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Welcome to Lisbon! In this page, you can find some helpful resources to help you plan your stay.

Moving around

By Metro

The Lisbon Metro is the fastest and most efficient of moving about the city, although some neighbourhoods (such as Belém, Alcântara, and Amoreiras) as not quite as well served by the system. You are always required to validate your ticket at the gates both when entering and exiting the station, and must be ready to provide a valid ticket when requested by Metro agents when travelling on the network.

The Metro has 4 lines: Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green. At the station, follow the signs with the name of the destination of the train you want to get on. The last train departs from the origin station at 1 am.

To ride, you need to pay a fare. There are two main ways to pay:

  • Contactless — you need to tap your contactless-enabled bank card or phone running Apple Pay or equivalent at the reader located in the barrier on your way in and out. You will be charged €1.80 and will be able to travel across the network.
  • navegante® occasional card — See below for more information. Tap in and out at the gates. Should be loaded with either a Carris/Metro ticket, or Zapping stored value.

Refer to the Metro website for more information regarding fares.

Metro trains and stations are generally very safe, although some common sense cautions are generally advised when travelling alone at night. Keep your personal belongings with you and be wary of pickpockets, especially when the train is very crowded and when passing through more touristic areas downtown during the summer. Follow the Police recommendations and, if you require assistance, reach out to Metro staff or contact the Public Safety Police (PSP) at (+351) 21 765 42 42. In an emergency, dial 112.

The Lisbon Airport has a Metro station, and is the most efficient way of getting from the airport to the city centre.

In the south bank of the Tagus river, Metro services are operated by a different provider: MTS. You can travel using by tapping your navegante card (see below) in the validator inside the train when entering. The fare will be deducted from the stored value in your card. Carris/Metro tickets loaded onto the card are not valid in this operator, only stored value or MTS tickets.

By bus or tram

Within the limits of the city of Lisbon, bus services are operated by Carris. They operate the yellow buses, trams, funiculars, and the Santa Justa Lift.

There are three ways to pay your fare:

  • Contactless — tap in your contactless card or phone running Apple Pay or similar at one of the validators at the front of the bus and the fare will be charged from that card.
  • navegante® occasional card — tap in at the validators at the front of the bus.
  • On-board fare — you can pay the driver the fare for that trip directly in cash. This is the most expensive option.

You can use the Transit feature of the Google Maps app to get real-time waiting time estimates for each bus stop.

The suburban bus services that span outside the city are handled by Carris Metropolitana. The fare can be paid by tapping your navegante card with stored value at the validators in front of the bus, or by purchasing a fare from the driver. Unlike Carris, they don't support contactless cards yet. Carris/Metro tickets are not valid on this operator as well, only stored value.

By train

There are 2 train companies operating in Lisbon:

  • CP: the national train company. CP Lisbon Urban Services connect Lisbon to nearby cities and towns, such as Cascais, Sintra, and Oeiras.
  • Fertagus: operates the trains that connect Lisbon with the south bank of the river Tagus.

To use Fertagus or CP Lisbon, you must tap in your navegante card (see below) on a CP or Fertagus validator, respectively, at the train station.

Note that CP also operates long-haul services across the country. Your navegante card is only suitable for travel in CP Lisbon urban trains. If you use other services (e.g. Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, Regional) you must purchase a ticket from them for that journey.

By ferry

Depending on your destination, it may be more convenient to travel by ferry rather than on Fertagus trains when heading to a place in the south bank of the river Tagus. Ferry services are operated by Transtejo Soflusa. To ride, you can tap your navegante card with stored value at the station's gates.

Ride-hailing (TVDE)

There are 2 ride-hailing platforms currently operating in Portugal: Uber and Bolt. These services are generally known in the country by their legal designation - TVDE. You can identify licensed cars working for these platforms by the white "TVDE" badge on their windshields. These services can only be hailed through their respective apps.

By bike/e-scooter

Although Lisbon is a hilly city, you can opt to travel short to medium distances via bike or e-scooter. Here's some currently running operators:

  • Gira network of docking (e-)bikes, operated by the Lisbon City Council.
  • Lime (Uber) - e-scooters and dockless e-bikes.
  • Bolt - e-scooters.
  • Bird - e-scooters.

All providers require you to use their app to ride. Be aware that for dockless bikes and e-scooters, you can only finish your trip on designated parking areas — you can find them in your provider's app. Always observe traffic law when riding these vehicles. Give way to the right, never drive on the pavements, and never drink and ride.

Navegante® Occasional card

Although you can use your contactless card or phone on the Metro and Carris buses, some other forms of transport, such as buses of the Carris Metropolitana network, trains, and ferries, don't support that method of payment. For all those, you will need to purchase a navegante® occasional card. The easiest way to purchase it is by the vending machines available at any Metro station. Navegante occasional cards cost €0.50 are valid for 1 year, and must be purchased individually by each passenger. They can be topped up at the Metro vending machines and can be loaded with different types of tickets:

  • Provider-specific ticket: Allows for travel in a specific provider. For instance, the Carris/Metro ticket allows you to travel on the Metro and Carris buses for 1h for a flat fee of €1.85.
  • Zapping stored value: allows you to top up your card with a chosen amount in euro, and the appropriate fare will be deducted when tapping in. This mode allows for travel across all the different providers (not just Metro and Carris).
  • Day tickets: allows you to travel freely on the providers you choose for a flat fee. 

Useful resources

Here's a curated list of other websites which may prove useful while planning, or during your stay.

BioData.pt | ELIXIR Portugal in the Greater Lisbon area

In case you're in town to visit one of the BioData.pt | ELIXIR Portugal associate organisations, here's a list of which institutions are located within the Greater Lisbon area.

Lisbon

Oeiras

  • ITQB NOVA (18 min walk from Oeiras train station)
  • iBET (18 min walk from Oeiras train station)
  • GIMM Oeiras hub (7 min walk from Oeiras train station)

Porto Salvo

Bobadela

Caparica

Reach out to us

The BioData.pt | ELIXIR Portugal Management Unit in Lisbon is located within the offices of INESC-ID, one of our associate organisations. If you need to reach out to us, you can find contact information in this page. We're always available to help out if you need us.

 

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