7 Days: Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais

A week uses Lisbon as a base camp for the whole region: city core, Sintra, the Cascais coast, Setubal’s dolphins and wine, a walled town in Obidos, and a long final day out to Porto for travelers who want it all. On a tighter schedule? See the 6-day or 3-day versions.

Book these before you go:

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
6 Obidos, the walled town ~9.45 EUR (Rodotejo bus) plus meals
7 Porto, the long day trip train fare varies, book via cp.pt
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
Porto ~300 km ~3 hours by train varies, check cp.pt

Day 1: Baixa, Alfama, and the Castle

Land, ride the Red Line metro from the airport to Alameda, switch for Baixa/Chiado, about 25-30 minutes, roughly 2 EUR. Ignore the taxi rank tout quoting a flat fare, Lisbon cabs run metered, always. Walk Rossio and Baixa’s grid, then climb into Alfama on Tram 12E rather than the pickpocket-magnet Tram 28, same scenery, far less risk. Sao Jorge Castle tops the hill for about 15 EUR, and the golden-hour view from the ramparts is worth planning around. Dinner at a real tasca, cash-friendly, bacalhau on the plate, and remember the bread and olives are couvert, a charge that lands automatically, so wave it off if you don’t want it.

Day 2: Belem, Two Separate Sites

Belem is its own district, a tram ride from downtown. Jeronimos Monastery delivers the Manueline stonework and Vasco da Gama’s tomb for 18 EUR monastery-only. Ten minutes further along the river, Belem Tower is a genuinely separate fortress on its own ticket, reopened in May 2026 after roughly a year of conservation, now timed entry capped near 900 visitors daily, 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’ve already tried Manteigaria in Chiado, you now hold an informed opinion on a rivalry that never really settles. Time Out Market fits the afternoon, before noon or after 9pm for a seat, evening into Bairro Alto.

Day 3: Sintra, Booked Ahead

Rossio to Sintra takes about 40 minutes, roughly 2.45 EUR one way. Book Pena Palace’s timed entry online before you leave home, no exceptions. Turning up without a reservation in peak season, Easter through October, means real odds of hours in line or a sold-out day, still the most avoidable mistake in Lisbon-area travel. Palace-plus-park tickets run 20 EUR, park-only 14 EUR, and bus 434 (Scotturb) covers station to 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 early and give the day room to breathe.

Day 4: Cascais and the Estoril Coast

Cascais runs its own line from Cais do Sodre, not Rossio, about 40 minutes along the coast, a different station entirely from the Sintra train. Cliffs and beaches replace hills here, a slower resort pace. Walk the coastal path toward Estoril, lunch near the marina, swim if the weather cooperates.

Day 5: Setubal and the Arrabida Coast

South across the Sado estuary, Setubal and Arrabida see far fewer tourists than anywhere else on this list. Boat trips look for the resident dolphin pod, and Arrabida’s turquoise coastline backs onto some of Portugal’s best Moscatel wine. No easy train here, a rental car or organized tour handles it best.

Day 6: Obidos, the Walled Town

Obidos is a small medieval town entirely enclosed by its own defensive walls, and walking the full perimeter is most of the appeal. The Rodotejo express bus from Campo Grande (reachable by metro) covers it in about an hour for roughly 9.45 EUR, running every 45 minutes with no booking needed. Skip the train, it takes over two hours and only runs a few times a day. Inside the walls, try ginjinha served in an edible chocolate cup, a genuinely fun upgrade on the shot you’ll have already had near Rossio.

Day 7: Porto, the Long Day Trip

Porto is a long day trip, no question, about 3 hours each way by train from Lisbon’s Oriente or Santa Apolonia station. That’s 6 hours of travel for maybe 5 hours in Porto itself, so this day only works if you commit to an early train and accept a late return. Once there, the Ribeira riverfront, the port wine cellars across the river in Vila Nova de Gaia, and the Livraria Lello bookshop are worth the rush. Check schedules and book tickets on cp.pt , the national rail operator, well ahead, since the earliest departures sell fastest.

If 6 hours on a train in one day doesn’t appeal, swap this for a flex day back in the city instead: revisit whichever Lisbon neighborhood pulled at you hardest during the first two days, or finally sit down for the long lunch you kept postponing.

Getting Around and Staying

Baixa or Chiado remains the right base all week, walkable to most city-core stops and close to transit. 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 has been gone since 2022, so don’t plan around it.

Save Porto for last on purpose. After six days of timed tickets and train schedules, one long train day with a single destination is easier to enjoy than trying to bolt it onto the middle of the trip.