The capital of Portugal, Lisbon, is one of travelers’ favorite destinations. It’s a picturesque European city built on hills at the mouth of the Tagus River. It has fascinating ancient history, beautiful buildings, buzzing nightlife, tasty food and plenty of magical corners that will fill your Instagram with unforgettable photos. To really enjoy all this, and the warm hospitality of the locals, I recommend not just hopping from attraction to attraction, but also going deeper with one or more guided tours. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best tours in Lisbon in this article.
A guided tour can enrich your knowledge and maybe even connect you more personally to the city, when you discover that its history touches yours. You’ll also save a lot of walking and getting lost, because a guided tour only takes you where it’s worth going, without the headache of navigating! A unique tour like a cruise, a bike ride or a food tour adds an experiential bonus, and meeting local guides helps you see the city from a local’s point of view. Guides also give great tips on where to go and what to avoid.
Before we go through the many tours Lisbon offers, note that if you speak Hebrew, there are also quite a few tours in Hebrew: in recent years many Israelis have moved to Lisbon and offer a variety of tours there, and our portal lists Hebrew-speaking guides around the world, including in Lisbon. So visit our portal and read about Hebrew-language guided tours in Lisbon.
And always remember that Lisbon is big and full of things to see and do, so don’t expect to fit it all into one visit. Pick the recommended tours that suit you best and off you go!
In This Article
Recommended Tours to Get to Know Lisbon
There are so many ways to get to know Lisbon, just pick the one you like best!
Lisbon’s Tourist Bus
You can take a tour with an audio guide on one of the Hop On Hop Off buses, Lisbon’s tourist bus. It’s a way to reach lots of sites in a short time. Tickets are valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours (depending on the ticket you choose), and you can hop on and off as often as you like at any of its stops. The company runs several lines, and you can ride any of them as long as your ticket is valid. The red line goes to Belém, where you’ll see the old tower, Jerónimos Monastery and more. The blue line runs through the new part of the city and reaches one of the largest aquariums in Europe, the Lisbon casino and more. The green line goes to São Jorge Castle, on the highest of Lisbon’s 7 hills. And the yellow and orange lines go to Cascais (one there and one back, on different routes). Cascais is a seaside town near Lisbon with beautiful beaches, a citadel, a marina, a pedestrian street, shops and restaurants.
If you want to combine the bus with a boat, you can buy a combined ticket that gives you 2 bus tours, one through the old town and Belém, and the other through modern Lisbon and the Parque das Nações (the “Expo” area), which includes the Oceanarium, one of the longest bridges in Europe, a scenic cable car and more. You can also take a boat tour on the Tagus River, all within 48 hours.
One of the best and cheapest ways to get to know Lisbon is a guided tour. If you don’t want to commit or pay too much, you can join a free walking tour. What’s a free (tip-based) walking tour? You join the tour and, at the end, decide how much to give the guide. I really recommend doing one on the first day of your trip, because along the way you get lots of useful tips and recommendations for restaurants and sights worth visiting, and even warnings about tourist traps.
On the website GuruWalk you’ll find tip-based walking tours to get to know Lisbon.
Guided Walking Tour of Lisbon with Coffee and Cake
The tour starts in Lisbon’s old town, where you’ll visit old buildings and churches and take in the views. Then you ride a tram to the neighboring Alfama district, another of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, known for its fado houses. Fado houses are where they play Portugal’s traditional music, the melancholic and romantic fado. The tour ends at Lisbon Cathedral, which is nearly 900 years old. It’s a very popular tour, so make sure to book ahead.
And if fado has won you over, buy tickets for an intimate live fado show, accompanied by port wine, Portugal’s national drink. This show is super popular too, so plan ahead.
Motorized Tours
The people of Lisbon have come up with all kinds of fun motorized ways to get to know their city. This is your chance not only to get to know Lisbon but also to have a one-of-a-kind experience.
Sunset Cruise with Drinks and Music
If you don’t get seasick, you can enjoy a sunset cruise at the mouth of the Tagus River. Along the way you’ll see various points of interest on the shore, and you can relax with a drink or hit the dance floor. And if you’re lucky, you might even see dolphins leaping at the bow.
Tuk-tuk tours are among the most recommended tours in Lisbon. They’re ideal if you want to visit Lisbon’s main sites without walking too much. Don’t forget the city is built on 7 hills… The tours are led by a local guide and cost about €170 for a group of up to 6 people per vehicle.
Tram Tour (Tram 28)
This is the city’s most famous tram, taking tourists on an adventure through the narrow, picturesque streets of the old town. During the ride you’ll enjoy spectacular views and experience the local roller coaster: the hills the city is built on. The way back is on foot, so you can see the city’s birthplace up close, along with Lisbon Cathedral, the Monastery of São Vicente and the fado houses of Alfama. On Tuesdays you can also visit the famous old flea market, Feira da Ladra.
