What to see in Lisbon in 4 days. A walk through the Portuguese capital

In this article we are going to offer you a tour with the best things to see in Lisbon in 4 days, a sufficient number of days to get to know the city and also do some nearby excursions. You can even repeat a visit.
Visiting Lisbon in 4 days is very easy, since the city is divided into neighborhoods so you can dedicate yourself to a specific one and then go to another. This is what we recommend. And except for the neighborhood of Belem, the others are very close.
Here you have our tour with the best things to visit in Lisbon in 4 days.
What to see in Lisbon in 4 days
First day in Lisbon
To start visiting Lisbon in 4 days we are going to go to the most modern neighborhood in the center of the Portuguese capital, located between the hills that you would have to climb to see the other neighborhoods. We are talking about La Baixa.
La Baixa is made up of a network of streets and squares that you have to walk through to enjoy them. We can start at the Plaza de los Restauradores, located at the end of Avenida de la Libertad, which joins this area with the Plaza del Marqués de Pombal.
Next to it is what is possibly the most charming square in Lisbon, Rossio Square, where Rossio Station is located, Lisbon’s main railway station and which you will possibly reach if you go by train. Don’t miss the station building.
From there we can walk towards the Tagus River. It is best to go along the Rúa Aurea, which is where the Elevador de Santa Justa is located, but which we will visit later to go up to the Barrio Alto.
At the end of the street we will arrive at another of the most famous squares in Lisbon, the Plaza del Comercio, located next to the river in the place where the Royal Palace used to stand. It is a good place to see the 25 de Abril Bridge and the other bank of the river. The Triumphal Arch stands out from the square, under which you can access the Rúa Augusta, the most touristic street in Lisbon.
The next neighborhood we are going to visit is the Alfama, the birthplace of fado and the historic neighborhood of Lisbon. We can walk through its steep streets or also use the Elevador del Castillo de San Jorge. Both options have their charm. From above you also have fantastic views of the river and Lisbon’s rooftops.
The Castle of San Jorge should be our next visit. Essential and the best thing to see in Lisbon in 4 days. Also from it you have fantastic views of Alfama and Baixa. After your visit, we can get lost in the alleys of Alfama until we reach the Mirador de Santa Lucía or the Mirador da Postas da Sol, the best in Lisbon.
We will descend through the steep streets of Alfama until we reach the Sé Cathedral, another of the essential places to visit in Lisbon, with a beautiful façade reminiscent of a fortress, an austere interior and the best thing about the temple, its spectacular cloister.
Returning again to the Tagus River we find the Casa dos Bicos, the place where the ashes of José Saramago and his Foundation are found. To end the first day in Lisbon we can go to the National Pantheon and the Fado Museum.
And a fado venue may be the best place to enjoy a typical Lisbon dinner.
What to do on the second day in Lisbon
If the previous day we visited the Baixa and Alfama, to which you will want to return at some point in the rest of the days, this second day we are going to get to know another of the quintessential neighborhoods to see in Lisbon in 4 days, the Belem neighborhood.
To get to Belem we can go by car if you have one and leave it in the huge parking lot there or go by public transport, since the Belem neighborhood is a bit far from the city center.
In Belem we have several monuments that you should not miss. The first of them is the Jerónimos Monastery, the most beautiful to visit in Lisbon in four days. An essential visit both for its church and its cloister, one of the best things to see in Portugal. Do not be afraid of the queue that usually exists to enter.
Nearby is the Belem Tower, another of Lisbon ‘s most visited monuments, a symbol of the city and an old defensive building to defend Lisbon from the sea. You will also find tail possibly.
The trio of essential visits in Belem is completed by the Monument to the Discoveries, dedicated to the Portuguese navigators who sailed the sea throughout history. You can climb to the top and have great views of the Tagus River, the 25 de Abril Bridge and the rest of the places to visit in the Belem neighborhood.
To end your visit to Belem you can buy some pasteis de nata, the most famous sweet in this country, or visit one of the museums in the neighborhood. After that, you can return to the center to follow our visits.
