Day Trips from Lisbon: Five Worth the Journey, from €5.10

How to choose

Five trips leave Lisbon by train, coach or small-group tour. Cascais and Sintra are the shortest rides; Setúbal, Óbidos and Évora each earn a longer one.

Cascais: the sea day, from €5.10

Cascais is a seaside town with a bay, a Paula Rego museum and the Boca do Inferno cliff formation, reached by one direct train from Cais do Sodré. There is no timed palace slot to hold, so the day stays flexible.

See or book a Sintra and Cascais day trip →

1. Take the CP Cascais Line from Cais do Sodré; the ride takes about 40 minutes.
2. Buy a return ticket and a Navegante card at the station, and validate it before boarding.
3. Cascais station is in the town centre, within walking distance of many sights.
4. Add the Boca do Inferno cliff formation and the Paula Rego House of Stories.

Sintra: palaces in the forest, from €5.10

Sintra puts Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle and the National Palace in one wooded hill town, with Monserrate and Quinta da Regaleira close by. It is the strongest trip here, but each palace has its own entry.

See or book a Sintra day trip →

1. Take the CP Sintra Line from Rossio, Oriente or Entrecampos; the ride from Rossio takes about 45 minutes.
2. Choose your palaces before you leave: Pena Palace entry is for a fixed date and time.
3. From Sintra station, walk 10 to 15 minutes to the National Palace, or ride bus 434 to Pena and the Moorish Castle.
4. Bus 435 runs to Monserrate; one 24-hour hop-on ticket covers both buses.

Setúbal and Arrábida: sea and hills

Setúbal is a port city south of the Tagus on a direct train line; the Arrábida hills and beaches lie beyond it. The city works alone, while the beaches suit a tour or a car.

See or book an Arrábida day trip →

1. Take Fertagus from Roma-Areeiro, Entrecampos or Sete Rios to Setúbal, at most about 57 minutes.
2. Setúbal station is in the city centre, close to the pier for boats to Tróia.
3. In summer, ride a municipal beach bus from Setúbal or Azeitão towards the Arrábida beaches.

Óbidos: the walled village

Óbidos is a hill village about 80 km north of Lisbon, with a well-preserved castle inside its walls and white lanes beyond the Porta da Vila. Tours usually add Nazaré and Fátima.

See or book a Fátima, Nazaré and Óbidos day trip →

1. Take a Rodoviária do Oeste coach from Lisbon Campo Grande; the ride takes about an hour.
2. Get off at the bus stop, 100 metres from the old town, and walk in through the Porta da Vila.
3. Wander the white lanes inside the walls and see the castle.
4. Taste a ginjinha, ideally in a chocolate cup.

Évora: Roman temple and chapel of bones, from €13.90

Évora rises above the Alentejo plain with a Roman temple of 14 Corinthian columns, a fortress-like cathedral begun around 1186 and the 17th-century Chapel of Bones. It is the longest ride here, so start early.

See or book an Évora day trip →

1. Take a CP Intercidades train from Oriente, Entrecampos or Sete Rios, about 90 minutes; the coach takes up to 1 hour 45 minutes.
2. The bus terminal is about 10 minutes on foot from the old town; the train station is about 20.
3. Start at the Roman temple, then the cathedral and the Chapel of Bones.
4. Fix your return train or coach before you go: the ride back is another 90 minutes.

If you only do one

Sintra, if there is time for only one: palaces, forest and a direct train fill a full day from central Lisbon. For sea air instead, pick Cascais; for a walled city, Évora.