Lisbon Layover and Stopover Guide

Flying between Europe and the Americas or Africa via Lisbon? Instead of waiting at the airport, turn your connection into a stopover and spend a day or a few days in the city. Lisbon’s airport is only about 20 minutes from the centre. Here’s how to plan a Lisbon layover or stopover.

Quick answer: with 6 hours or more between flights (and no visa issues), you can take the metro into town for a few hours. For a longer stop, TAP Air Portugal has offered a stopover programme letting you break your trip in Lisbon or Porto for several nights at no extra airfare. Check current terms when booking. Even 24 hours is enough for Alfama, Belém and a fado night.

Why stop in Lisbon

Few European capitals have an airport this close to the old town. In the time many cities need just to get you downtown, you can be eating a pastel de nata in the Baixa. Lisbon is also compact, so even a short visit gives you the river, the hills, the tiled streets and a proper Portuguese meal.

The TAP stopover programme

TAP’s Portugal Stopover lets passengers on eligible long-haul TAP journeys add a stop in Lisbon or Porto, on the outbound or return leg, without paying extra airfare. TAP currently advertises stays of up to 10 days. You still pay for your hotel, but the programme includes discounts with partner hotels, restaurants and tours. You usually add the stopover when you book, through TAP’s own website. Rules and partner offers change, so check the details before you book.

Can I leave the airport?

• Arriving from outside the Schengen area: you’ll go through passport control. The EU’s EES entry-exit system now registers non-EU travellers at the border, so allow extra time. See Portugal entry requirements.
• Bags: if your bags are checked through, you don’t need to collect them.
• Allow time: passport queues can be long at peak times. Be back at the airport 2 to 3 hours before a long-haul flight.
• Check your terminal: most flights use Terminal 1, where the metro station is. Some low-cost flights use Terminal 2, linked to Terminal 1 by a free shuttle bus, so add extra time.

Getting into the city

The red metro line runs from the airport to the centre in about 20 to 25 minutes, with a change for the Baixa. Taxis and Uber take about 20 minutes outside rush hour. See Lisbon airport to the city centre.

• Metro hours: usually from about 6:30am to 1am, so it won’t help with very early or very late connections.
• To the Baixa: take the red line to Alameda and change to the green line for Baixa-Chiado or Rossio.
• Tickets: buy a reusable navegante card at the station machines and load it with a single ticket, zapping credit or a 24-hour pass. See the Lisbon public transport guide.
• Rush hour: roads into the city are slow on weekday mornings and evenings, when the metro is often quicker than a taxi.

Layover of 6 to 10 hours

1. Metro to the Baixa and walk to Praça do Comércio.
2. Walk up through Alfama to a viewpoint. See Alfama.
3. Eat a pastel de nata and a proper Portuguese lunch.
4. Head back with plenty of time to spare.

A tuk-tuk is a quick way to see a lot in a short time. See Lisbon tuk-tuk tours.

Working out your real time

From an 8-hour layover, take off about an hour for landing, passport control and the walk to the metro, about an hour for the round trip into town, and 2 to 3 hours to be back for a long-haul flight. That leaves you roughly 3 to 4 hours in the city. Stick to one area, such as the Baixa and Alfama, rather than trying to reach Belém as well.

What to skip on a short layover

• Sintra: it needs at least half a day on its own.
• Long museum queues: Belém sights can mean long waits in summer.
• Funiculars: the Glória and Bica funiculars and the Santa Justa lift are closed, so plan to walk.

A 24-hour stopover

Follow our Lisbon in one day plan: Alfama in the morning, Belém in the afternoon, sunset at a viewpoint and dinner with fado. See Lisbon city tours.

What to eat in a short stay

• Pastel de nata: the custard tart, best warm with cinnamon. See the best pastel de nata in Lisbon.
• Bacalhau: salt cod, cooked in many different ways.
• Grilled fish and seafood: sardines in summer, clams and octopus all year.
• Ginjinha: a small cherry liqueur, sold from tiny bars around Rossio.

A 2 to 5 day stopover

Add Sintra, Cascais and more. See 2 days in Lisbon and 5 days in Lisbon.

With three days or more, you can also take the train to Sintra for its palaces, or to Cascais for the beach. Both are under an hour from central Lisbon. With five days, consider a night in Porto, which is about three hours away by fast train.

When to go

Lisbon works all year. Spring and autumn are mild and ideal for walking. Summer is hot and busy, with the Santo António street festivities in June. Winter is cooler and wetter but quieter and cheaper, and it rarely gets cold enough to spoil a day out.

Where to stay

• One night with an early flight: see Lisbon airport hotels.
• To explore: stay in the Baixa or Chiado. See where to stay in Lisbon.

Leaving bags

Luggage storage is available at the airport and at lockers around the city centre, so you can explore hands-free.

More: things to do in Lisbon and Lisbon for cruise passengers.

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