Portugal · low fares
Cheap flights to Lisbon
The lowest fares to Lisbon, Portugal on Expedia Flights. Compare every major carrier, see the cheapest weekday for your route, and book without add-on fees at checkout.
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What things cost in Lisbon
A Navegante card costs 0.50 euro; a single Carris or Metro fare is 1.90, zapping validations 1.72, and the 24-hour Carris and Metro pass 7.25. Add the ferry to Cacilhas and it is 10.35; add suburban trains and it is 11.40. The Santa Justa Lift is 6 euro as a tourist ticket against 1.80 with a transport card. A pastel de nata sits near a euro and a half.
What first-timers get wrong in Lisbon
Paying the driver on tram 28 costs 3.30 euro; the same ride is 1.72 with zapping credit on a 0.50 euro Navegante card. Restaurants set bread, olives and cheese on the table as couvert and bill for it, so wave it away if you do not want it. Free-Sunday museum entry is a residents' benefit, not a visitor one. Tipping is minimal here: rounding the bill up is normal.
What's actually worth your time in Lisbon
Belem holds the two Manueline set pieces: the Jeronimos cloister rewards its ticket, while the Torre de Belem is a cramped stair with a long queue and is better photographed from the lawn. The Santa Justa Lift charges tourists a premium for a ride you can skip by walking to Largo do Carmo, which overlooks the same platform for nothing. Castelo de Sao Jorge sells a view, not rooms.
When the weather turns in Lisbon
Wet calcada limestone turns genuinely slick, so the steep Alfama lanes and the Graca stairs become a hazard rather than an inconvenience. Bank a day around the Oceanario, the Gulbenkian's galleries and garden pavilions, and the Azulejo museum's convent rooms. Mercado da Ribeira and the covered stretches of LX Factory absorb an afternoon. The 28 tram is standing-room and steamy in rain, which is when pickpockets work it hardest.
Lisbon's museums, and which one to pick
Azulejo tilework gets its own national museum inside the Madre de Deus convent, ending in a 23-metre panorama of pre-earthquake Lisbon. The Gulbenkian shows one oil magnate's private haul, from Egyptian sculpture to a room of Lalique jewellery, and its adjoining CAM opens free on Sunday afternoons. Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga keeps Bosch's Temptation of St Anthony. National museums shut Mondays; MAC/CCB is free all day Saturday.
When to go to Lisbon
| Best months for cheap-flights | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| August | 28°C / 82°F | 0 days |
| July | 29°C / 84°F | 0 days |
| May | 23°C / 73°F | 4 days |
The month to avoid is January — around 15°C (59°F) with roughly 7 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: August is the sweet spot, January the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, High-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, and a refillable water bottle, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.
Where to base yourself in Lisbon
- Alfama — Old town, fado tradition, miradouro viewpoints.
- Bairro Alto — Nightlife — quiet by day, crowded after 10pm.
- Belém — Monuments, museums, the pastry of pastries.
- Príncipe Real — Boutiques, design shops, dining.