Is the Lisboa Card worth it?

Spoiler Alert…

In a word YES!

Absolutely!!!

Without a doubt!

In fact, it’s one of THE BEST VALUE city cards I’ve ever had the pleasure of buying. Let me show you how I maxed out its value, and how you can too.

Maximize Your Lisboa Card: A 4-Day Lisbon Adventure Begins

Having recently (April 2025) explored Lisbon with the Lisboa Card, I’ve crafted a 72-hour itinerary—cleverly stretched to four days—that maximizes its value, saving more than €120 over the price of the card itself, with room for even more savings.

Drawing on tips from our ‘How to Get the Most from a City Pass’ blog, I’ve refined this free, self-paced walking tour by removing mistakes I made, such as less-interesting sites not fully included in the Lisboa Pass, to streamline your experience.

This 72-hour Lisbon itinerary covers top attractions like Belém Tower, St. George’s Castle, and bustling markets, while leaving plenty of time to rest, people-watch, and enjoy authentic Portuguese food and beverages – from pastéis de nata to exquisite canned fish.

Each day ends at one of Lisbon’s best craft beer pubs in a central location where you can continue your exploration of the amazing restaurant, bar, music, and cafe culture. 

I’ve also included some extras you might want to consider, such as street art views and quirky bookshops, and green spaces to enhance your adventure.

You’ll also find links to more detailed versions of the three full-day self-paced tours of Lisbon described below.

Overall, you’ll have everything you need to maximize the Lisboa Card’s value while savoring a polished, unhurried journey through the city’s vibrant culture. 

Ready to save big and explore Lisbon?

Let’s get started!

Plan Ahead: Get Your Lisboa Card to Save Big Before You Start

While you can enjoy our free self-paced walking tours of Lisbon without the Lisboa Card, it’s a game-changer for saving a heap of cash—around €120 in my case! 

The Lisboa Card grants free access to over 50 attractions and sites, including Belém Tower, St Jeronimos Monastery, and St. George’s Castle, plus free public transport across the city. 

You’ll also score generous discounts at numerous other attractions, restaurants, and shops, maximizing the value of your Lisbon experience. 

I recommend reviewing our three-day itinerary, which covers Belém, Alfama, and the central markets first, and then deciding if the 24-, 48-, or 72-hour Lisboa Card suits your plans best. 

For convenience, you can buy it online at no extra cost and pick it up at Lisbon’s airport or an Ask Me Lisboa location around town.

The 72-hour clock doesn’t start until you enter your first attraction or take your first public transport leg, giving you flexibility to explore Lisbon’s vibrant culture at your own pace. 

What that means is you can:

• Pick up the card when you arrive
• Take a few days to get your bearings, settle in, and decide on your must-sees,  and 
• Activate it when you’re ready to start.

I purchased my 72-hour pass through Get Your Guide and then picked it up at the Ask Me Lisboa office on Praça do Comércio before activating it at the Lisboa Story Center, around 4 pm on day 1.

By starting later on the first afternoon, I stretched my experience to four days, making it a lot more relaxed and probably fitting in more.

You can get your Lisboa Card here and start your planning straight away!

Maximize Your 72-Hour Lisboa Card: My 4-Day Strategy

Lisbon’s bursting with so many sights, you’d need a month of Sundays to see them all!

But having committed to the 72-hour card for €62, I took on the challenge to squeeze every drop of value from it. 

Pro Tip: Start in the afternoon on Day 1 and hit a few spots. Go hard for days 2 and 3, and use all of Day 4 before the 72-hour cut-off time to mop up extras you didn’t get to.

Using this approach, you can easily save two or three times the card’s cost.

Here’s how I organized my time and routes.

Day 1: Easing In at Praça do Comércio

Overview

Start 3:00 pm – End 7:00 pm

I showed my GetYourGuide voucher and received my Lisbon Card at the info desk on the western side of Praça do Comércio. (< 5 minutes)

Day 1 Route and Sights.

1- Praça do Comércio Sights (~30 min, 0 km, free):

Strolled the square, snapping pics

Arco da Rua Augusta, a towering arch with stunning views (free with the Lisboa card, saving €3.50).

2 – Colorful Lisbon Sign, perfect for Instagram

3 – Centro Tejo  – FREE exhibition and stunning tile work just east of the plaza. 

4 – Lisbon Story Center (~1 hr) – I activated my card at 4:10 PM (Free with Lisbon Card, saving €7.50)

Late activation means my card’s good until 4:00 PM on Day 4.

5 – Museum of Beer (2 hours) – I met Tim at the quirky Museu da Cerveja for a couple of beers, snacks, and people-watching on Lisbon’s largest terrace.

The Museum is free for restaurant customers, or you can book a tour and tasting for €15 (not included in the Lisboa Card).

5 – Transport Home (Free with card): Hopped on a metro or tram home, saving a few euros on fares.

Day 1 Savings:

• Arco da Rua Augusta – 3.50€
• Lisbon Story – 7.50€
• Transport (Metro) – 2 €

Total Day 1 Savings = 13€

Day 2: Belém Blitz – History, Tarts, and Treasures

Overview

Start 8:00 am – End 5 pm

I hit the ground running for a full day in Belém, Lisbon’s historic gem, packing in iconic sights, tasty treats, and hidden wins.

Day 2 Route and Sights.

