Relax in a beautiful European coastal city

A coastal capital known for its rolling hills and soulful Fado music, Lisbon is a perfect European destination for relaxing surrounded by picturesque streets and Portuguese café culture.

Best of Lisbon 

Lisbon is a great destination to visit at any time of year because of its mild winters and warm summers, however it is sometimes prone to windy and unpredictable weather in winter. If you're looking to visit and catch local holidays and festivals, aim for mid-February for the Lisbon Carneval, or go in June, where all month festivities take place to honour the patron saint Santo Antonio.    

Information before you travel

Public transport, groceries and eating out in Lisbon will generally be cheaper than in London. Expect to pay around 8 EUR to eat lunch out.

Local Lisbon Information 

When arriving at Lisbon airport, public transport departs from Terminal 1. If you land in Terminal 2, there is a free shuttle bus to the other terminal where you can access the metro, buses and taxis. Between 6 am and 1 am, take the metro to Saldanha station then change for the city centre. The journey takes around 25 minutes and costs around 2 EUR. A taxi costs between around 15 and 20 euros and there is an extra charge for luggage of about 1 EUR per piece. When the airport is busy, taxis might be more readily available from departures, but you can also catch the Aerobus which has 3 routes to the city centre and costs around 3.50 EUR.

In Lisbon, you can stay at hostels from around 15 EUR a night and hotels from around EUR 45 for a double room.    Public transport in the city consists of metro, bus, urban trains, trams and ferries. A single bus ticket costs about EUR 1.50, which will be more expensive if purchased on the bus itself as opposed to pre-buying tickets. A day pass is around 6 EUR. Similar to London's Oyster Card, a Zapping card in Lisbon will give you cheaper rates.

When getting a taxi, a basic tariff is about 3.50 EUR then about 50 cents per extra km after that, however many attractions are very central and can be reached on foot, so luckily you may not have to spend too much on public transport.