How We Ended Up in Lisbon Portugal
A few years ago, while looking at flights planning to book a trip to London in order to visit my daughter who was getting her masters degree at the university.
It didn’t take long before I found a great flight to London. $122 round trip flying on TAP Air Portugal from Boston USA to London…but here’s the catch for this cheap flight…I had a 39-hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal. Now most of my friends would have said no way, will I layover for 39 hours anywhere. But for me, since I had never been to Portugal, I wasn’t in a hurry, and was elated over my cheap flight, this 39-hour layover, was perfect for my 2 day 1 night stopover in Lisbon.
Immediately after booking my flight, I began my research to find impactful interesting activities, as I wanted to make the most of my 39 hours in Lisbon.
Since my daughter was already in Europe, I thought it would be nice for her to fly and meet me in Lisbon. Her flight from London to Lisbon on Ryanair cost $35 each way…more icing on the cake!
When looking for a place to stay overnight. I knew wherever our accommodations were, it had to be convenient for me to get around the city and back to the airport the following evening.
As usual, I went to my go-to hostel booking site Hostel World https://www.hostelworld.com/ to find a clean, safe hostel and read the reviews.
For our short stay we booked the perfect place to spend the night Sunset Destination Hostel located inside the train/metro station. This could not be a more perfect location.
Note: Below is a map of the Metro System. Not to be confused with the Regional Train system that runs in Lisbon and out to the Suburban areas
Lisbon Metro is Easy Breezy
Sunset Destination Hostel
Located inside the metro station…yes I said inside the Cais do Sodre Metro
The Sunset Destination Hostel, which is located inside the Cais Sodre Railway (Green Line) in the Biaxia area of Lisbon – staying at this location meant we would have easy access to the metro, train, ferry and most importantly back to the airport the following evening.
If I had to rate this hostel it was very good.
Would I stay at Sunset Destination Hostel again? Absolutely Yes.
Our room, beds and bathroom were clean, but it did not very large in the common area. But the location was perfect for our one-night stay.
Note: Destination Hostel has 3 different locations in Portugal – We stayed at the Sunset Destination Hostel inside the Cais Sodre Metro Station.
The Place for Palace and Castle Lovers
What I knew about Lisbon was it was noted for its palaces, castles and steep, hilly neighborhoods, and that is where I began to plan. I went to my local library to borrow a Lonely Planet Lisbon travel guide that helped me finalize my 2-day itinerary.
The Lisbon travel guide had so many things to do, I finally chose our top 4 things to see and do while in the city.
1. Visit the National Palaces and Castles in Sintra
2. Visit the Christo Rei Statue in city of Almada
3. Ride Tram 28 around the city of Lisbon
4. Eat as many Portugues pastal de natas as possible
A few weeks before my arrival in Lisbon, I discovered it was best to purchase our admission tickets online for the National Park, Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle from Meo Blue ticketing company (the palace and castle tickets are under the “Arts and Leisure Section” on the Meo Blue website).
Here are the 2021 prices to visit the Park & National Place of Pena
Adult Cost: 14€ – Park and National Place of Pena
10€ – National Palace of Sintra (at town center)
8€ – Moorish Castle
Getting Around Lisbon
Purchased Viva Viagem Zapping Card – All Day 24-Hour Unlimited Pass
When I arrived at the Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, I purchased my reloadable Green Viva Viagem 24 hour – All Day Pass at the ticket booth at the airport
Cost: €.50 for the card + €10.55 for 25 hours to ride the train, bus, trolley and suburban train to city of Sintra, where we were headed that day.
Note: There is a green and white Viva Viagem Card. Both cards can be used in Lisbon, but only the green Viva card can go south of the river, and we needed a Green Viva Viagem card for our ferry the next day.
Here is our 2 Day Itinerary for Lisbon, Portugal
Day 1
6:00 am – My TAP Airline flight arrived in Lisbon
While at Lisbon airport I purchased our Green Viva Viagem 24-hour unlimited day pass for the metro subway and train tickets for the day.
Note: I had to purchase two Green Viva Viagem tickets as my daughter was meeting me — flying from London to Lisbon for the two days.
In order not to waste precious time, after purchasing the Viva Viagem tickets,
7:00 am
I took the Metro from the airport (Red Line) then transferred at Alamed Station to the Green Line to my hostel located inside the Cais Sodre Station — so nice, so smooth,, so easy.
I had enough time to check into our hostel, drop off my luggage and grab breakfast before heading back to the airport to meet my daughter.
8:30 am
Back to the Lisbon Airport aka (Portela Airport)
To the Airport from the Sunset Destination Hostel, I began at Cais Sodre Station Metro (Green Line) then transferred at Alameda (Red Line) and went back to the Lisbon Airport to meet my daughter Janine arriving from London.
