7 Days in Lisbon: First-Timer Plan
A full week inside Lisbon means never rushing a single neighborhood: the hilltop old town, a full Belem day, and five more days through museums, markets, viewpoints and a river crossing most tourists skip entirely, no day trips required. On a tighter schedule? See the 6-day or 2-day versions.
Book these before you go:
- Skip the line at Belem , timed entry only, both sites
- Reserve a small fado show
- Book a sunset Tagus cruise
- Check hotel rates in Chiado , central for a full week
| Day | Focus | Cost to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfama, Baixa and the Castle | ~15 EUR (castle) plus meals |
| 2 | Belem: monastery, tower, pastel de nata | ~18-33 EUR (monuments) plus meals |
| 3 | Graca, Mouraria and the Miradouros | mostly free, flea market bargains |
| 4 | Chiado, Principe Real and the Gulbenkian | ~10 EUR (museum) plus meals |
| 5 | LX Factory, properly, and Parque das Nacoes | ~15 EUR (aquarium) plus meals |
| 6 | Cacilhas and a second look at Alfama | ~1.72 EUR (ferry) plus meals |
| 7 | Flex day: your favorite neighborhood, again | whatever you didn’t already spend |
Day 1: Alfama, Baixa, and the Castle
Climb into Alfama early, before the streets fill up. The Se Cathedral, a Romanesque fortress-church from the 12th century, sits free to admire right at the neighborhood’s edge. Keep climbing to Castelo de Sao Jorge (around 15 EUR) for the best rooftop view of the city and the Tagus, ideally before midday. Lunch at a small family-run tasca off the tram route rather than anything facing Rossio Square; a bacalhau plate runs 10-16 EUR, and remember the bread and olives on your table aren’t free, that’s the couvert, a per-person charge you can send back if you don’t want it.
Spend the afternoon walking Baixa, the grid rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, down to Praca do Comercio on the river. In the evening, take Tram 12E over the famous 28, same steep Alfama views with far fewer pickpockets than the 28’s notorious Martim Moniz-Se stretch, the single worst spot in the city for them. End in Bairro Alto, silent by day, loud with bars after dark; book a small casa de fado if you want the music close enough to feel it.
Day 2: Belem
Belem sits apart from central Lisbon, reached by tram 15E or train rather than on foot. Start at Jeronimos Monastery, 18 EUR monastery-only, the limestone showpiece built to honor Vasco da Gama’s voyage. A combined ticket with Belem Tower runs 33 EUR, not really a discount over the two separately, so it only makes sense to skip a second queue. Walk ten minutes to Belem Tower next, a separate site with its own ticket, not part of the monastery. It reopened in May 2026 after a year of conservation work, runs timed entry capped around 900 visitors a day, and costs 15 EUR. Book ahead, people without a slot have already been turned away on busy weekends since it reopened.
Eat your pastel de nata warm at Pasteis de Belem, the original bakery, worth the line once. In the afternoon, wander LX Factory for a first pass, free and busiest on weekends, or hit Time Out Market near Cais do Sodre before noon or after 9pm for an actual seat.
Day 3: Graca, Mouraria and the Miradouros
Start at Miradouro da Graca or Miradouro da Nossa Senhora do Monte, viewpoints that somehow avoid the crowds Sao Jorge pulls, then wander Graca itself, which feels like Alfama did before the tram tours arrived. Cut through Mouraria, fado’s original neighborhood, still working-class and mostly untouched by souvenir shops. If it lands on a Tuesday or Saturday, detour to Feira da Ladra, the flea market near the National Pantheon.
Day 4: Chiado, Principe Real and the Gulbenkian
Visit the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian for serious art without the lines, around 10 EUR, or walk Parque Eduardo VII for open green space and a straight sightline down Avenida da Liberdade to the river. From there, Principe Real is a short walk, leafy and upscale, full of boutiques and a strong LGBTQ+ bar scene around its square, a good pick for a slower dinner. Loop back through Chiado for a coffee at A Brasileira and the streets you skipped on day one.
Day 5: LX Factory, Properly, and Parque das Nacoes
Everything so far has been the historic city. Give LX Factory the proper morning it deserves, then spend the afternoon at Parque das Nacoes, the opposite of everything you’ve seen this week: glass towers built for the 1998 World Expo, a cable car over the water, and the Oceanario de Lisboa, one of Europe’s larger aquariums, worth two hours for around 15 EUR. It’s on the same metro line as the airport, useful if you’re flying out later that day.
Day 6: Cacilhas and a Second Look at Alfama
Take the ferry from Cais do Sodre to Cacilhas, on the same Navegante card as everything else, for a view of Lisbon from across the water that almost nobody bothers with. Climb up to the Cristo Rei statue for the widest river panorama of the whole trip, then come back for a slower second pass through Alfama, this time on foot with no tram schedule to chase, the miradouros hit differently once you’re not racing to the next stop on a list.
Day 7: The Flex Day
By now you’ve done the headline sights, so let day seven be the one with nothing booked. Revisit whichever neighborhood pulled at you hardest earlier in the week, go back for a second pastel de nata at whichever bakery won the argument (Manteigaria or Pasteis de Belem, you’ll have an opinion by now), or catch Mercado de Campo de Ourique for a slower food-hall lunch away from the Time Out Market crowds. A week in one city earns you at least one day with no fixed plan, and Lisbon rewards wandering more than most places do.
Getting Around All Seven Days
Load a Navegante card with Zapping credit on day one for 0.50 EUR, it covers the metro, trams, buses and the Cacilhas ferry, dropping fares to about 1.72 EUR for the metro and 1.35 for tram or bus versus 1.90-3.00 for loose singles. Bring shoes with real grip, the hills and polished cobblestones here are more slippery than they look in photos, and skip the Aerobus entirely, it hasn’t run since 2022.
One Honest Opinion
A full week gives you room to stay entirely inside Lisbon and still not run out of things worth doing, which is the whole point of this plan. If you want Sintra, Cascais, Setubal or Porto folded in instead, build that trip properly with our Lisbon and Beyond itinerary rather than bolting a rushed day trip onto this one.