Three-Day Lisbon Itinerary – Exciting Things To See & Do In 72 Hours

This post will share a three-day Lisbon itinerary you can follow on your trip.

In my last post, I shared all the details of my Lisbon Travel Guide.

Halfway through, I realized Lisbon has so much to do that it deserves a post.

As I said earlier, I initially planned to cover Lisbon in two days and visit Sintra on the last day.

But the weather had other plans.

Luckily, my hostel mate went a day before and advised me how terrible the fog was.

Honestly, there’s no point visiting the castles in Sintra with all that fog.

You literally will not see anything. It would have been a wasted trip.

Instead, I stayed back and rode the Tram 28 across the city.

Now, is three days enough to cover Lisbon? Absolutely not!

There are still so many places that I wasn’t able to visit.

But I didn’t feel too sad because I could always go back.

That said, you can cover a good chunk in three days.

But to do justice to the city, you need a minimum of five full days.

That is one week, including travel days.

A handy way to find out where to go and what to do when travelling is to sort through the attractions on Google Maps.

It has all the details you need about each attraction, including the directions, tickets and reviews.

I tend to start my trips with the most popular attractions before slowly finding my way to the hidden gems.

Let’s get right into them!

Here’s A Handy Three Day Lisbon Itinerary For Solo Travellers

Naturally, you want to start at the city centre before going to the other neighbouring districts.

Like many other cities, Lisbon also has different neighbourhoods.

In this post, I will share the three essential neighbourhoods you should cover on your trip to Lisbon.

These districts have so much history and culture, so you can easily dedicate a day to exploring them.

Day 1: The Baixa District

This is the heart of Lisbon, better known as the city centre.

In November 1755, an earthquake destroyed the city, but it was rebuilt into what it is today.

Many of the major attractions in this district commemorate the earthquake in one way or another.

What better way to explore Lisbon than to appreciate how much effort has been put into rebuilding this splendid city?

Must-see attractions include:

• Praca de Comercio: Similar to Plazas in Italy and Spain, this magnificent plaza overlooks the River Tejo. You’ll find the iconic Arco de Rua Augusta triumphal arch, completed in 1875 and a statue of King Jose I. Since this plaza overlooks a river, it gets windy in the evenings, so pack a jacket.
• Elevator de Santa Justa: An iconic cast-iron elevator built in the 19th century to transport people to one of the steepest hills in Lisbon. It is also great to get a gorgeous view of the city.
• Camo Convent: The remains of a ruined Gothic Church destroyed by the 1755 earthquake.
• Lisbon Story Centre: Learn about the history of Lisbon through a 60-minute tour.

The Alfama District

Still, you can combine the Baixa and Alfama districts on the first day of your three-day Lisbon itinerary.

The latter is the oldest district of Lisbon because it was barely affected by the 1755 earthquake; hence, it retains much of its medieval architecture.

So you’ll find a lot of traditional Portuguese culture, particularly the most historic buildings.

This is also where you’ll enjoy navigating through the narrow, cobbled streets and the iconic architecture.

Further attractions include:

• Se de Lisboa Cathedral: The official Lisbon cathedral that has been rebuilt several times due to being hit by earthquakes.
• Castelo de S. Jorge: The ruins of an 11th Century century ancient hilltop castle with a palace and archaeological museum.
• Miradouro de Saint Luiza: A scenic point with a gorgeous view overseeing Lisbon and the Tagus River.
• National Pantheon: A 17th-century Baroque church which is now the final rating place of many notable Portuguese people.
• Miradouro das Portas de Sol: As Lisbon is a hilly city, there are some viewpoints along the way where you can take a break and enjoy the view of Lisbon. Don’t miss this one.
• St Anthony’s Church: An 18th-century baroque-style Catholic Church home to the birthplace of St Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon.
• Teatro Romano: The ruins of a 5000-capacity ancient Roman amphitheatre.

Day 2: Tram 28

While it would be ideal to jump on the iconic 19th century Tram 28 along the streets of the Alfama district, in my experience, it might not be possible due to the crowds.

It is almost always packed.

So, your best option to get a good seat on the tram is to jump on the tram early or late in the day from a less tourist tram stop.

When you eventually get on it, ride it back and forth from one departure end – Martim Moniz – to another – Campo Ourique to fully enjoy the experience.

Also, you can see some attractions you might have missed along the way due to the steep hills.

It’s a good idea to follow the route on Google Maps to have an idea of what to expect.

Attractions to look out for along the tram route include;

• Basilica de Estrela: An 18th-century Baroque church with twin bell towers and a dome roof.
• Jardim de Estrela: A popular landscaped garden for relaxing after a long day.
• Assembleia da República/Sao Bento: A Portuguese parliament building.
• Praça Luís de Camões: Another plaza/city square which is a popular meeting point. You tend to start your trips from here.

You can take the tram back to the Alfama district to finish where you left off or stop at the less busy Estrela district and explore.

Day 3: The Belem District

The last phase of your three-day Lisbon itinerary would be in the Belem district, historically the location of Lisbon’s shipyard and docks.

This was the trading route that the 18th-century Portuguese explorers took to colonize countries in Africa, Asia and Central America.

The wealth and resources that were brought back funded some of the iconic landmarks in Lisbon today.

Must-see attractions in the Belem district include:

• Belem Tower: A medieval fortified tower that guarded the city against attack on the sea.
• Jeronimos Monastery: A majestic monastery that took a century to complete and was funded by the 5% tax on imported spices during the Spice Trade. It also houses the Maritime and Archaeological Museums.
• Padrão dos Descobrimentos: A 19th-century monument built to mark 500 years of the seafaring history of Portugal.
• Pastéis de Belém: Stop here for the famous Portuguese dessert: the Pastel de Nata custard tart.
• Ponte 25 de Abril: A 2km long suspension bridge linking Lisbon with Almada.
• Belem Cultural Centre: A massive 19th-century event and exhibition space.
• MAAT: An electricity museum in an old riverside power station.
• National Coach Museum: A museum displaying 16 -19th-century royal carriages.
• Monument to the Overseas Combatants: A war memorial of the Portuguese soldiers who died during the African independence uprisings of the 1960s.

In Summary,

As you can see, there’s just so much to see and do, but I hope this three-day Lisbon itinerary has given you a good place to start.