Lisbon has become one of Europe’s hottest travel destination. I’ve been traveling here for over five years and the tourism boom is exponential. Why is this so? Lisbon is inexpensive compared to most other major European capitals, it is gorgeous, it is close to crystal clear beaches, and offers great food and wine. If you’re finally going to visit the City of Seven Hills, take a few to check out my Lisbon Airport Guide. It will make your arrival significantly more pleasant.
Lisbon Airport Guide
Getting to Lisbon from the Airport
Let’s discuss the multiple ways you can get from Lisbon airport to the city center: 1. Skip taxis: Not all taxi drivers speak English in Lisbon and some who do will make believe they don’t so they can go the longer way and tack on a few extra bucks to your ride. Many taxis are old and decrepit. They don’t always want to take you to your exact location, and overall, I’ve not had the best experiences with taxis in Lisboa. Of course, not all taxi drivers are like this, but why take the chance? A taxi will cost you between €15-20 2. Take an Uber: Ubers are great. Even if your driver does not speak English, you can just put in the address of your destination and they’ll get you where you need to go. There is one caveat. You can’t pick up your Uber where the taxis are parked. Instead, walk to the car rental area – Ubers know to pick up their fares there. An Uber will cost you around €10-15If you don’t already have an international smart phone, and you aren’t planning on purchasing a SIM card at the Vodaphone kiosk at Lisbon airport, you can use the airport’s free WIFI to procure your Uber. Just keep in mind that the service is only available for 30 minutes and requires you to create an email log-in.3. Hire a Pickup Company: There are companies you can hire like Welcome Pickups in Lisbon that will not only pick you up, they will work with transfers, they will assist you with things to do, information and a ton more. Check reviews online to find your favorite one. 4. Take the Metro: The metro in Lisbon is easy to take and cheap. I prefer Uber because you’ll probably be tired when you arrive, but if you have the stamina, go for a ride on the metro. It’s pretty easy and it is CHEAP! A trip on the metro will cost you €1.45 5. Take the AeroBus: Lisbon’s Aerobus has two lines that will get you to the city center. A one-way adult ticket costs €3.50.
- Line 1 – Entrecampos, Campo Pequeno, Avenida da República, Saldanha, Picoas, Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo, Marquês de Pombal, Avenida da Liberdade, Restauradores, Rossio, Praça do Comércio, Cais do Sodré. Leaves every 20 minutes.
- Line 2 – Entrecampos, Sete Rios, Avenida Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, Praça de Espanha, Avenida José Malhoa. Leaves every 40 minutes.
- 705 Oriente-Aeroporto-Roma/Areeiro
- 722 Praça de Londres-Aeroporto-Portela
- 744 Marquês-Aeroporto-Moscavide
- 783 Amoreiras-Aeroporto-Portela
- 208 Cais do Sodré and Oriente
- Europcar
- Guerin
- Hertz
- Avis
- Budget
- GoldCar
- Enterprise
- Sixt
How Long To Get to the City Center by Car
Lisbon airport is ridiculously close to the city center, about 4 miles to the downtown Lisboa. Here are estimated times on how long it will take you to get to different neighborhoods in Lisbon:
Alfama Uber 8-20 min Cais do Sodré 25-30 min Marquês de Pombal 20-25 min Parque das Nações Metro 5-10 min Rossio 25-30 min Saldanha 20-30 min São Sebastião 20-30 minHow Long to Get to the City Center by Metro
As I mentioned before, the metro is the cheapest way to get to Lisbon proper. The line at the Airport is the red line that goes to São Sebastião. It connects with all other lines, so no matter where you are going, it’s pretty easy to get there on maximum 1 transfer. Alfama 24 min Cais do Sodré 30 min Marquês de Pombal 20-25 min Parque das Nações 5-10 min Rossio 25-30 min Saldanha Metro 20 min São Sebastião Metro 20-25 minHow to Buy A Metro(Viva Viagem) Card
Metro cards in Lisbon are called Viva Viagem Cards. You can purchase them at the ticket machines (they have an option for English on the screen). The card will cost you 0.50€, then you need to add value to the card.
Each person in your party needs to have his or her card. Lisbon is not like NYC where you can swipe people in with your card.
The Viva Viagem card works not just on Lisbon’s subways, but also on the yellow Carris buses.