Took the bus from our apartment directly to the Belem area (Saving €2 with the LCard)

1—Pastéis de Belém (8:00 AM, 30 min, 0 km, not on card): I kicked off at 8:00 AM sharp when this legendary bakery opened  for coffee and Portuguese egg tarts (Pastel de Nata)

2 – Empire Square Garden,   Jerónimos Monastery & Santa Maria Church  (~2 hrs total, 0.7 km from Pastéis de Belém):

• • Wander around Empire Square Garden (free) for great views of Jerónimos Monastery.
  • Line up for the monastery by 9:00 AM for the 9:30 AM opening.  (Free with card, saves 18€)
  • Pop into the neighboring Santa Maria Church (free, 20-minute wait)

3 – Museu de Marinha  – explore the epic tale of Portugal’s seafaring past (20% discount saved 2€ (entry ~8€) 

4 – Belém Tower   – Walk to the tower via  Street Art – Revolução dos Cravos, 25 de Abril,  – The Tower was closed for renovation, but when open, the Lisboa Card saves on the 6€ entry.

5 – Monument of Discoveries – Entry  to the monument’s top viewing platform is FREE with the Lisbon Card, saving € 10.

6—Belém River Station – FREE

7 – Garden of Afonso de Albuquerque & National Coach Museums

• • Cross the new overpass to reach the  Garden of Afonso de Albuquerque
  • Visit the two sites of the National Coach Museums. The old one’s in the Royal Riding School on Praça Afonso de Albuquerque; the new one’s a sleek monolith on Av. da Índia.

The Lisboa card covers both, saving 15€.

8 – Palácio Nacional da Ajuda & Museu do Tesouro Real

Catch Bus 729 from the Belém – Cç. Ajuda bus stop adjacent Belém Palace. 

• • Museu do Tesouro Real—high-security vaults packed with Portuguese royal jewels. The Lisboa card saves you 11€.
  • Ajuda Palace, dripping in opulence with lavish rooms.  Lisboa Card saves 15€

9 – End of day: Bus/metro home (free with card).

The Palace is well connected by public transport. The bus takes approximately 35 minutes to return to Praça do Comércio. (Lisboa Card saves €2)

Or, depending on which direction your hotel is, you might like to do like me and take a Bus from the Largo d Ajuda Bus Stop and head to AMO Brewery for a refreshing craft beer.

Day 2 Savings with Lisbon Card

• • Jerónimos Monastery: 18€
  • Museu de Marinha: 2€ (20% discount)
  • Belém Tower: 6€
  • Monument of Discoveries: 10€
  • National Coach Museums: 15€
  • Museu do Tesouro Real: 11€
  • Ajuda Palace: 15€
  • Transport (buses, est. 3 trips): ~6€

Total Savings Day 2 = 83€

So What Do You Think? Is the Lisboa Card Worth it?

That’s a BIG YES from me.

As you can see from my adventures, the Lisbon Card has proven itself an indispensable companion throughout this four-day adventure, providing not just financial savings but also the convenience of skip-the-line privileges and unlimited transportation.

For a very reasonable 62 euros, I gained over 180 Euros of value. That’s almost 300% of my outlay.

But if you:

• Buy some souvenirs,
• Go on a tour, or
• Eat or drink at some of the partner businesses, and you could save even more.

What Next?

As mentioned previously, I recommend you head over to see the detailed itineraries for each full day:

• Belém Blitz – History, Tarts, and Treasures

• Alfama’s Soul & Beyond

• Alcântara to Chiado – Markets, Art, Puppets, and Chocolate

Each post highlights alternative and/or additional sights and experiences that you may want to include, which can save you even more money.

You’ll also find:

• Detailed instructions on how to get between each site,
• Refreshment options,
• Pro-tips on how to make the most of your experience, and
• A commentary on the attractions.

You can then highlight your priorities and decide whether to buy the 24, 48, or 72-hour card AND which complimentary tours and activities you might also want to include in your discovery plan.

Buying Your Lisboa Card

As mentioned above, I highly recommend that you:

• Purchase your Lisbon Card online before you get to Lisbon. It won’t cost you any more than buying when you get there. I purchased mine through Get Your Guide.
• Download your Voucher for exchange at either the Airport or one of the many Ask Me Lisboa offices around the city.
• Activate the card when you’re ready to enter your first attraction.

Heading to Portugal Soon?

Check out our Travel Resource pages before you start planning and booking. Everything you need in one place to save you money and travel better.

• • Flights
  • Accommodation
  • Transport
  • Visas
  • Tours and tickets
  • Travel Insurance
  • House and Petsitting

And more…

Book Your Flight
Use Trip.com to find cheap flights. They are our favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines worldwide. (Including the tiny budget ones, many other search engines ignore.)

Book Your Accommodation
To find the best deals and book most of our accommodation (when we’re not housesitting,) we use:

• • Booking.com,
  • Trip.com and 
  • Sometimes Agoda

If you are more into Hostels, then Hostelword is the biggest platform for those.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you if anything goes wrong before or during your trip. We never travel without it and have needed it many times. We’ve used a few companies with excellent results over the years.

Consider:

• Covermore (Australians)
• Safety Wing (All nationalities. Great for long-term travelers and Digital Nomads.)
• World Nomads (All nationalities. Great for long-term travelers and Digital Nomads.)
• Visitors Coverage (to see a more extensive range of available plans from different providers, including policies for over 60’s.)

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