Lisbon in 5 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
5 Days in Lisbon: The Full City, No Day Trip Needed
Five days is enough to cover Lisbon properly without leaving the city once, the core three days, plus LX Factory and Principe Real, plus a whole different district out at Parque das Nacoes. If you’d rather spend one of these five days in Sintra instead, the Lisbon plus Sintra 5 day itinerary swaps a city day for a properly booked palace visit. This version keeps you in Lisbon the entire time.
Book these before you go:
- Skip-the-line Jeronimos and Belem Tower tickets , queues run long June-August.
- Oceanario de Lisboa tickets , the aquarium sells out school-holiday afternoons.
- Central accommodation in Chiado or Principe Real for a five-night stay.
| Day | Focus | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfama and the castle | 75-90 EUR |
| 2 | Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto | 45-50 EUR |
| 3 | Belem | 49-54 EUR |
| 4 | LX Factory, Principe Real, Tile Museum | 30-40 EUR |
| 5 | Parque das Nacoes and the Oceanario | 35-45 EUR |
Before you go: a Navegante card costs 0.50 EUR at any metro station; load it with Zapping credit for metro rides around 1.72 EUR instead of 1.90.
Where to stay for five nights: Chiado or Principe Real make better bases than Alfama for a stay this length; you’ll be doing enough hill climbing on the sightseeing days without adding it to your daily commute back to bed. Expect roughly 30 to 50 EUR a night for a solid budget guesthouse room in either, 80 to 130 EUR for a comfortable mid-range hotel.
Day 1: Alfama and the Castle
Sao Jorge Castle first, about 15 EUR, before the crowds. Then drop down through Alfama on foot, no set route needed. Take Tram 12E over the more famous Tram 28 if you want the same scenery without Lisbon’s worst pickpocket hotspot. Lunch at a tasca (bacalhau 10-16 EUR), fado dinner in the evening, and check your bill for the couvert charge, the bread and olives brought to your table are not free.
Budget: roughly 75-90 EUR for transit, castle, food and the fado dinner.
Day 2: Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto
Praca do Comercio costs nothing. Coffee and a pastel de nata at A Brasileira runs about 1.30-1.50 EUR. Take the Elevador da Gloria or Bica (3.80 EUR, or free on your card) up into Bairro Alto instead of walking the hill. It’s quiet by day, loud after 9pm; dinner at a tasca is the usual 8-14 EUR.
Budget: roughly 45-50 EUR.
Should you ride Tram 28 or take Tram 12E instead?
Take 12E most days. Tram 28 is the postcard ride but also Lisbon’s most reliably worked pickpocket route, worst between Martim Moniz and Se during the midday crush. Tram 12E covers nearly the same Alfama hills on a shorter loop with far fewer hands near your pockets, or ride 28 itself before 9am if the photo matters more than the risk.
Day 3: Belem
Tram 15E or the train to Belem, a separate district from downtown. Jeronimos Monastery is 18 EUR for monastery-only entry (older guides quote around 10 EUR; that figure is stale), closed Mondays, book ahead off-season. Belem Tower is a different building 10 minutes away with its own ticket, not part of the monastery, reopened May 2026 after roughly a year closed, now on timed 30-minute slots capped near 900 visitors a day, around 15 EUR. Current prices for both sites are posted on museusemonumentos.pt . Pasteis de Belem for a warm tart is worth the queue; Manteigaria back in Chiado is arguably just as good with no line.
Budget: roughly 49-54 EUR.
Day 4: LX Factory, Principe Real and the Tile Museum
After three days of hills, put this one on flatter ground and a lighter schedule. Morning at LX Factory under the 25 de Abril bridge is free to wander; it’s an old industrial complex now full of small shops and cafes, busiest on weekends when the market runs. From there it’s a short tram or Uber ride to Principe Real, the leafy square with boutiques and a genuinely different pace from Alfama’s tourist crush.
If you want one more paid sight, the National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo) is a quieter, less crowded alternative to the big-name monuments, entry runs in the 5-8 EUR range and it’s a real look at Portuguese decorative history rather than a photo-op line.
Budget: roughly 30-40 EUR.
Day 5: Parque das Nacoes and the Oceanario
Morning at Oceanario de Lisboa in Parque das Nacoes, Europe’s largest indoor aquarium, adult entry around 25 EUR; it’s a different part of the city from everywhere else on this list, reached by metro (Red Line, Oriente station), and worth the trip for the change of scenery alone. Walk the riverside promenade afterward, it’s flat and free.
Spend the evening wherever you didn’t get to yet, or just sit somewhere with a drink and watch the city instead of rushing to one more sight. Five days in, that’s usually the better call.
Budget: roughly 35-45 EUR.
Is Parque das Nacoes worth a full day on five days?
For most visitors, half a day is enough: the Oceanario itself takes two to three hours, and the riverside promenade and cable car add another hour or two. Spend the rest of day five back in a neighbourhood you liked, Alfama’s miradouros or another pass through Time Out Market, rather than manufacturing a second activity in a district built around one main attraction.
Five-day total: figure roughly 225-270 EUR per person for transit, sights and food across the week, not counting accommodation. If you only remember one thing, keep the Navegante card topped up with Zapping credit rather than buying single tickets each morning, the difference adds up over five days of metro rides.