Lisbon
Hills of tiled façades above the Tagus, yellow trams grinding up to the castle, the monuments of the navigators at Belém, and a runway inside the city limits.
- Arrival
- Lisbon Humberto Delgado · LIS
- To the city
- About 20 minutes downtown by metro
- Private jets
- At LIS; Cascais for smaller aircraft
- Best time
- March to October
The city
Hills, river and light.
Lisbon spreads over its hills on the north bank of the Tagus: Alfama around the castle, the grid of the Baixa rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755, Chiado and Bairro Alto above it, and Belém downriver, where the voyages of discovery set out. Sintra and the Estoril coast are close enough for an afternoon.
The season is long. From March to October the days run from 18 to 28 °C, and July and August are almost dry. The Atlantic stays cool, between 15 and 19 °C, even off the beaches of Cascais.
Arriving
An airport in town, an airfield on the coast.
Humberto Delgado sits inside the city, about seven kilometres from the historic centre, and takes airlines and private jets alike. Cascais, west along the coast, serves smaller aircraft.
- Ibiza 1 h 30
- Palma de Mallorca 1 h 40
- Rome 2 h 45
- Abu Dhabi 8 h 15 long-range jet
- Johannesburg 10 h 50 long-range jet
When to go
March to October.
Atlantic air keeps Lisbon mild. From March to October the days run from 18 to 28 °C and the summer is dry; the rain arrives in November and lasts through the winter, which stays around 15 °C.
- 15° J 109 15°
- 16° F 110 14°
- 18° M 68 15°
- 19° A 64 15°
- 22° M 39 16°
- 25° J 21 17°
- 28° J 4 18°
- 28° A 5 19°
- 27° S 26 19°
- 23° O 80 18°
- 18° N 111 17°
- 15° D 106 16°
What to see and do
Days in and around Lisbon.
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Landmark
Belém
The Jerónimos Monastery and the tower on the river, both from the age of the navigators.
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Landmark
Alfama
Steep lanes and stairways below São Jorge Castle, and fado in small rooms at night.
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Landmark
Sintra
Palaces and romantic gardens in the wooded hills west of the city.
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Culture
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
About 1,000 pieces from the founder's collection of some 6,000 are shown, spanning 5,000 years from Ancient Egypt to René Lalique.
Official site -
Culture
MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology
On the bank of the Tagus facing the 25 de Abril Bridge, the white building shows exhibitions every day except Tuesday.
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Nature
Arrábida Natural Park
Created in 1976, the park covers about 176 km² of hills and coves, with walks up Pico do Formosinho at 501 m and down to Galapinhos beach.
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Food & wine
José Maria da Fonseca
In business since 1834, the family house shows visitors its manor museum and three cellars where Moscatel de Setúbal ages, some over a century old.
Official site -
On the water
Vertigem Azul
Founded in 1998, this Setúbal company was the first to take visitors by catamaran to watch the Sado estuary's resident bottlenose dolphins, all year round.
Official site -
Golf
Quinta da Marinha Golf Course
Robert Trent Jones Senior laid out this par 71 course of 18 holes near the Atlantic, with views to the ocean and the Sintra hills.
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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9–12 Nov 2026
Technology & AI
Web Summit
Annual technology conference in Lisbon gathering start-ups, investors and technology companies.
MEO Arena and FIL
In 11 days
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November 2027 Dates to be confirmed
Technology & AI
Web Summit
Annual technology conference in Lisbon gathering start-ups, investors and technology companies.
MEO Arena and FIL
In 12 months
Where to stay
Palaces in the old town, and out to Sintra and Cascais.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon Louis XVI and Art Deco interiors, a running track on the roof, and the starred CURA behind its own door.
- Bairro Alto Hotel An eighteenth-century building restored by Eduardo Souto de Moura, with a terrace looking over the Tagus.
- The One Palácio da Anunciada A palace of 1533 reworked by Jaime Beriestain, with a spa and pools indoors and out.
