Last Updated on September 10, 2026
Lisbon is one of those cities that is very easy to underestimate. I used to think of it as the kind of place you could squeeze into two nights on the way somewhere else: arrive, ride a yellow tram, eat a pastel de nata, take a few photos from a viewpoint, and move on. Plenty of travelers from the US treat it the same way, especially when Lisbon is simply where their flight connects.
What changed my mind was realizing that almost everything I liked most about Lisbon happened when I stopped trying to see it efficiently. It was wandering through Alfama without knowing exactly where I was going, sitting longer than planned with a view of the Tagus, and spending half a day in Belém when I had meant to stay for an hour. Even when I started looking at business-class flights to Lisbon for this particular trip, I found myself thinking less about how quickly I could get there and more about arriving rested enough to enjoy the first day.
I made almost every mistake you can make on my first trip, rushing the parts that deserved more time and skipping the parts that didn’t need to be rushed at all, so this is the version of that trip I wish someone had told me to take instead.
Get lost in Alfama before everyone else arrives
Alfama is Lisbon’s oldest neighborhood, and this is one part of the city where I think a map can get in the way. Its steep lanes twist between tiled houses, tiny churches, staircases, laundry hanging overhead, and sudden views of the Tagus. Much of the neighborhood survived the destruction of the 1755 earthquake, which is one reason it feels so different from the broad streets farther downhill.
I like starting with one place in mind and letting the rest happen on the way. For me, that place is Miradouro de Santa Luzia, where the view stretches across Alfama’s red rooftops toward the river. I like the viewpoint itself just as much: the tiled panels, pergola, and little garden make it somewhere to linger rather than just another photo stop.
Go early if you can. By late morning, the main streets and viewpoints are much busier with walking tours and sightseeing groups. I prefer being there within an hour or so of sunrise, when the light is softer, and the climb is more pleasant before the day gets warmer.
If I had only one quiet morning in Lisbon, I would spend it here.
Ride Tram 28 once, and ride it early
I once made the mistake most first-time visitors make with Tram 28: I treated it as something I could casually do in the middle of the day. By then, everyone else had apparently had the same idea.
The historic little yellow tram winds through some of Lisbon’s oldest and hilliest neighborhoods, squeezing past buildings on streets that sometimes look barely wide enough for it. That squeeze through the old streets is part of the fun, but it is much harder to appreciate once the tram fills up.
Go first thing in the morning. By midday, the cars can get extremely crowded, and you may spend more time standing behind someone else’s backpack than looking out the window. Packed trams are also where you need to be especially alert to pickpockets. Earlier in the day, you have a better chance of getting a window seat and nicer light along the route.
I think Tram 28 is worth riding once. After that, I would explore those neighborhoods on foot and use the tram as transport, not an attraction. 
Spend a few hours at LX Factory
After a couple of days among tiled façades, churches, viewpoints, and old streets, I’m usually ready for a change of scenery. That’s when I head to LX Factory.
The former industrial complex in Alcântara is now filled with independent shops, restaurants, bars, studios, and street art. It is popular, not some hidden corner of Lisbon, but it feels very different from the historic center. That contrast is exactly why I like it for a longer stay.
My favorite stop is Ler Devagar, the enormous bookstore inside the complex. The shop was built inside an old printing house, and the original two-story printing press still stands at the center of the room, with shelves climbing so high around it that you need a ladder to reach the top rows. Overhead, a cluster of small winged figures hangs suspended above the aisles: the work of an artist with a workshop tucked into the store. It is the kind of place where I expect to spend ten minutes and somehow lose an hour.
Weekends are busier because LX Market brings independent sellers into the complex. I prefer going on a weekday when I want to browse at a slower pace, but if the market is part of the appeal, the weekend is the better time to visit.
I probably wouldn’t put LX Factory at the top of the list on a first day in Lisbon. After a day or two in the older neighborhoods, though, I would recommend seeing a part of the city that feels much more current.
Give Sintra a full day
Almost everyone will tell you to go to Sintra from Lisbon, and for once, I agree. What I disagree with is trying to squeeze it into half a day.
Trains leave from Rossio station in central Lisbon, take about 40 minutes, and cost a few euros each way. Once you arrive, the palaces and gardens are spread across steep, forested hills, so getting between them takes longer than you might expect.
If I could visit only one place in Sintra, I would choose Pena Palace. The red and yellow palace is impossible to miss on top of the hill, but there is more to the visit than the building itself. The terraces look out across the surrounding hills, and the park has wooded paths that are easy to rush past when you are already thinking about the next palace. Tickets for the palace interior are sold for a specific date and time, so book ahead.
Quinta da Regaleira would be my second choice, mainly for the gardens, tunnels, grottoes, and the spiral Initiation Well.
I would rather see one or two places properly than spend the day rushing between five. Sintra is much more enjoyable when there is time to wander beyond the palace interiors too.
Go to Belém for more than the pastry
Belém is easy to treat as a quick pastry stop, but I think that misses the point. If I am making the trip to Pastéis de Belém, I would not eat one tart and head straight back to the center; I would give the neighborhood at least a few hours.
Pastéis de Belém began baking its pastries in 1837 using an old recipe from the nearby Jerónimos Monastery, where the pastry tradition originated. The bakery is often busy, but the constant turnover means the pastries arrive warm, with crisp layers around the soft custard. Add cinnamon and eat one straight away.
I’ve had excellent pastéis de nata closer to central Lisbon, so you do not need to come to Belém just to find a good one. I still think the original is worth trying at least once, especially because the bakery is only one part of the trip.
Jerónimos Monastery is nearby, and Belém Tower is farther along the waterfront. Put those together with the bakery, and Belém becomes an easy half-day outing.
Flying to Lisbon from the US
When I looked into nonstop flights to Lisbon from the US, TAP Air Portugal had the broadest network by far: nonstop from JFK, Newark, Boston, Washington Dulles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. United, Delta, and American each fly nonstop too, from a number of other cities.
I always check the aircraft before I book a long-haul business class seat, and TAP is a good reminder why. On the A330-900neo, TAP business class has a 1-2-1 layout, so every seat has its own direct aisle access — the setup I want for sleeping on an overnight flight without climbing over anyone.
But Boston and Washington Dulles currently fly TAP’s long-range Airbus A321neo, the A321LR, where the cabin is laid out differently: it alternates between paired 2-2 rows and single 1-1 “throne” seats. The seats still fold flat, but a window seat in one of the paired rows doesn’t have direct aisle access. Two nonstop options, same airline, same “business class” label, genuinely different seats; worth confirming before you book, not after.
I usually don’t mind comparing seats myself, but not everyone wants to spend time doing that. If you would rather have someone help sort through the options, BusinessClass.com lets you request help from an agent who can narrow the choices down before you book.
Leave some room in the plan
By the time I left, I had stopped thinking about how much of Lisbon I had managed to cover. The parts I remembered best were the ones I had not planned tightly: a longer morning in Alfama, an afternoon that stretched out in Belém, and enough time in Sintra to wander beyond the palace interiors.
I used to think two nights in Lisbon would be enough. Now I would give myself enough time to wander, change plans, and stay somewhere longer simply because I wasn’t ready to leave yet.
