Five Days in Lisbon: City Walks, Sintra and Cascais

Five full days in Lisbon let you follow the city’s hills from Rossio to Alfama and Belém, then take separate trains to Sintra’s palaces and the Cascais coast. Keep arrival and departure outside these five days: the palace entries, long walks and evening stops need unhurried days.

Where to stay and what to book

Base

Baixa or Chiado, near Rossio and Cais do Sodré connections

Best weekday pattern

City art, Pantheon and Belém: Tuesday–Saturday

Book first

Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira timed entries; Jerónimos and Belém Tower slots if using Lisboa Card

From a Baixa–Chiado base, the Metro connects you to Rossio for Sintra trains and Cais do Sodré for Cascais trains. Baixa’s squares and Chiado’s streets are close at hand. Put the museum, Pantheon and Belém visits on Tuesday to Saturday. The National Museum of Contemporary Art and National Pantheon close Mondays, and the Jerónimos cloister and Belém Tower also close Mondays. Lisbon Cathedral is closed to tourist visits on Sundays and holy days, so put the Alfama day on a different day if you want its interior.

Admission or card	Adult price	Booking or coverage
National Museum of Contemporary Art	€10	Ordinary visits: no reservation
São Jorge Castle	€17	No timed booking; Lisboa Card covers adult entry
Lisbon Cathedral	€7	Individual visit: no booking
National Pantheon	€10	Individuals: no booking
Jerónimos Monastery	€18	Lisboa Card covers; card-number date/time booking
Belém Tower	€15	Lisboa Card covers; book slot with physical card
Pena Palace, Essential Visit	€20	Reserve palace date/time
Quinta da Regaleira	€20	Separate dated, timed ticket
Lisboa Card, 24 hours	€31	Sintra and Cascais CP lines included
Lisboa Card, 48 hours	€51	Sintra and Cascais CP lines included
Lisboa Card, 72 hours	€62	Sintra and Cascais CP lines included

The Lisboa Card also covers CP’s Azambuja line and Fertagus trains to Setúbal. It does not replace either Sintra palace ticket. Without the card, buy and validate the appropriate CP ticket before boarding the Sintra or Cascais train. A lunch around 13:00–14:00 and dinner around 20:00–22:00 fit local eating patterns. The clocks below leave room to sit down rather than eat on the move.

Day 1: Baixa and Chiado

Rossio’s wave-patterned paving leads to the open, arcaded Praça do Comércio and the Tagus. Chiado then trades river level for sloping streets. Expect a sustained climb towards the evening viewpoint, even though much of the morning stays in the centre.

São Roque’s Chapel of St John the Baptist rewards an optional church stop. Visits run Monday 13:00–18:00 from October to March (to 19:00 April–September), and Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00 (to 19:00 April–September). Ceremonies take precedence, including Mass Tuesday–Sunday at 12:30. Skip the church interior if the midday service interrupts this stop. At lunch around Largo do Chiado, bacalhau à Brás means salt cod mixed with eggs and thin fried potatoes.

At the National Museum of Contemporary Art, look for Portuguese modernists Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso and Almada Negreiros before moving into later work. On Monday, swap this indoor stop for more time in Chiado and keep the remaining walk.

Carmo’s pointed arches still frame the sky if you take the optional detour: it opens Monday–Saturday 10:00–18:00 from November to April, with last entry at 17:40, and to 19:00 from May to October, with last entry at 18:40. Later, Mercado da Ribeira’s produce stalls operate Monday–Saturday 06:00–14:00, but its food hall opens daily 10:00–00:00, so the afternoon stop is for the food hall. After your accommodation break, São Pedro de Alcântara gives a broad view in late-afternoon light before dinner in Cais do Sodré.

Day 2: São Jorge Castle and Alfama

From yesterday’s lower streets, climb to São Jorge Castle for its ramparts and archaeological grounds, then descend past Santa Luzia’s tiled terrace to the cathedral before an evening above Alfama in Graça. This is a day of slopes and steps, not a flat circuit. On Monday the National Pantheon is closed, so use that time in Alfama. On Sunday or a holy day, admire the cathedral exterior instead of planning an interior visit.