- Santiago de Alfama Nineteen rooms in a fifteenth-century palace built over Roman remains, restored by Luís Rebelo de Andrade.
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Penha Longa Resort Three MICHELIN Keys, 204 rooms around a fourteenth-century monastery and chapel, and 27 holes of golf laid out by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
- Palácio Ludovice Wine Experience Hotel The house of João Frederico Ludovice, architect to King João V, now 61 rooms by Miguel Câncio Martins, with the bar down in the old cellar.
- Olissippo Lapa Palace Built in 1870 as a private residence, its tropical gardens and heated pool sit on a hill above the Tagus.
- Pestana Palace Lisboa The Marquês de Valle Flôr's nineteenth-century residence, a National Monument, opened as a hotel in 2001 inside a park of subtropical trees.
- Verride Palácio Santa Catarina Nineteen rooms and suites in an eighteenth-century palace by the Adamastor viewpoint, with its wooden ceilings and tiles kept and a bar on the roof.
- Hotel Avenida Palace José Luís Monteiro, who drew the façade of Rossio station next door, designed it; it opened in 1892 and has 82 rooms.
- Memmo Príncipe Real Reached by a narrow street and a short tunnel off Rua Dom Pedro V, 41 rooms and a terrace pool facing São Jorge Castle.
- Hotel Palácio do Governador Sixty rooms where the governor of the Belém Tower once lived, above Roman ruins, with the reception in the old chapel.
- Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisboa Receiving guests since 1933: 264 rooms, an Anantara spa and an outdoor pool in a semitropical garden.
- Valverde Lisboa Hotel & Garden Forty-eight rooms and suites on the avenue, kept in the manner of a London town house, with a garden and an outdoor pool.
- The Lumiares Hotel & Spa Forty-seven suites with their own kitchens in a restored eighteenth-century palace, and the Lumi restaurant on the roof.
- Corpo Santo Lisbon Historical Hotel Seventy-five rooms on Largo do Corpo Santo, and a small museum area for what the builders found during the works.
- The Ivens Hotel On Rua Capelo in Chiado, its rooms and bar decorated with macaws, beetles, parrots and tropical plants.
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Valverde Sintra Palácio de Seteais An eighteenth-century palace with thirty rooms, its garden paths looking up to the Moorish Castle and Pena Palace.
- The Oitavos Each of the 143 rooms has a balcony over the Atlantic and the Oitavos Dunes course, and the spa is walled in glass.
- The Albatroz Hotel Three buildings above the Bay of Cascais, with a sea-view pool on the terrace and a bar looking over the bay.
Where to dine
Starred tables from Belém to the Expo.
From the MICHELIN Guide 2026, shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Belcanto Two Michelin stars Creative, Portuguese €€€€ Rua Serpa Pinto, Chiado
- Henrique Sá Pessoa Two Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Páteo Bagatela
- Fifty Seconds Two Michelin stars Creative €€€€ Torre Vasco da Gama, Parque das Nações
- CURA One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
- Feitoria One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Altis Belém, Doca do Bom Sucesso
- 2Monkeys One Michelin star Creative €€€€ Torel Palace, Rua Câmara Pestana
- EPUR One Michelin star Creative €€€€ Chiado
- Encanto One Michelin star Vegetarian €€€€ Largo de São Carlos
- Grenache One Michelin star French Contemporary €€€€ Pátio de Dom Fradique, Alfama
Elsewhere in Portugal
More reasons to come.
- Sintra Palaces in the wooded hills above Lisbon.
- Comporta Rice fields, dunes and beach houses, an hour south of Lisbon.
- Porto Bridges over the Douro, and the wine lodges of Gaia.
- Douro Valley Terraced vineyards upriver from Porto.
- Quinta do Lago Golf and pine woods on the Algarve, fifteen minutes from Faro.
Flying to Lisbon?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.