Lisbon transport system

Types of transport

Within Lisbon, there are mainly 5 types of transportation:

• Metro
• Bus/Tram
• Suburban Trains
• Boat
• Elevators/Funiculars/Lifts

Metro (Metropolitano de Lisboa)

The metro reaches most of the city center, many campuses and most touristic attractions.

It is widely spread and highly efficient. It consists in 4 lines:

• Green: From Cais do Sodré to Telheiras (direction from city center to the suburbs)
• Yellow: From Rato to Odivelas (direction from city center to the suburbs)
• Blue: From Santa Apolónia to Amadora Este (direction from city center to the suburbs)
• Red: From São Sebastião to Aeroporto (direction from city center to the airport)

(The maps are available for download at the bottom ot the page)

There is Free Wi-fi on all the stations.

In general, the main housing and hostels locations are located within the gree line, yellow line and blue line after Sete Rios in direction to Santa Apolónia. For more information you can contact

Bus/Tram (Carris)

They also serve the Airport and they cover a bigger area than the metro.  The bus system is divided in five lines.

There is both a daily service and a nightbus, with slightly different routes. The metro is available until 1:00AM and the first metro in the morning is at 06:30 AM. Not feeling like waiting this long? The nightbuses serving the city center depart from Cais Sodré and Rossio Square, and they a good option to get back home after a night out – the buses ride all night long, departing each hour and this service is also included in your Viva Lisboa card - so if you are not living close to nightlife areas this might be a nice option for you and keep in mind that there may be queues sometimes, specially on the weekends.

(The maps are available for download at the bottom ot the page)

Trains (Comboios de Portugal - CP)

Comboios de Portugal, the national railway company, has a special subdivision for trains serving the Greater Lisbon Areas. They are divided in four lines:

• Linha da Azambuja (passes by Santa Apolonia and by Vila Franca de Xira)
• Linha de Cascais (Stars in Cais Sodré, stops in Belêm, passes by Carcavelos and finishes in Cascais)
• Linha de Sintra (Leaves from Rossio)
• Linha do Sado (to go across the river to Setúbal)

The last one cn also be done by a private company called FERTAGUS (starts from Areeiro, and crosses the Tagus river. Finishes in Setúbal)

To go to Lisbon's nearby regions, across the country or to Spain, there are more lines the by same company (Comboios de Portugal). Check the info to travel the country by train, in the section below.

(The maps are available for download at the bottom ot the page)

Boats (Transtejo and Softlusa)

They also connect Lisbon to its Southern suburbs. There are 5 routes:

• Terreiro do Paço – Barreiro
• Cais do Sodré – Cacilhas
• Cais do Sodré – Seixal
• Terreiro do Paço – Montijo
• Belém - Trafaria

 (The maps are available for download at the bottom ot the page)

Lisbon Transport pass

After arriving to Lisbon, you may want to get a Viva Card (click here for more information about the simple tickets and here for the monthly pass). The card is customized with your picture and is not disposable like regular metro and bus tickets. It is useful if you plan to use the transport on a regular basis, as you can recharge it monthly or with fixed amounts of money and avoid having to buy tickets in each single trip. Pass by the Erasmus Corner to get the form and we will explain to you how everything works.

The normal price of the card is 7,00€ and it will be delivered with 10 working days. You can also make an urgent request (1 working day) for the price of 12,00€. You can make the request at one of the following stations:

• Marquês de Pombal metro station (near the blue line exit);
• Campo Grande metro station (downstairs, near the NOS building entrance);
• Saldanha/Arco do Cego (yellow building near the garden).

This will allow you to charge it with the two most important monthly passes available within the city, costing 30,00€ and 40,00€.

Extra important information

Unfortunately in Portugal, public transportation strikes happen quite often but they are not always well notified. Keep yourself updated via www.hagreve.com.

In case of a strike you might want to share a taxi with your friends to go to university or after clubbing you probably also need a taxi to get you home. The taxi’s in Lisbon are not very expensive; the price starts at €3.90 and if you stay inside the city center it is likely you will not pay more than €10. The majority of taxi drivers in Lisbon are honest and they speak a bit of English. Do not be fooled by the taxi driver, always ask them to turn on the taxi meter if it is off. TAXI NUMBER: (00351)2181111110

Transportation to the beach

Lisbon has many beaches close by and the easiest way to get to one of our beaches is by taking the train in the direction of Cascais. Along this line there are many beaches and one you should definitely not miss is Carcavelos beach. Other beaches we recommend are São Pedro, Estoril and Cascais. A train ticket to the beach will cost around €4 – BUT with the monthly ticket of 40€ you can do it without pying for extra tickets - and it takes more or less 40 minutes.

Once you have explored the Cascais coastline you will want to cross the bridge and check out the amazing beaches at Costa da Caparica. The town of Costa da Caparica is located 10km south of Lisbon and the easiest way to get there is by bus from the Praça da Espanha or Areeiro station. A two way trip will cost about €6,50 – BUT like the train for Cascais, you can do it with your VIVA CARD if you chosen the 40€ option - and it will take somewhere between 40/60 minutes, depending on the traffic. Another option could also be to take the ferry across the river and from there hop on a bus. The ferry ride will be €1.25 and it stops at the Cacilhas station at the other side of the river. From here you can take bus 135 or 124 to get to the beach, a ticket will cost you €2.40 – this option is also included in the 40€ option of the VIVA CARD.

If you are especially interested in Costa da Caparica for surfing check out our partners .

Transports from Lisbon around Portugal

Airport

• The Lisbon Airport serves the city and the neighbourding regions. Besides the international flights, you can find flights to Porto, to Madeira, and to the Açores Islands from here.
• Fastest way to get to the airport is normally to take the red metro line. The airport is the last station on the line.

Trains

• Comboios de Portugal (or CP) is the national railway company in the country. There are train stations in all the major cities (Porto, Coímbra, Braga, Guimaraes...). There are discounts for people under 25, and offers for specific trains at given dates, specially if you buy the tickets with 10 days in advance or more.

Buses

• Rede Nacional de Expressos (or Renex) operates from Lisbon and goes to all major Portuguese cities, as well as many smaller towns.
• Transportes Sul do Tejo (TST) serves the urban and suburban areas south of Lisbon, like Sesimbra, Palmela, Montijo, etc. If you want to get to Caparica or the Cristo Rei Statue, you can take their buses.

MAPS

METRO MAP 

TRAIN LINES IN LISBON

BUS/TRAM MAP by day

BUS/TRAM by night