The Barrio Alto will be the next destination. To get to it, it is best to use the Santa Justa Elevator, which we saw the day before but which we left aside. For Lisbon residents it is just another means of transport, but for tourists it is another attraction to do in the city. From the top you also have great views.
Both Barrio Alto and Chiado are neighborhoods to enjoy walking through its cobbled streets thanks to its special charm and the atmosphere that is breathed in them.
There we can admire the Convent of San Carmo, where the Archaeological Museum is located and which is the most interesting building in this area, although it was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake and today is in ruins.
To finish, you have to enjoy the cafes of Largo de Camoes or the viewpoints of Santa Catarina or San Pedro de Alcántara, to enjoy other views of Lisbon. As you can see, in this city there are numerous viewpoints that you should go to because each one has its own special charm.
Thus ends the second of the four days we have to visit Lisbon.
What to see in Lisbon on the third day
We already know the neighborhoods of the center of Lisbon, the most historic, as well as Belem. But we still have another very important place to visit in Lisbon. We are talking about the Parque de las Naciones, located on the outskirts of the city and which had a great role in the Universal Exhibition of 1998.
The car is the easiest way to get to the Parque de las Naciones but you can also use the train that will leave you at the Oriente Station, one of the most spectacular buildings in the area, built for Expo 98 and the work of Santiago Calatrava. Its glass and iron dome is reminiscent of a cathedral and is truly surprising.
In front of the Oriente Station are the different pavilions that were used in the Universal Exhibition of 1998 and that are still in use today. We highlight the Pavilion of Portugal, which is reminiscent of a candle thanks to its reinforced concrete shovel at the entrance.
Another of the highlights of the Park of Nations is the Knowledge Pavilion, where we can enjoy a fantastic science and technology museum with numerous interactive activities that make it a highlight if you visit with children.
At his side, another of the places that the smallest of the house will also enjoy, and of course, the adults. This is the Oceanarium, reminiscent of an aircraft carrier. In it we can admire different species of fish, reptiles, birds and mammals from various habitats on the planet and it is the second largest oceanarium in Europe.
Another of the activities that we can do in the Park of Nations is to go up the Cable Car, which runs parallel to the Tagus River and brings you closer to the Vasco da Gama Tower, the tallest building in Lisbon, with a restaurant on top and another fantastic lookout. Good place to admire the Vasco da Gama Bridge, the longest in Portugal.
The Atlantic Pavilion or the Church of Our Lady of the Navigators are other places you can visit in this area before returning to the city center and continue enjoying Lisbon.
What to do on the fourth day in Lisbon
Although it is possible that you still want to continue enjoying the streets and the atmosphere of Lisbon, we have reached the last of our 4 days in Lisbon and what we are going to propose is to make an excursion to one of the places near the city.
One of them is to travel to Sintra. To do this, it is best to take the train that leaves you in about 40 minutes in this city. And it is advisable to arrive early as it is one of the most visited places in Portugal and is usually full of people.
In Sintra there are numerous palaces that you can visit. But we recommend three of them. The first is the Pena Palace, located in the highest part of the city next to the Castle. Getting to this palace on foot is not recommended because there is a lot of slope and you will arrive tired. It is best to hire an excursion or go by public transport from the station.
After enjoying the Pena Palace, the most visited monument in Portugal, and its gardens, we recommend walking back to the center of Sintra and visiting the National Palace, whose exterior is not as spectacular as its interior.
But there is still the great jewel of the city, the Quinta da Regaleira. Possibly the best place to visit in Sintra. We recommend doing a guided tour to understand all the Masonic symbology that is in it.
If you have a car, you can also go to Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe and from where you can enjoy the best sunsets.
Another option is to visit Cascais and Estoril, the vacation spots of royalty and aristocracy from the 18th century, which is why you will find numerous palaces and mansions among the beautiful beaches found in this area.
In Cascais we also recommend walking to the Boca do Inferno, some spectacular cliffs from which you can also enjoy the sunset.
There are people who even visit Sintra, Cascais and Estoril in a single day, although it is not highly recommended because you will visit everything very quickly.
After the excursion you can return to Lisbon and enjoy your last night in this beautiful city where you will have spent 4 wonderful days.
You can find more information on the official Lisbon tourism page.