As we said, Lisbon is built on 7 hills, so it’s very hard to tempt tourists into exploring the city by bike. But what about electric bikes? If you love direct contact with the city and with your guide, this is the tour for you! It’s suitable for ages 16 and up and includes a bottle of water and a snack.
This district on the bank of the Tagus River is home to some of the most beautiful and interesting sites in Lisbon. They all revolve around one of the most glorious periods in Portugal’s history, the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries. The highlight is Belém Tower (Torre de Belém), the area’s best-known landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the river and served as a landmark for Portuguese sailors. Because the riverbank has shifted over the years, the tower now stands on the bank. The area is also home to the Monument to the Discoveries (Padrão dos Descobrimentos), honoring the expedition leaders and explorers of Portugal’s maritime golden age, and Jerónimos Monastery and Church (Mosteiro dos Jerónimos), full of maritime symbols marking Portugal’s power at sea. On the tour you’ll explore all these sites and learn a lot from your guide about Lisbon’s past and present. It even includes a coffee and ice cream break! The tour runs in small groups of up to 8 people and lasts about 3 hours.
If you’re a family with kids, there’s also a guided tour of Belém designed especially for you! It even includes a taste of the secret dessert, the pastel de Belém, created by the monks of Jerónimos Monastery.
And if you want to see the area in the most exciting and comprehensive way possible, just book a helicopter tour! It’s suitable for up to 3 people.
Guided Tour of São Jorge Castle
The castle is one of Lisbon’s main tourist sites, alongside Belém Tower. It stands on the highest hill in the city, in the Alfama district, and dates from the time of the Muslim Moors who conquered the region. The site has always been strategic, with settlements going back to at least the 6th century BC, and the Romans also established a stronghold here, but it was the Moors who built this large, impressive fortress. The castle is surrounded by history and stories of wars and conquests, which your guide will bring to life. There’s of course an amazing view, and some beautiful but slightly unexpected residents: peacocks! The tour lasts about an hour and a half, and the price of course includes the castle entrance ticket.
Lisbon’s residents are blessed with a range of local delicacies that they’re happy to share with visitors. You can taste, and maybe even make, the traditional dessert, pastel de nata, sample port wine and enjoy a variety of other foods like bacalhau (salt cod), codfish cakes, a meat sandwich and local cheeses.
Food Tour by Segway
What makes more sense than a tour where you fill your belly on a motorized vehicle, so it’s easy to get home afterwards? After a short Segway lesson, this tour will take you around the old town and Alfama. Along the way your guide will tell you fascinating stories about the places you pass, and you’ll stop for tastings at several restaurants.
If a Segway is too much for you (and that includes me), you can swap it for a tuk-tuk! The tuk-tuk is driven by a skilled guide who’s also a seasoned storyteller. Between tastings, he’ll share his extensive knowledge of the city, and especially its culinary side.
Some people prefer to burn off the calories on foot. For them, we recommend a gourmet walking tour through Lisbon’s culinary history. You’ll taste cheeses, fish and sausages at an old delicatessen, coffee at an 18th-century café, and port wine and traditional cherry liqueur at an old pub. As you hop between these and other places, your guide will give you tips for tackling the city’s hills easily and what to eat where in each neighborhood.
And if you want more emphasis on drinks and mingling, I recommend this tour in downtown Lisbon, at the heart of the city’s nightlife. The tour focuses on the social experience and on pairing drinks with traditional food tastings.
If you’re really into local food, there are people happy to teach you the secrets of Lisbon cooking and baking passed down through generations, so you can keep enjoying them at home. You can choose between a traditional Portuguese cooking workshop and a pastel de nata baking workshop, the local dessert. It’s made of puff pastry filled with custard and baked in individual tins. And the workshop of course includes tastings and drinks.
Benfica Stadium and Museum Tour
Benfica is a historic European football club with many titles, including 9th place on the list of Europe’s top football clubs of the 20th century. It recently won the Portuguese league again and holds the record of 38 league titles. Its home stadium is the Estádio da Luz (Stadium of Light), which fans call “the Cathedral” and which has about 65,000 seats. Football fans will surely enjoy a guided visit to the museum next to the stadium, which traces the team’s legendary players and victories. Then you go into the stadium itself and visit the dressing rooms, the press room, the pitch and the stands, with a spectacular view of the venue that has hosted the Champions League final. The tour lasts about two hours.
I hope you find the tours that suit you best, and don’t forget: there’s lots to do outside Lisbon too. Want to explore a bit beyond the city? We’ve prepared especially for you 5 ideas for day trips from Lisbon.
