Lisbon Transportation
Lisbon Airport, Terminal 1 cafe lounge; credit Asurnipal/Wiki Commons
Airport
Lisbon Airport (LIS) is named in honor of Humberto Delgado, a great Portuguese politician. It is located only 7-km (4.3-miles) from Lisbon city center. LIS Airport serves more than 57 airlines and 132 destinations.
The airport is served by Aegean, Are Lingus, Air Algeria, Air Arabia, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, Delta, Emirates, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, American, Norwegian, Royal Air Morac, and United Airlines. For greater flight choices, most Americans transfer here from a Madrid or London Airport.
Lisbon Airport has 2 terminal buildings along with a wide variety of restaurants, stores, and duty-free shops. Terminal 1 is the main LIS terminal, divided into 2 check-in halls, of which the older is dedicated to TAP Air Portugal, and the newest serves all the other air carriers. Terminal 2 has 22 check-in desks and primarily handles low-cost flights. Due to limited amenities, it is not considered a passenger-friendly terminal.
Tickets for the Metro can be bought individually or Packs of 10. We recommend a 10-pack per person for every 5 days you spend in Lyon. If you are staying in Lyon for 5 days or more, also consider purchasing a Lyon City Card for unlimited travel on most modes of Ground Transport, as well as discounts at museums and other attractions.
Flight & Airport Transit Tips
Check the luggage policy for your airline and confirm your flight at least 72 hours in advance. Make a copy of your passport on your smartphone, flight itinerary & hotel reservations and leave it with someone at home. If you take a non-stop flight to Lyon from America, people with long legs should purchase added legroom for the 7-hour to 11-hour journey.
Pack headache and other medicines in your hand luggage. To pack efficiently ladies, include no more than 2 outfits per day. If you have a cold or problems with air pressure on airplanes, bring noise-canceling headphones or purchase air-pressure earplugs available at most airports or large pharmacies.
Exchange your U.S. Dollars for Euros at your American airport for the best exchange rate.
When you arrive at LIS Airport, Red Metro Line operates daily from 06:30 am to 01:05 am. Metro trains leave the airport metro station every 6 to 10 minutes and travel to the city center in about 20 minutes. There are no luggage racks so only use the Metro if you are traveling lightly.
Taxis and Uber rides from LIS Aiport are plentiful.
Train Station
The remarkable Gare do Oriente station lit up at night; (c) Martin Gomez Tagle/Wiki Commons
Gare do Oriente is the main Intermodal Transportation Center in the parish of Parque das Nações which hosted the the 1998 Worlds Fair. It features a modern design by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who also design the NYC World Trade Center Transit Hub. From this intermodal center, you can catch local buses, intercity buses, Metro Red Line trains, Suburban trains, Regional trains to Porto, other cities in Portugal and Western Spain.
Eye-catching murals by international artists populate Gare do Oriente and Vasco da Gama Shopping Mall is across the street. Via Metro Red Line you can reach the airport in 5 minutes and central Lisbon in 20 minutes. Day trippers appreciate that the station contains luggage lockers for storage up to 24 hours.
Your print or smartphone ticket contains the Train #, Car # and Seat #. Check the live schedule board to assure that your Train # has not changed. When your train arrives, find your Car # on the exterior of each car. As you can guess, seat aisles are numbered too.
Trains reach up to 124 mph between Lisbon to Badajoz and Plasencia in Western Spain. Trip Time in Lisbon-Badajoz-Plasencia-Madrid corridor, however, is still long because trains still run slow in Plasencia-Madrid segment until the Plasencia-Madrid High-Speed Rail section opens in 2030.
Tours
Visitors often use Trams (Streetcar) to tour the city. Riding Trams is highly recommended given the system’s extensive coverage of Lisbon and many connections to Lisbon Metro.
Renting bicycles and electric scooters within a large park, however, can be a pleasant experience.
Rapid Transit
Train at a Lisbon Metro Rail Station; (c) Koshelyev/Wiki Commons
Lyon has excellent rapid transit options with Red, Green, Yellow & Blue Metro Lines and 6 Streetcar Trolley lines, a couple Suburban Rail lines, and 4 Funiculars that climb steep hills. Collectively, they weave across the city.
We recommend purchasing a rechargeable Navegante Occasional Card. A single ticket costs 1.85 Euros. Unlimited daily rides for 24 hours following first use costs 10 Euros. Navegante Card costs only 0.50€ and can be reloaded unlimitedly until one year after the purchase. The card cannot be used by multiple users. You must scan your card once entering the Metro station and also when exiting a Metro station. Metro and Tram lines are named by their endpoints.
Study Lisbon Metro Map endpoints along with your destination station to know which direction you need to go, then follow wayfinding signs to the correct platform.
LISBON METRO & TROLLEY SYSTEM MAP
The 4.5 to 9-minute frequencies between Metro trains on weekdays and 7 to 9-minute frequencies on weekends. Metro & Trolleys attract high ridership from young and old. Though Lisbon Metro is generally safe, a single visiting woman may choose to ride with a man or girlfriends after 10 pm. Transferring between Metro and Trolley lines is common.
Lady boarding a trolley in Lisbon; (c) Soul Of America/Lysa Allman-Baldwin
A Lisbon Metro, Tram & Bus ticket costs €2 lasts for 2 hours, and permits transfers between them. Keep your ticket until you have completed your journey, as you may be asked to show it by Metro-Tram-Bus ticket inspectors or risk paying a fine. They do check for fare-evaders.
When you review Metro & Trolley maps, note that they get you within 4 blocks of most attractions.
Before exiting a Metro station, look at the wall-mounted Metro & Tram map and figure out exactly where you are going.
If you need assistance, ONLY ask for help from Metro station agents.
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