Few sights are as lovely as Lisbon from the water: great, gleaming palaces and domed churches stand sentinel above terracotta-roofed mansions that cascade to the banks of the River Tagus. Our insider, Amelia Duggan, offers a local take on the city.
Europe’s second oldest city has always thrown wide its arms to naval travelers. As you sail into this glittering estuary, you do so in the wake of great seafarers: the Phoenicians, the Romans and, perhaps most famously, explorer Vasco da Gama who triumphantly entered the port in 1499 having discovered the lucrative sea passage to Asia. And while Lisbon’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed like the tides, the city is undeniably having a moment in the sun, welcoming more cruise arrivals each year.
As part of its ongoing regeneration, Lisbon unveiled the new Lisbon Cruise Port in 2017, at the edge of the historic center, allowing passengers to stroll down the gangway and encounter the city’s most iconic neighborhoods within minutes. The medieval warren of Alfama, with its time-warp taverns and lofty miradouro viewing terraces, sits ahead of the terminal, while the Baroque showpieces of Chiado reveal themselves upon a short walk down the promenade.
Portuguese architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça designed the state-of-the-art terminal precisely with this seamless flow of guests in mind. Facilities are efficient and cater well for mobility issues, and a small restaurant and duty-free shop can be found at check-in. And while the new complex spans 150,000sq ft, featuring two automated passenger bridges and a mighty, 5,000-foot berthing pier, the city absorbs it well, with flowering trees and wide forecourts providing a gateway befitting the great maritime city.
What to see in Lisbon
Compact Lisbon is more than willing to spill its secrets to passing travelers. Upon disembarking, the first priority should be getting the lay of the land. With time a commodity and Lisbon’s steep hills a challenge to even seasoned alpinists, opt for a one-hour private tuk-tuk tour and focus on Lisbon’s historic Alfama, Baixa and Graça neighborhoods. These electric vehicles and their driver-guides can be pre-booked or picked up at riverfront Praça do Comércio, Lisbon’s sweeping main square that offers a magnificent first taste of the Pombaline architecture and upbeat colors that came to characterize the city’s reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. It’s here that another option presents itself: the circular, one-hour Hills Tramcar Tour, departing every 25 minutes in front of the monumental Rua Augusta Arch. Journey through the same charming, labyrinthine neighborhoods aboard one of the city’s antique trams – minus the commuters – with the option to hop off and hop on for monuments and miradouros.
Lisbon’s great offering to travelers is its atmospheric side streets, lined with Baroque churches and hole-in-the-wall cafes, and festooned with washing lines strung between balconies. Soaking this up leisurely is your imperative, perhaps with ice cream from Gelato Therapy or an oven-hot pastel de nata from Manteigaria or Casa São Miguel. But there are landmarks to tick off, too: the soul-stirring, 800-year-old Cathedral and the 11th-century Moorish castle of São Jorge. In the mood for an unusual souvenir? Take home a piece of Portugal’s love affair with fish from Conserveira de Lisboa, which has been selling canned sardines in beautiful, artisanal tins since the 1930s.
With a little more time to play with, Lisbon bears investigating on foot, starting with an obligatory amble through the honeypot miradouros of medieval Alfama, discovering gems like jewelry atelier Espaço Oikos and textiles emporium ChiCoração among the souvenir stores. If it’s a Saturday or a Tuesday, wander to the neighborhood’s eastern fringes for Feira da Ladra, a lively pop-up market of bric-a-brac and antiques. It sprawls in the shadows of the gleaming São Vincente of Fora Monastery and the great, domed Pantheon, both of which offer sensational rooftop views as part of their entry tickets.
Lunchtime presents a sea of options. One sits within the citadel of São Jorge; Lovely Castelo offers light bites on a terrace with the whole terracotta-roofed city laid out below. While down in the winding streets of Mouraria, you’ll find Lisbon’s answers to the farm-to-table culinary trend: O Velho Eurico and Tasca Baldracca, both no-frills taverns where the chalkboard menu of inventive small plates uses only fresh local produce. Book ahead.
Now, wend your way to Praça Dom Pedro IV, also known as Rossio. This vast square is a marvel, built on the ruins of a Roman hippodrome. Two great treasures flank it: the 13th-century São Domingos Church, still bearing the scorch marks of its most recent brush with fire, and the Gothic ruins of Carmo Convent, resurrected as an archaeology museum in the wake of the great earthquake. The walk to the latter will pass a steep staircase; pause at the bottom for a fortifying shot of Lisbon’s famous cherry liquor at Ginginha do Carmo.
