5 Days: Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais
Five days makes Lisbon a real regional base camp: the city core, a day in Sintra, a day on the Cascais coast, and a fifth day out to Setubal chasing dolphins and Moscatel wine. Only have four? See that version . Got a sixth day? Add Obidos .
Book these before you go:
- Book Pena Palace tickets , timed entry, sells out in peak season
- Book a dolphin-watching tour out of Setubal for day five
- Check hotel rates in Chiado
| Day | Focus | Cost to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baixa, Alfama and the Castle | ~15 EUR (castle) plus meals |
| 2 | Belem, two separate sites | ~18-33 EUR (monuments) plus meals |
| 3 | Sintra, booked ahead | ~20-34 EUR (Pena Palace + bus) |
| 4 | Cascais and the Estoril coast | ~2.45 EUR (train) plus meals |
| 5 | Setubal and the Arrabida coast | tour or rental car, wine tasting extra |
| Destination | Distance from Lisbon | Travel time | One-way fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sintra (Pena Palace) | ~28 km | ~40 min by train (Rossio) | 2.45 EUR |
| Cascais | ~30 km | ~40 min by train (Cais do Sodre) | ~2.25-2.45 EUR |
| Setubal / Arrabida | ~50 km | ~45-60 min, best by car or tour | no direct train |
Day 1: Baixa, Alfama, and the Castle
Land and ride the Red Line metro from the airport to Alameda, switch for Baixa/Chiado, about 25-30 minutes for roughly 2 EUR. Skip the taxi rank entirely if someone quotes you a flat fare, Lisbon cabs run on the meter, and that pitch is aimed at travelers too tired to argue. Walk Rossio and the tidy grid of Baixa, then climb into Alfama on Tram 12E rather than the more famous Tram 28. You get essentially the same medieval scenery with a fraction of the pickpocket risk that follows 28’s busiest stretch. Sao Jorge Castle tops the hill, about 15 EUR, and the golden-hour view over the river from the ramparts is worth building your afternoon around. Dinner at a real tasca, small, family-run, cash preferred, bacalhau on the plate, and remember the bread and olives on the table are couvert, a charge that lands automatically, not a free nibble. Wave it off before anyone touches it if you don’t want it on the bill.
Day 2: Belem, Two Separate Sites
Belem sits apart from downtown, reached by tram or a short ride. Jeronimos Monastery delivers the Manueline stone carving and Vasco da Gama’s tomb for 18 EUR monastery-only. Ten minutes further along the riverfront, Belem Tower is a genuinely separate fortress with its own ticket, not an annex of the monastery, reopened in May 2026 after roughly a year of conservation work, now running timed entry capped near 900 visitors a day for 15 EUR. A combined ticket for both runs 33 EUR, not really a saving, only worth it to skip a second queue. Eat your pastel de nata warm at Pasteis de Belem, the original, line included, and if you’d already tried Manteigaria in Chiado, you now hold an informed opinion on the city’s best food rivalry, one that never really settles because both bakeries are doing something different well. Time Out Market fits the afternoon, arrive before noon or after 9pm to actually get a seat, then let the evening carry you into Bairro Alto.
Day 3: Sintra, Booked Ahead
Trains from Rossio Station take about 40 minutes to Sintra, roughly 2.45 EUR one way. The rule that decides whether this day works: book Pena Palace’s timed entry online before you leave home. Turning up without a reservation in peak season, Easter through October, means real odds of a multi-hour queue or a completely sold-out day, and it remains the single most avoidable mistake in Lisbon-area travel. Palace-plus-park tickets run 20 EUR, park-only 14 EUR, and bus 434 (Scotturb) covers the station-to-gate stretch for 4.10 EUR one way, 7.10 EUR round-trip, or 13.50 EUR for an unlimited day pass (about 12.40 EUR booked online ahead). Get there as early as the schedule allows and give the whole day to it, Sintra’s cool air and colored stonework make it feel like an entirely different country from Lisbon’s baking downtown.
Day 4: Cascais and the Estoril Coast
Cascais is not the same line as Sintra, a detail that catches people out constantly. It’s a separate train from Cais do Sodre station, not Rossio, about 40 minutes along the coast. Once you’re there, the whole feel changes, cliffs and beaches and a slower resort rhythm replacing Lisbon’s hills and hustle. Walk the coastal path toward Estoril, eat lunch near the marina, and if it’s warm enough, this is the day to actually get in the water rather than admire it from a viewpoint.
Day 5: Setubal and the Arrabida Coast
This is the day almost nobody does, which is exactly the point. Setubal and the Arrabida coast sit south across the Sado estuary, less touristed than anywhere else on this list, and genuinely worth the effort. Boat trips out of Setubal go looking for the resident bottlenose dolphin pod in the estuary, one of the few places in Europe you can realistically spot wild dolphins on a half-day trip. Arrabida Natural Park backs onto turquoise-tinted water that looks more Mediterranean island than mainland Portugal, and the Setubal region produces some of the country’s best Moscatel wine, sweet, aromatic, worth a proper tasting stop. There’s no simple train here like Sintra or Cascais, this side of the day is best handled by rental car or an organized tour, and it’s worth the extra planning for a day that feels genuinely different from the rest of the trip.
Getting Around and Staying
Base yourself in Baixa or Chiado for easy access to the metro and to walking distance from most city-core stops. Check hotel rates in Chiado . Load a Navegante card (0.50 EUR) with Zapping pay-as-you-go credit, it covers metro, tram, bus, and both the Sintra and Cascais trains at a lower rate than single fares. Aerobus is not an option anymore, it stopped running back in 2022, so plan around the metro or a rideshare instead.
Save Setubal for last. After three days of trains and timed tickets, a day where someone else drives and the biggest decision is red or white feels like exactly the right way to close out the trip.