Lisbon Metro Guide

If you are visiting Lisbon, you will be pleased to know that it is an extremely easy city to get around. The main sites in Lisbon are all walkable and the Lisbon Metro is extremely easy, cheap and fast! Being the capital of Portugal, Lisbon is one of the Top 10 Cities in Portugal to visit. Today I bring to you our Lisbon Metro Guide.

Introducing the Lisbon Metro

The Lisbon Metro connects the airport, and so the good news is that you don’t have to book a taxi to pick you up from the airport (unless you have loads of luggage that is!). I find the Lisbon Metro even easier to use than the London Tube!

There are 4 main lines on the Lisbon Metro colour coded Blue, Yellow, Green and Red:

  • Blue (Seagull): Amadora este – Baixa Chiado.
  • Yellow (Sunflower): Odivales – Rato.
  • Green (Caravela): Cais do Sodré – Telheiras.
  • Red (orient): São Sebastião – Aeroporto.

The Metro runs from 6.30am to 1am daily.

If you are a passenger with reduced mobility of heavy bags, check the station guide to ensure that your station has lift access (Elevador) as not all stations are disabled friendly. Most stations have escalators, but it can be annoying on the rare occasion that they are out of order and you have to walk up flights of stairs!

How much is it to use the Lisbon Metro?

The Lisbon metro has two zones – 1 and 2, although most of the tourist areas and places that you are most likely to go are in zone 1. The prices of the Lisbon Metro are as follows:

  • Single journey €1.50
  • Day ticket for unlimited journeys that day €6.40 – this includes trams and buses

How to use the Lisbon Metro – Viva Viagem

You will see the electronic ticket dispensers which are very easy to use. They have options for several languages including English, Portuguese and Spanish, so first select your language option. Then you need to buy a Viva Viagem card which is a bit like London’s Oyster card system. You top it up and then can simply tap your card at the barriers for the extrance and exits. Have your Viva Viagem card ready to touch out when you get off and come through the barrier.

The Metro is very well signposted. Just work out the direction that you need to go in and follow the arrows. There will be a map of the line on the Metro train so that you can follow it to make sure that you know where to get off.

Lisbon Metro Map

Lisbon Metro maps are free and readily available (use can also find them online) and you can plan your journey online using the Metropolitano de Lisboa website.

Lisbon Metro Map

Getting from the Airport to Central Lisbon

If you are coming into central Lisbon from Lisbon Airport you will need to take the Vermelha (Red Line) in the direction of San Sebastao. Change at Almeda for the Green Line (Verde), Saldanha for yellow (Amerela) and San Sebastao for the Blue line (Azul).