São Jorge Castle’s towers give successive views across the city and Tagus, while archaeological remains give the hill a history beyond its panorama. Tickets are not tied to an entry time. From November to February, enter before the 17:30 last admission, because the castle closes at 18:00 rather than the later summer closing time. It closes on 1 January, 1 May and 24, 25 and 31 December.

Lisbon Cathedral’s twin-towered Romanesque front conceals a Gothic interior and later chapels. From November to March, last tourist admission is 17:30, while from April to October, visits run Monday–Saturday 09:30–19:00 with last admission 18:30. Individual visitors do not need a reservation, but groups of ten or more arrange visits. Sundays, holy days, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day rule out the planned interior visit. Close by, Santo António Church marks the site traditionally associated with Saint Anthony’s birth. It makes sense as a short optional pause.

After lunch, São Vicente de Fora holds the Braganza royal tombs. It opens daily 10:00–19:00 from June to October, last entry 18:00, and 10:00–18:00 from November to May, last entry 17:00. The National Pantheon has a marble-lined interior, memorials and a roof terrace. Individuals need no reservation, but groups must book. It opens Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–17:00 from October to March, last admission 16:40, and to 18:00 from April to September, last admission 17:40. It closes Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. Return to your accommodation before heading to Graça: late-afternoon light suits the viewpoint, with Largo da Graça close by for dinner.

Day 3: Jerónimos and Belém Tower

From the central base, take the train out to Belém: the carved cloister at Jerónimos, a custard tart, the stone terraces of Belém Tower and the open riverfront make this a monument-heavy day with an exposed waterfront walk. After a rest, the converted industrial streets of LX Factory lead into dinner in Alcântara. On Monday, move the monastery and tower day to another day, because both close then.

Jerónimos Monastery rewards a close look at the cloister’s maritime carvings and two-storey arcades, and the church has palm-like vaulting and an elaborate south portal. Enter the cloister by 17:00. It closes Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. Lisboa Card holders need their own date-and-time reservation using the card number and must validate the card at entry.

Pastéis de Belém makes the traditional Portuguese custard tart known here as a pastel de Belém. Nearby, the Tropical Botanical Garden offers an optional green detour before lunch. The Monument to the Discoveries depicts a caravel with Henry the Navigator at its prow.

Belém Tower is open for interior visits: the Manueline carving, compact rooms and terraces make it more than a riverfront photograph. If using a Lisboa Card, exchange the voucher for the physical card before reserving your tower time slot. This is separate from the monastery booking.

At MAAT, the optional stop is outside, where the curved roof and public riverside garden face the Tagus. Leave room for sun and wind along this open stretch. After your accommodation break, LX Factory’s old industrial buildings offer shops and places to pause before dinner around the docks.

Day 4: Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira

From Lisbon’s Rossio station, today exchanges city streets for Pena Palace’s colourful Romantic architecture and Regaleira’s Initiation Well and wooded gardens. It is a demanding hill day before a quieter Príncipe Real pause and Bairro Alto dinner. The castle battlements are an optional extra, not a reason to rush either booked palace. Take the 434 bus from Sintra station towards Pena: walking from the station is a steep uphill alternative of about 6 km with roughly 400 m of ascent. For the train, buy and validate a CP Sintra-line ticket before boarding unless travelling with a valid Lisboa Card.

Pena mixes Gothic, Moorish and Manueline details with richly decorated rooms and views over the hills. The park opens 09:00–19:00, last ticket and entry 18:00, while the palace has its last ticket at 17:30 and last entry at 18:00. Your palace admission is for its reserved time, so keep the morning focused on reaching that entrance. The Essential Visit and Total Visit are different ticket choices, but neither admits you to Quinta da Regaleira.

Quinta da Regaleira’s Initiation Well, grottoes and tunnels merit around 2–3 hours for an unhurried visit beyond the Gothic-style palace. Book its own dated, timed entry, rather than relying on the Pena ticket. The ticket has a one-hour grace period after its selected time. From 10 August to 30 September 2026, the gardens open 09:00–19:30, palace and chapel 10:00–19:00, and last admission is 17:30. The site closes on 1 January and 24, 25 and 31 December.

