6 Days: Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais
Six days lets Lisbon do what it does best: work as a launchpad for the city, Sintra, Cascais, Setubal’s dolphins and wine, and now a sixth day out to Obidos, a walled medieval town most visitors never reach. Shorter trip? Try 5 days . Have a full week? Go longer .
Book these before you go:
- Book Pena Palace tickets , timed entry, sells out in peak season
- Book a dolphin-watching tour 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, correctly separated | ~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 |
| 6 | Obidos, the walled town | ~9.45 EUR (Rodotejo bus) plus meals |
| 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 |
| Obidos | ~85 km | ~1 hour by Rodotejo bus | 9.45 EUR |
Day 1: Baixa, Alfama, and the Castle
Land, take the Red Line metro from the airport to Alameda, switch for Baixa/Chiado, about 25-30 minutes, roughly 2 EUR. Skip the taxi rank tout quoting a flat fare, Lisbon cabs are metered, no exceptions. Walk Rossio and Baixa’s grid, then climb into Alfama via Tram 12E rather than the pickpocket-heavy Tram 28, same alleys and river glimpses, far less risk. Sao Jorge Castle tops the hill for about 15 EUR, and the sunset view from the ramparts is worth planning your afternoon around. Dinner at a real tasca, cash-friendly, bacalhau on the plate, and know upfront that the bread and olives on the table are couvert, a charge, not a courtesy, so send it back if you don’t want it billed.
Day 2: Belem, Correctly Separated
Belem is its own district, a tram ride from downtown, not a walk. Jeronimos Monastery brings the Manueline stonework and Vasco da Gama’s tomb for 18 EUR monastery-only. Ten minutes further along the river, Belem Tower is a separate fortress on its own ticket, reopened in May 2026 after roughly a year of conservation, now on timed entry capped near 900 visitors daily, 15 EUR. A combined ticket runs 33 EUR, not really a saving, worth it only to skip a second queue. Eat your pastel de nata warm at Pasteis de Belem, the original, line included, and if you’d tried Manteigaria in Chiado already, you now understand why this rivalry never fully settles. Time Out Market in the afternoon, before noon or after 9pm for a seat, evening into Bairro Alto.
Day 3: Sintra, Booked Ahead
Rossio to Sintra runs about 40 minutes, roughly 2.45 EUR one way. Book Pena Palace’s timed entry online before you leave home, this is non-negotiable. Showing up without a reservation in peak season, Easter through October, risks hours in line or a sold-out day, and it’s the most avoidable mistake in Lisbon-area travel. Palace-plus-park tickets run 20 EUR, park-only 14 EUR, and bus 434 (Scotturb) links the station to the gate for 4.10 EUR one way, 7.10 EUR round-trip, or 13.50 EUR for an unlimited day pass (about 12.40 EUR online). Arrive as early as you can and give the whole day to it.
Day 4: Cascais and the Estoril Coast
Cascais runs on its own line from Cais do Sodre, not Rossio, about 40 minutes along the coast, a completely different station from the Sintra train, and mixing the two up is a common and avoidable headache. Cascais trades hills for cliffs and beaches, a slower resort pace than Lisbon proper. Walk the coastal path toward Estoril, lunch near the marina, and swim if the weather allows it.
Day 5: Setubal and the Arrabida Coast
South across the Sado estuary, Setubal and the Arrabida coast see a fraction of the crowds anywhere else on this itinerary gets. Boat trips out of Setubal look for the resident bottlenose dolphin pod, a genuinely rare thing to find this close to a European capital, and Arrabida’s turquoise water backs onto some of the country’s best Moscatel wine country, worth a proper tasting. There’s no easy train for this one, rental car or an organized tour handles it best, and it’s worth the extra planning.
Day 6: Obidos, the Walled Town
Obidos is a medieval town wrapped entirely in its own defensive walls, and walking the ramparts around the whole perimeter is most of the point. Getting there is simplest by the Rodotejo express bus from Campo Grande, reachable by metro on the green or yellow line, about an hour each way for roughly 9.45 EUR, with buses running every 45 minutes and no advance booking needed or possible. The train exists but stops everywhere along the way, takes over two hours, and only runs a handful of times a day, so skip it. Inside the walls, cobbled lanes lead past whitewashed houses trimmed in bright yellow and blue, and the local specialty is ginjinha served in a small edible chocolate cup, a cheerful upgrade on the version you’ll have already had near Rossio. Cars aren’t allowed inside the old town itself, so if you’re driving, there’s parking right outside near the aqueduct.
Getting Around and Staying
Baixa or Chiado remains the right base, close to transit and walkable to most city-core stops. Check hotel rates in Chiado . Load a Navegante card (0.50 EUR) with Zapping credit for cheaper rides across metro, tram, bus, and the Sintra and Cascais trains. Aerobus stopped running in 2022, so don’t plan around it.
Do Obidos as a half-day if you can, the bus every 45 minutes means you’re not locked into one return time, and that flexibility is worth more than trying to cram in one extra stop on the way.