10:00 am – Janine’s flight arrived at 9:50 am, we then caught red line metro from the airport 3 stops to Oriente Train station then caught the Train to the town of Sintra (50 minutes) to see the infamous Palaces and Castles of Sintra.
Note: There are two trains from the city of Lisbon that go to the town of Sintra:
1. Rossio Station to Sintra
2. Oriente Station to Sintra
Rossio Train Station:
The Rossio station is in the center of the Baixa district. The Rossio is connected to the green metro line, however, when exiting you must exit outside the metro station and cross the Rossio Plaza to get to the station.
The train station is small and easy to navigate; and what is convenient is all trains leaving the Rossio station head to Sintra.
Note: Rossio station can be very busy with tourist, so it is suggested you leave before 10 am as the ticket machines will have long lines.
Oriente Train Station
National Park, Pena Palace & the Moorish Castle:
Open daily except on New Years Day – January 1 & Christmas Day, December 25
National Park Opens: 9am – 7pm (last ticket and last admission: 6pm)
Palaces & Castles: 9.30am – 6.30pm (last ticket: 5:30pm; last admission: 6:00 pm)
11:30 am – Train arrived in the town of Sintra.
434 Bus in Sintra
After exiting the Sintra Train Station we caught the 434 Sintra Tourist Bus.
Why We Rode Bus 434 — And You Should Too!
To get to the Pena Palace and Moorish castles it is a demanding uphill hike.
And since we only had one whole day to visit Sintra, I didn’t want to waste time huffing and puffing to hike up the steep, winding hill (and I mean a steep road) to see the castles and palaces.
Because of the narrow road, the 434 Sintra Bus, passes through the town centre and runs on a circuit to the top of the colorful Palace de Pena.
Note: Everything I read warned Do Not Drive to Sintra, there is very limited parking and almost no parking near the Palace de Pena.
Cost: 434 Tourist Bus – €6.90 for the entire loop.
We purchased this for the hop-on-hop off (one time around the circuit)
You have to purchase the bus tickets from the driver on the 434 bus so have cash on hand.
Note: It was suggested by our 434-bus driver to first go to the top of the hill to the colorful Palace de Pena, then work your way down either by bus or on foot to the Moorish castle.
How to Get to Cascais Beach
Note: If we had more time to spend, we would have spent the night at the beach in the coastal town of Cascais, Portugal after visiting the castles. This quaint area has two beaches that are right in town.
If you have some extra times here are how you get to the beach from the Castles or from the Train
From Lisbon to Cascais beach
There is an inexpensive train from Lisbon. The train takes about 40 minutes from the Lisbon’s Cais do Sodré station to Cascais.
Here is a great blog https://nomanbefore.com/cascais-day-trip-lisbon/ that will tell you all about a day trip to the seaside beach town of Cascais, Portugal.
Because we only had 2 days, we did not have time to go to Cascais…but will visit this beach town for sure during our next trip to Lisbon.
The National Palace of Sintra in the Center of the City
The National Palace of Sintra
Important Note: We purchased another €.50 cards — Why? Because the Train fare to Sintra must be placed on an unused new Viva Viagem card.
Viva Viagem cards can be purchased at any metro station and is essential if you will be sightseeing in Lisbon.
Each person even children must have their own Viva Viagem fare card.
If you choose not to catch the train and bus 434; to Sintra you can take a tour, pay for a taxi; but be aware of traffic jams.
The 434 Bus Goes in One Direction in a Circuit
1.Sintra Train Station
2. Through the Sintra city centre
3. Palacio Nacional de Sintra (the National Palace of Sintra)
4. Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle)
5. Palacio Nacional de Pena (Pena Palace) (Get off bus here at Pena, the top of the hill)
6. Back to Sintra Train Station
Note: It is a short walk downhill from the Palacio Nacional de Pena (Pena Palace) to the Moorish Castle. (Moorish Palace)
Note: Due to the narrow road in Sintra the bus only operates in one direction. Therefore, It is best to ride the around the circuit to Palacio Nacional de Pena first then make your way down the hill either walking or catching the next bus circuit down the hill.
At the top of the steep hill is the Pena Palace. It is a colorful sight to see and not to be missed.
We started at the top of the hill at Pena Palace and walk down the hill to the next castle which is Castelo dos Mouros. (The Moorish Castle).
Where is the 434 Bus Stop in Sintra?
The 434-bus stop is clearly marked in front of the Sintra Train Station.
What is the cost of the 434 Bus?
- You can purchase a single ticket for about $5 or we purchased the hop-on-hop-off ticket for about $8.
