What Lisbon costs
In Lisbon a day's spend comes down to the bed and where you sit down to eat; transport is a day ticket, and admissions are paid once per stay.
- A day per person
- frugal €44–63, middle €127–166
- Beds
- Hostel €13–22
- Food
- A cheap meal €10–15
What Lisbon costs per day depends mostly on the bed: a hostel and a three-star hotel are several times apart, while everything else — two meals, a day ticket and the tourist tax — moves the bill only a little. Below are prices per person, two profiles and the admissions for a three-day plan.
The €4 per person per night tourist tax is paid on arrival and is not in the price the booking site shows, which is why it is a separate line in the profiles. It is charged for at most seven consecutive nights.
Transport in both profiles is the €7.25 Carris/Metro day ticket, on a €0.50 Navegante card. Buy from the driver and a tram ride is €3.30; on zapping from the card it is €1.72.
What things cost, per person
Accommodation is per person, with two sharing a room.
Two profiles, per person per day
Not included: admissions, breakfast, coffee and drinks.
Admissions for the three-day plan
São Jorge Castle, Jerónimos, Belém Tower, the National Pantheon and the Carmo Convent come to €67 per person together, paid once per stay rather than every day. So a fourth day in Lisbon costs only the bed, the food and the ticket — and a day in Sintra adds the train (€2.05 each way on zapping) and whichever palace you choose.
What is free
The viewpoints — Portas do Sol, Santa Luzia, Graça, Senhora do Monte, São Pedro de Alcântara, Santa Catarina — have no ticket desk. Also free: the Feira da Ladra flea market (Tuesdays and Saturdays), Prazeres cemetery at the end of the 28 line, the LX Factory yard and the roof of the MAAT museum.
The same comparison for 143 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is the Lisboa Card worth it?
The official Lisboa Card covers city transport and entry to São Jorge Castle, Jerónimos and Belém Tower. Compare its price for your days with the plan's admissions (€67) plus the day ticket (€7.25 a day): the card only wins if those three sights fall inside the same 24, 48 or 72 hours.
Ready for Lisbon?
Where to next
Lisbon without the queues: tram 12E and the Prazeres cemetery
→Ten things Lisbon doesn't put on postcards — tram 12E instead of 28, the one funicular still running, a…
Sintra · 22 km
→Royal palaces on a mountain the mist keeps cooler than Lisbon
How well does Lisbon suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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