Arriving by ship to Lisbon, you sail in the wake of centuries of mariners and merchants. Portugal’s golden age of naval exploration, when Lisbon’s coffers swelled with the spoils of the spice trade, is best explored in Belém, three miles west of the city center and cruise port. Lisbon’s two UNESCO-enshrined monuments stand here, gazing out across the Tagus: Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery and Church – both conceived in the early 1500s by King Manuel I as symbols of the nation’s incredible wealth. Only the monastery deserves touring, with timed tickets booked in advance; look out for the nautical motifs carved throughout.
Nearby stands another temple, this time to pastry: Pastéis de Belém invented the flakey, morish pastel de nata in 1837 and keeps the original recipe a closely guarded secret. Pick up as many as seems decent and enjoy them by the towering Monument to the Discoveries, erected in 1960 near the launch point of Vasco da Gama’s first sailing to India, or in the peacock-roamed Tropical Botanical Garden. Contemporary art enthusiasts shouldn’t miss a pitstop at MAAT; Lisbon’s most avant-garde architectural space, unveiled in 2016, houses groundbreaking shows from international artists.
Back in the center, devote some time to the upmarket neighborhood of Principe Real. Discover gelato at Nannarella, local wines at Magnolia and high-end Portuguese brands in a 19th-century palace-turned-mall, EmbaiXada. End up at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara to look over the city before descending towards the port through pretty Bairro Alto and Chiado. Plot a course past some of the city’s historic boutiques, including Sapataria do Carmo, a shoe store founded in 1904; Luvaria Ulisses, making gloves for Lisbon’s great and good since 1925; and Livraria Bertrand, the world’s oldest operating bookstore, founded in 1732.
No longer Europe’s poor relative when it comes to food, Portugal’s burgeoning culinary revolution sees new restaurants added to its constellation of Michelin stars each year. With time in port for a degustation menu, two-star eateries Alma, by Henrique Sá Pessoa, and Belcanto by José Avillez, are well worth the effort of booking well in advance. Missed out? The experimental chefs can be sampled elsewhere, too: the former has a stall in Time Out Market while the latter offers tapas at Bairro Avillez. Alternatively, get a taste for the capital’s more traditional dishes on a culinary walking tour or with a hands-on workshop at Compadre Cooking School.
Lisbon is no exception to this century’s trend for transforming derelict warehouses into artist spaces. Marvila 8 jump-started the redevelopment of eastern Lisbon with its 2023 opening; now, the industrial-chic complex of independent stores offers a portal to the city’s creative scene. While in the area, don’t miss Ah Amália, a state-of-the-art exhibition celebrating Fado folk singer Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999). Or the National Tile Museum, a carnival of azulejo tiles from the 15th century onwards housed in a magnificent convent.
Looking west, uber-cool shopping village LX Factory has, since its 2008 opening in an abandoned textile mill, evolved to bring visitors an array of quirky brands and concept stores. The Alcântara industrial neighborhood has flourished around it: the fantastic Museum of the Oriente examines Portugal’s cultural exchanges with Asia, while the Santo Amaro Docks offer cosmopolitan seafood restaurants like 5 Oceanos with views across the marina.
If there’s time to spare, two of Lisbon’s great gems lie in the city’s north, rarely discovered by first-time visitors. On the edge of Monsanto Park, Fronteira Palace is a riot of 17th-century excess, its formal gardens and grand ballrooms providing the perfect settings for tour guides to relate the fortunes of Portugal's aristocracy. Meanwhile, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of Europe’s most important private collections of art – some 6,000 pieces, from Egyptian antiquities to Old Master paintings, set in the leafy Gulbenkian Gardens.
How to spend an evening
Lisbon comes alive after dark, the city’s flare for music, fine wine and hospitality stoked as the streetlamps spill their gold over the cobbles. A classic evening starts in Bairro Alto or Alfama, the formerly working-class neighborhoods in which Lisbon’s mournful Fado music was born in the 18th century, and where scores of time-warp restaurants still host shows by touring singers, clad in black. Family-run O Faia offers excellent Portuguese fare alongside candlelit performances, while tiny Mesa de Frades hosts diners and fadistas in a chapel bedecked with azulejo tiles. Alternatively, opt for simple tapas at Tasca do Chico, a local institution lined with portraits of the legendary singers who’ve passed through the doors.
