Quick take
- Use the metro to skip hills and save energy for the neighborhoods you want to walk.
- Treat walking as the ‘experience layer’ and metro as the ‘skip layer’.
- Have a plan for your first ride (airport to base) — it sets the trip tone.
- The metro is best for longer jumps; the historic cores are best on foot.
- Keep your route simple: fewer transfers, fewer decisions, more calm.
- If you’re tired, metro + short walk beats a long scenic walk every time.
How we update this guide
We try to keep advice here timeless (neighborhood logic, routes, pacing) and call out details that can change quickly (opening hours, transit patterns, prices, seasonal events). If something important changes, we want to hear it.
- Site-wide review date: 2025-12-31
- If you spot an error: send the page URL + what changed + the date you observed it.
- For anything time-sensitive, verify official sources close to travel time.
When the Lisbon metro is the best move
Lisbon’s charm lives in its streets — but the metro is what keeps your legs happy. Use it to jump between zones, then walk the neighborhoods themselves.
The metro is especially useful when you’re crossing the city or skipping a long climb.
- Best for: longer jumps, skipping hills, and fast returns to your base.
- Less useful for: the most historic lanes (those are better on foot).
Hours and frequency (plan your last ride)
Metropolitano de Lisboa states operating hours of 06:30–01:00 daily. That’s perfect for sightseeing — but it’s still the difference between a smooth night and an expensive, tired scramble home.
If you know you’ll be out late (or you have a very early flight), decide your ‘how do we get home?’ plan in advance. Lisbon is easy when you choose calm logistics early.
- Metro hours: 06:30–01:00 (official operating hours).
- Late nights: aim to start your return earlier than you think — transfers take time.
- Outside metro hours: taxi/ride share is usually the simplest option.
Tickets and validation (keep it simple)
For most travelers, the best approach is the simplest: one reusable transit card and a calm habit of validating correctly. Small mistakes waste time and energy.
- Keep one card per person and treat it like a travel essential.
- Slow down at barriers — rushing is how people make errors.
How to use metro + walking together (the Lisbon cheat code)
The best Lisbon days often look like this: metro to the top of a neighborhood → walk down through the beautiful streets → dinner close to where you end up.
This is the easiest way to enjoy Lisbon’s hills without suffering them.
- Go up once. Walk down later.
- Don’t crisscross the city multiple times per day.
- End the day close to dinner so you’re not commuting hungry.