Lisbon Airport Guide – The Terminals
There are two terminals at Lisbon Airport:
- Terminal 1: Arrivals & International departures
- Terminal 2: Low-cost airlines
Have other questions about this Lisbon Airport Guide? Have other questions about Lisbon in general? Leave your question in the comments.
I LOVE Portugal and I LOVE Lisbon. I prefer it to any city in Spain anyday! I love the fact that there is no need to rent a car (I can’t be bothered with that) and that we can just walk or take the metro anywhere. This is such an extensive and helpful guide, I will be bookmarking it for my next visit to Portugal. Thanks for sharing with us!
This is super helpful for people traveling to and from Portugal! You have so many great details here.
Those are some amazing tips!!! I want to visit Lisbon this fall!! I will definitely check out your post again before that
no plans to go to Lisbon bit it is definitely in the list. Good information above and will save it for future reference.
Wish there was a way to get several airport guides like this in one place. Maybe an idea in there somewhere.
Thank you for this! I’ve never been to this airport but if I ever need to use it, I’ll keep the post in mind.
I love this helpful Lisbon airport guide! It’s so nice to have this type of information ahead of a trip. It makes traveling so much smoother and enjoyable. 🙂
I had no idea that Lisbon had become one of Europe’s hottest travel destination. You offer a great guide here!
You are a girl after my own heart. Lisbon is so easy to fall in love with. I also hate driving (and I don’t know how to drive stick – so I’m with you on not being bothered with rentals). Next time you’re in town, message me – we’ll grab a coffee.
Glad that you found it helpful. If you have any questions, just leave them in the comments. I’m always happy to answer.
Glad you liked them. If you plan on coming to Lisbon this fall, make sure you don’t come during the Web Summit. Prices will be much higher than usual then…so come either before or after the event.
I was thinking the exact same thing as I made this post. I’m headed back to the US in a few weeks, so I may have to do this at Newark airport. I’m kinda bummed I didn’t do this at all the other cities I visited 😉
Glad you like it. I’m planning on doing this whenever I fly. It’s so hard to navigate airports when you’re tired and confused.
I was thinking how crappy I felt when I was getting off a flight, confused, in a rush…and since I was headed to Lisbon Airport, I figured why not craft this guide. Thrilled to see that you liked it 😉
It’s crazy. I have been coming to Lisbon for the past 5 years and each year it just gets more and more popular. This is good and bad, but the government of the city is handling the influx of tourism fairly well. If you haven’t been here yet, I highly recommend a visit.
Well naturally I love Portugal as I my heritage is Portuguese (my parents are from Madeira) but I have not been able to go to Lisbon unless you count its airport on a stopover haha! Its amazing how cheap the metro is!
That is a helpful post… I have never been to Libson… But some day i would love to visit Portugal… It seems like a lovely place and this post will be useful 🙂
That’s so awesome. I’m sure you can tell I love Portugal (I came once and fell in love), but I haven’t made it to Madeira yet. If you have tips, I would LOVE them…if you drop by Lisbon, make sure to message me – we can grab a coffee & pasteis de nata.
You should think about a trip to Lisbon soon. It is such a wonderful destination. Great beaches near by, inexpensive and delicious food, tons of architecture (and Lisbon airport is so easy to manage).
These are some really great travel tips. Especially when we are travelling to another country, we don’t always know what to expect.
This is such a great guide, I have never been to Lisbon but I would absolutely love to and I’ll have to keep these hints in mind!
So many great tips and such a helpful guide to those traveling. Pinning in the hopes it helps other who will be in the area.
Exactly. I do tons of travel and there is nothing worse than getting to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, are tired and have no idea what’s going on. With this Lisbon Airport Guide I wanted to make things easier. Is there anything else you’d like to see?
Thrilled you liked the piece. Lisbon is a great city for newbie travelers.
Thanks so much for sharing. Travel is wonderful, but it can be so stressful. I just hope that my tips help make other’s travels much more fun and easy.
Lisbon is one of the city I wish to visit soon. And also maybe my trip will help me to motivate to learn the language 🙂 I wish to learn Portuguese!
You’re going to love Lisbon. It is a wonderful place. When you’re ready, if you need tips, just ask. And if you want to learn Portuguese, check out Memrise. It’s a free app which makes it so easy to learn the basics 🙂