- Note: Keep in mind hop on hop off means you can only go around the circuit one time.
- You have to purchase your ticket from the 434 bus driver.
- The 434 departs every 15 minutes from about 9:15 am – 7:50 pm during the summer months &
- 9:30 am – 6:20 pm at other times of the year.
It takes less than 20 minutes to get to Pena Palace from the Sintra Train Station and then you can for sure walk down the hill to the Moorish Castle.
4:00 pm
We Rode the 434 tourist bus back to the Sintra city centre and stopped at the Palacio Nacional de Sintrato get a snack before catching the train back to Rossio Train station
5:30 pm
We arrived at the Destination Hostel at Rossio Train Station – Relaxed a bit until time for dinner.
6:30 pm
Dinner – After a long first day in Lisbon, we did not want to go far to eat dinner, so we walked to the Mercado da Ribeira at Cais do Sodré, also known as the Time Out Market Lisbon.
Time Out Market Lisbon – Food, Bars & Shops
Dinner – Time Out Market, Food, Bars & Shops
This food hall had a variety of restaurants from salads, burgers to octopus sandwiches. There is something for everyone.
In 2021 Bring your credit card when you eat at the Time Out Market. The market is currently a cash-free zone.
Desert – You cannot go to Portugal without trying the Portuguese egg custard tart pastry known as pastel de nata.
We purchased the delicate deliciousness from Manteigaria Chiado coffee shop, located inside the Time Out Market.
Manteigara is open weekdays until 8:00 am 10 pm.
Rua do Loreto 2 Largo de Camões, Lisbon 1200-242 Portugal
After Dinner we strolled around a bit after dinner then headed back to our hostel
The Plan for Day 2:
- Visit the Christo Rey Statue
- Ride Tram 28
- Get to Airport by 7:00 pm
Our day two plan was to visit the Christo Rey, which is one of the iconic monuments overlooking and blessing the city of Lisbon. And of course, we could not leave Lisbon without having the iconic ride on Yellow Tram 28. Although we were told to ride the Tram early in the morning due to crowds, we decided to catch an early Ferry over to Cacilhas to see the Cristo Rei statue of Christ.
Here is where the Green Viva Viagem card comes into play.
Important Note:
Although you can use the Viva Viagem Green or White card, only the zapping credits from the Green Viva Viagem card to ride the bus 101 to Christo Rei.
We purchased another 24-hour unlimited public transport ticket, €6.40 green Viva Viagem card, as this was enough money on our card for our planned day 2 activities and to get back to the airport by 7:00 pm.
Remember, Lisbon was our 39-hour layover from Boston before getting to our final destination London.
Cost: €6.40 on our reloadable Viva Viagem card for day to activities to Cristo Rei and the Cacilhas bus and the Yellow Tram 28.
Day 2
7:30 am – Breakfast at the Hostel
8:30 am – Walked from our hostel to the ferry
9:30 – Arrive in the town of Cacilhas to catch the 101 bus to the Christo Rei Grounds. You cannot use the vivo card for the bus you must have cash. €1.50 one way.
The101 bus goes through the town of Cacilhas and takes about 20 minutes to get to Christo Rei.
After departing the 101 bus – it’s about a 3-minute walk to the statue of Christo Rei. It’s flat no hills or stairs to climb.
On the grounds of Christo Rei is a café and souvenir shop.
Here is the link to the times to Christo Rei https://cristorei.pt/en/working-hours
11:30
We got street food for lunch and headed back to the 101 bus to take us back to the ferry to go back to the Cais Sodre Station. We stayed on the green line to the Square of Martim Moniz, which is the beginning of Tram 28.
From(green line) Cais Sodre Station it takes about 3 minutes to get to the Square of Martim Moniz (Tram 28)
Tip: There is a bathroom in the underground parking lot at the Square of Martin Moniz.
When we arrived, there was already a line of people. It took about 30 minutes before we could get a seat on one of the trams
1:00 pm
Because the tram goes past so many sights and charming neighborhoods, it’s now used by international visitors to see the city.
Where to find the stop for Tram 28 – Ride the Green Line to the Martim Moniz Metro Stop – about a 3-minute ride
What we didn’t realize was that Tram was not a tourist attraction is really was public transport for the locals.
The tourist tram was the Red Tram.
The Ride took a little over an hour
For more information and times for Tram 28 click here: https://devourlisbonfoodtours.com/blog/lisbon-tram-28/
5:00 pm
Grabbed a bit to eat and headed back to Sunset Destination Hostel to pack our bags and took the Metro back to the Lisbon Aeroporto.
7:00 pm
Arrived at Lisbon airport had plenty of time to check in and catch our 9:00 pm flight to London.
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