Skip to content
Voykit

Region

Lisbon and Sintra

Sleep in Lisbon; do Sintra and Cascais as day-trips by train and keep the same bed.

Open Lisbon Plan a trip
More: share, save offline, report a correction
More

Key facts · Portugal

Best months
Sep–May
Visa
Depends on your passport
Currency
Euro (EUR, €)
Language
Portuguese
Plugs
C · F · 230 V
Time zone
WET — one hour behind Spain
Month by month here
Rules in force · 8Non-EU visitors get 90 days in any rolling 180-day window…
  • Europe ↗Non-EU visitors get 90 days in any rolling 180-day window, counted across all 29 Schengen states together — not per country; the Entry/Exit System now logs each crossing, so an overstay is detected automatically.
  • Europe ↗On the first Schengen entry since EES began, non-EU travellers give four fingerprints and a face photo at the border instead of a passport stamp; there is nothing to apply for or pay in advance.
  • Iberia ↗Plan meals on the Iberian clock: Spanish kitchens serve lunch from about 13:30–14:00 and dinner from 20:30–21:00; Portugal eats an hour or so earlier. Early evenings are for tapas or petiscos, not full meals.
  • Iberia ↗Inland Spain and Portugal (Seville, Córdoba, Madrid, the Alentejo) pass 40 °C in heatwaves from late June to August: sightsee before 11:00 and after 18:00, and keep July–August for the coasts and the green north.
  • Iberia ↗Andorra and Gibraltar have their own border and customs rules and are reached only through Spain (or France for Andorra); read their pages before adding them, especially if you hold a limited Schengen visa.
  • Portugal ↗Portugal is in the Schengen area. Check the entry rules for your passport on official sources; the EU's Entry/Exit System registers non-EU visitors at the first Schengen border, and further pre-travel authorisation rules are being introduced.
  • Portugal ↗Alfa Pendular and Intercidades trains assign seats: book Lisbon–Porto ahead in summer and on holiday weekends.
  • Portugal ↗Many motorways, including the Algarve's A22, use electronic tolls only: ask the hire company for a transponder before you drive off.

The Lisbon region is one base and two easy excursions. Sintra's palaces and Cascais' coast are each about 40 minutes by train from the centre, so changing hotels for them wastes the morning. Keep the Lisbon room, carry a day pack, and come back to the same bed.

Where to sleep

3 places in this region

Sleep base

  • LisbonTrip line

    Baixa for first-timers, Príncipe Real for quieter nights.

    Best Sep–May

    Open Lisbon →

Day trip

  • SintraCity guide

    Palaces and gardens; train from Rossio about 40 min.

    Best Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct

    Open Sintra →

  • CascaisCity guide

    Coast and beaches; train from Cais do Sodré about 40 min.

    Best May–Jun, Sep–Oct

    Open Cascais →

Plan the nights

How to split the nights, day-trips and what to do with your bags

Open Plan the nightsClose Plan the nights3 partsNights · Day-trips · Bags

Night sequences

4 nights
Lisbon 4, Sintra as a day-trip
5 nights
Lisbon 5, Sintra and Cascais as day-trips
  • Sintra in the afternoon of the same day as Belém and Alfama is too much: give it a whole morning.

Day-trips door to door

ToFromDoor-to-door p50Last returnNote
SintraLisbon75 minunknownTrains run all day from Rossio; palaces need timed tickets in high season.
CascaisLisbon60 minunknownTrains from Cais do Sodré; check the last train before dinner.

Bags between cities

Leave the big bag at the Lisbon hotel and take a day pack to Sintra or Cascais.

When to go

Months and weather

Open When to goClose When to go1 partSeasons

Seasons at a glance

From each city's month table

Pick a month to see where to go.

Show all 12 months, country by countryHide the 12-month table
CountryJFMAMJJASOND
Lisbon
Sintra
Cascais
Portugal (country-wide)
Go: the good monthsFair: workable, mixedPoor: heat, rain or hazeAvoid: storms, floods, closuresno data yet

Computed from each country’s own data; hover a country name for the source. Advisory countries are left out.

Eat and move on

Regional food and where to go next

Open Eat and move onClose Eat and move on1 partGo next

Go next

Other regions of the country

Porto and the North

planned

2–4 nights

Porto base; the Douro Valley by train, boat or car

Algarve

planned

3–5 nights

South coast beaches: Lagos, Faro, Tavira

Madeira and the Azores

planned

4–7 nights

Atlantic islands by flight; hiking and car country

Lisbon and Sintra: what we know, and what is coming

3 of 3 places open

On this page

  1. 3 places with their role: where to sleep, what to do as a day trip
  2. How to split 4 or 5 nights
  3. 2 day trips with door-to-door time
  4. Seasons month by month, from the cities’ own tables
  5. What to do with the big bag between beds

Coming as the guide grows

  1. Climate strip by zone, with the storm and haze months
  2. Get in: airports and stations with door-to-door times
  3. Regional passes and cards, with a buy / skip verdict
  4. Regional food: what, where and when it works

Meanwhile

Planning aids

Built from this guide's own data

Open Planning aidsClose Planning aids3 partsIn numbers · Trips here · Local time

Region in numbers

Where to sleep
1 base
Day trips
2, 1 h to 1 h 15
Nights suggested
4–5 nights

Trips that stop here

From the Portugal guide

  • Lisbon and Porto

    7 days · 4 nights here

    Lisbon → Porto

  • Porto, Lisbon, Algarve

    10 days · 3 nights here

    Porto → Coimbra → Lisbon → Lagos

  • Mainland loop with the Douro and Alentejo

    14 days · 4 nights here

    Porto → Douro Valley → Coimbra → Lisbon → Évora → Lagos or Tavira

All Portugal trips →

Local time

What time it is there now, compared with the clock on your device.

  • Lisbon

    …

    Checking your clock…Europe/Lisbon

Open Lisbon Up to Portugal

Ask about Lisbon and Sintra

Loading…

Was this useful?