The Moorish Castle’s long, steep historic battlements make it the first stop to drop if your pace slows. After Regaleira, lunch in Sintra’s historic centre comes later than on the Lisbon days. Liberty Park’s winding, tree-lined paths are an optional final walk. Return by train to Lisbon for an accommodation break, then head to the Príncipe Real garden before dinner in Bairro Alto.

Day 5: Cascais coast

From Cais do Sodré, the direct train takes you to Cascais for tiled lanes, the small Praia da Rainha cove and the sea-cut arch at Boca do Inferno. The day feels more coastal than monumental before a Lisbon evening at Santa Catarina and dinner in Santos. Buy a valid CP ticket for the Cascais line before boarding, or travel with a valid Lisboa Card. If you want to spend the whole day swimming instead, explore beaches near Lisbon rather than fitting this town-and-park route around beach time.

In Cascais old town, follow the cobbled lanes past tiled façades to the bay and citadel. Praia da Rainha is a tiny public beach reached by steps, useful for a brief seaside pause. Boca do Inferno’s rock arch and sea cave can throw up spray, so in rough weather keep well back from the edge or skip the optional coast stop.

After lunch by the bay, Marechal Carmona Park brings shade, trees and free-roaming birds. It opens 08:30–17:45 in winter and 08:30–19:45 in summer. Its nearby Castro Guimarães Museum has a library of around 25,000 volumes as well as paintings and furniture if you want the optional indoor visit. Back in Lisbon, Camões Square’s poet statue and patterned paving provide a short pause before Santa Catarina’s river-facing evening view.

If you have less than five full days

With four full days, drop Cascais first and keep the three Lisbon days and Sintra: that preserves the contrasting castle, Belém cloister and two palaces without packing two rail excursions together. If you would rather stay entirely within the city, a four-day Lisbon city itinerary offers another way to spend that fourth day.

For a late Sintra start, lose the optional Moorish Castle and Liberty Park before compromising your timed Pena or Regaleira entrance. In Belém, skip the Tropical Botanical Garden or MAAT detour if the tower slot is tight. An early flight or train belongs to a departure day, not a shortened version of a complete sightseeing day.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: opening hours, services, fares and charges, and closures. Route times and distances were calculated from geolocated stops.

• Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, E.P.E. — opening hours
• Pastéis de Belém — opening hours
• Museus e Monumentos de Portugal, E.P.E. — service
• Visit Lisboa Shop — service
• National Coach Museum — opening hours
• MAAT — service
• EGEAC — opening hours
• EGEAC – Castelo de São Jorge — fares and charges
• Sé de Lisboa — opening hours
• Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa) — closures
• Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora — opening hours
• Museus e Monumentos de Portugal — opening hours
• EGEAC – Castelo de São Jorge — service
• Sé de Lisboa — fares and charges
• Sé de Lisboa — service
• Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa — opening hours
• Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa — opening hours
• Associação dos Arqueólogos Portugueses — opening hours
• Lisbon City Council — opening hours
• Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea (MNAC) — fares and charges
• Comboios de Portugal (CP) — service
• Lisbon Urban Train Tickets
• Parques de Sintra — service
• Fundação Cultursintra FP — opening hours
• Fundação Cultursintra FP — closures
• Fundação Cultursintra FP — fares and charges
• Fundação Cultursintra FP — service
• Parques de Sintra — closures
• CP – Comboios de Portugal — service
• Lisboa fare zones | CP – Comboios de Portugal
• Câmara Municipal de Cascais — service
• Visit Cascais — service
• Câmara Municipal de Cascais — opening hours
• Museus e Monumentos de Portugal — closures
• Comboios de Portugal (CP); Metropolitano de Lisboa, E.P.E. — service
• Visit Lisboa — fares and charges
• Jerónimos Monastery | Visit Lisboa
• Lisboa Card – Visit Lisboa Shop
• Lisboa Card – Visit Lisboa Shop