolas, at the end of Rua dos Bacalhoeiros and east of Praça do Comércio. Largo Martim Moniz terminal, northeast of Praçada Figueira, serves buses to and from Mafra.

Hotels in Lisbon, Portugal