Lisbon has enough high-end restaurants to impress even the most skeptical gourmand every day of the year. For a swinging, Jazz-Age atmosphere and theatrical Mediterranean dishes, try Rocco; for a one-of-a-kind chef’s table, fork out for 2Monkeys; while you won’t find better Japanese fusion than at glamorous Ponja Nikkei.
For wine bars, the chichi neighborhood of Santos can’t be beaten, with Holy Wine, Uva Livre and Insaciável offering some of the best local vintages, including unusual organic, green and orange varieties. For something more spirited, cocktail bars Red Frog and Ulysses are among Europe’s most exclusive speakeasies, both offering bespoke drinks in unforgettably intimate settings. Finish your night with a nightcap at one of the city’s famous rooftop bars, like Topo, Hotel Mundial or Park, for a final look out across Lisbon’s lights and the dark expanse of the Tagus beckoning adventurers out to sea.
How to get around
Crystal runs shuttle buses to the nearest town or city on many of its cruises. When onboard, check departure points and times in your copy of our daily bulletin, Reflections.
To book a taxi, please inquire at the Concierge desk. Metered taxis frequent the road in front of the terminal, with a small rank forming outside the exit to meet cruise arrivals. Alternatively, unregistered taxis can be summoned in real time using the Uber or Bolt apps. To Humberto Delgado International Airport: 20 minutes.
Passengers disembark a short stroll from the historic sights of the center. Exit the terminal onto Avenida Infante Dom Henrique and turn left, following the riverfront for 14 minutes (0.6 miles) to the main square, Praça do Comércio. The city’s best shops and restaurants are within a half-mile radius. Alternatively, to tour Alfama, exit the terminal and directly cross the main road, taking the Cais Lingueta cut-through to reach Largo do Chafariz de Dentro, also known as Old Alfama Square. From here, it’s a steep 8-minute (0.3 miles) climb to reach Miradouro de Santa Luzia and a further 6 minutes (0.2 miles) to the entrance of São Jorge Castle.
For a joyride on one of Lisbon’s antique yellow trams, 28E offers the most picturesque and in-demand route and should be picked up at its eastern terminus in Praça Martim Moniz (a 22-minute walk of 1 mile from the terminal) to avoid long queues, alighting in the city center some 25 minutes later.
To Jerónimos Monastery: 38 minutes, taking the 15E from Praça do Comércio. For timetables and fares, visit carris.pt.
Tuk-tuks are ubiquitous in downtown Lisbon, each offering travelers different length tours at varying price points, all of which can be negotiated directly with the driver. Pre-book to be met at the terminal; Citytuk offers multilingual guides and vintage-style electric Ford T replicas for up to six passengers.
Bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters are available for hire via the Lime app and can be found at an informal rank within a few minutes’ walk of the port, turning left down the road from the terminal exit.
The closest station is Santa Apolónia, an easy and direct 7-minute (0.3 miles) walk along the main road, turning right from the terminal exit.
To Humberto Delgado International Airport: 50 minutes, with one change, to Aeroporto.
Bus stops are positioned immediately outside and across the main road from the terminal exit. There is no direct bus to the airport. To the National Tile Museum: 8 minutes, taking the 728, 759 or 794.
To Marvila 8: 12 minutes, taking the 728 or 781.
To LX Factory: 16 minutes, taking the 728. To Jerónimos Monastery: 24 minutes, taking the 728. For timetables and fares, visit carris.pt.
All timings given are subject to walking pace and traffic conditions.
Historic neighborhoods Alfama and Baixa contain steep, cobblestone lanes that may present challenges to passengers with mobility issues, despite a smattering of handy funiculars and elevators. There’s plenty that’s more accessible around the center: the riverfront, Praça do Comércio, Praça Rossio and the pedestrianised Rua Augusta are flat with dropped kerbs, while most major attractions offer ramp access, including Jerónimos Monastery. Restaurants with good accessibility include Time Out Market, Cervejaria Ramiro, Taberna da Rua das Floresand Alma, although with many venues seating diners out-front, options are plentiful. The metro system is not fully accessible, while buses and modern trams offer ramps.
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