One of the best ways to travel from Lisbon Airport into the centre of Lisbon is by using the Metro which is cheap, safe, efficient and incredibly simple and easy to use.   The Metro station is located next to Terminal 1 (which we used) at Lisbon Airport however if you arrive at Terminal 2 which is used by the low-cost airlines, you will need to take the free shuttle bus between the terminal buildings which runs every ten minutes.

In Terminal 1 at Lisbon Airport, after leaving baggage reclaim and customs, look to the right and simply follow the blue signs for the Metro (Underground) which will lead you just outside the terminal building.  Once through the doors, you will see the entrance down into the Metro station right in front of you – there are escalators, stairs as well as an elevator that you can use to enter the station.

Once inside the station, you will see a row of ticket machines along the left hand wall and there is also a ticket counter located just past them. There are also signs in English above the ticket machines explaining the different ticket options you can buy. Each person will have to purchase a Viva Viagem card which costs €0.50 each before loading it with a type of fare.

You can buy a single fare for €1.50 (€2 including the price of the Viva Viagem card) which is valid for a single trip on the Metro or Carris (Buses, Trams and Elevators) for one hour after activation.

“Zapping” allows you to load the Viva Viagem card with a minimum amount of €3 and maximum of €40 of pay-as-you-go credit and each trip on the Metro or Carris is slightly cheaper and will cost €1.33. This is a great option if you plan to use public transport several times over the course of your trip – but not enough that it makes more sense to buy a 24 hour ticket and you can simply add more credit to the Viva Viagem card as and when you need to. You can also use the Zapping option to pay for ferries and trains though the fares can differ according to each operator.

If to plan to use public transportation in Lisbon more than five times in in one day, you can also buy a 24 hour ticket and there are three different options available:

€6.40 for the Metro and Carris (Buses, Trams and Elevators)
€9.50 for the Metro, Carris and the ferry crossing to Cacilhas
€10.55 for the Metro, Carris and the trains on the Cascais, Sintra, Azambuja and Sado Lines

Each Viva Viagem card can only contain one type of fare at one time so for example, you cannot load a 24 hour ticket onto the card if there is still zapping credit loaded onto it.

You can use the ticket machines in English as well as Portuguese and Spanish and you can change the language by pressing on one of the flags located in the bottom left corner of the screen. You then need to select the “Without a Reusable Card/Purchase Your Card” option to buy a new Viva Viagem card.

Select how many Viva Viagem cards you need as each person needs their own card and on the next screen, select what type of fare you would like to purchase and load onto the card(s) – either a single fare, zapping credit (called Stored Value on the screen) or a 24 hour ticket.

I purchased zapping credit for my Viva Viagem card as I would be using the Metro several times during my trip and on the next screen, I could choose the amount of credit that I wanted to top my card up with.

The final screen is a purchase summary where you choose your payment method. You can pay with coins, notes or credit card however make sure to check the bottom of the screen when you start the transaction in case one of the payment methods is unavailable – as notes were on the machine I used.

If purchasing a single fare, after selecting how many Viva Viagem cards you need, simply press the “Bus/Metro Ticket” option on the screen.

Once you have your Viva Viagem card, you will need to tap it at the turnstiles to get to the platforms and there is also a wider turnstile available if you have larger luggage. Keep the card handy as you will also need it to tap out once you reach your destination. As Lisbon Airport is at the end of the Red Line (Linha Vermelha), it is impossible to board the wrong train as they all travel in the same direction to São Sebastião.

There are several escalators you need to use to go down to the platform and there are also elevators available. The Lisbon Metro runs frequently (usually every five to ten minutes depending on the time of day) so you will not have long to wait until the next one.

If you need to access mobile data whilst visiting Portgual, you can purchase a travel E-Sim through Airalo. If you would like to use my referral code NIKKI8866 when signing up, you will receive £2.50 / US$3 off your first purchase.

As you will be boarding the Metro at the start of the line, you will have no problem in getting a seat but there is no dedicated luggage space so you will need to keep any bags you have close to you just as you would do anywhere else in the world. Our journey to Saldanha (on the Red Line) close to where our hotel was located took eighteen minutes.

There are four different Metro lines in Lisbon – the Red Line (Linha Vermelha), the Yellow Line (Linha Amarela), the Green Line (Linha Verde) and the Blue Line (Linha Azul). If you need to transfer from the Red Line to another line at Alameda, Saldanha or São Sebastião stations, just follow the coloured signs for the line that you want. You will need to know the name of the station at the end of the line in the direction that you want to travel to ensure that you board the correct Metro. If you need a map, there is one on the Lisbon Metro website.

Travelling on the Metro in Lisbon was very quick and easy but one thing that I did notice immediately and throughout my stay was how many steps there were between street level and the platforms. When we travelled from the airport, we only had one bag each which were not too heavy so we could carry them up the stairs but any more than that and we would have struggled. If you are travelling to Lisbon and planning on taking the Metro from the airport, make sure to check the map to see if the station you are travelling to has elevators – just look for the “Step Free” icon next to the station name especially if you have heavy bags or children with you.

Have fun in Lisbon!

Since this blog post was written back in 2020, some of the information may no longer be accurate or up to date. Be sure to do your own research and check official websites for the latest details before making any of your own travel plans.

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