Things to do in Lisbon
Top sights and attractions to build your days around once you know when to go.
Belém Tower
Belém Tower, officially the Tower of Saint Vincent, is a 16th-century fortification located in Lisbon, Portugal, which served as a point of embarkation and disembarkation for Portuguese explorers and as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. The tower symbolizes Portugal's maritime and colonial power in early modern Europe. It was built during the height of the Portuguese Renaissance and is a prominent example of the Portuguese Manueline style, but it also incorporates other architectural styles, such as the minarets, which are inspired by Moorish architecture. The structure was built from lioz limestone, a material local to the Lisbon region, and is composed of a bastion and a 30-metre (100 ft) four-storey tower.
Jerónimos Monastery
The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the necropolis of the Portuguese royal dynasty of Aviz in the 16th century but was secularized on 28 December 1833 by state decree and its ownership transferred to the charitable institution, Real Casa Pia de Lisboa.
Estádio da Luz
The Estádio da Luz, officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is owned by association football club Sport Lisboa e Benfica, and hosts the club's home matches.
Estádio José Alvalade
The Estádio José Alvalade is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, and is the home of Sporting CP. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade (1885–1918), the founder and first club member of Sporting CP in the early 20th century.
Lisbon Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is the oldest church in the city, built in 1147. The cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times, resulting in a mix of different architectural styles. It is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon, and has been classified as a National Monument since 1910.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
The Monument of the Discoveries is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus River estuary, in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon. Located along the river where ships departed to explore and trade with India and the Orient, the monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Castle of Saint George
São Jorge Castle, sometimes known in English as Saint George's Castle, is a historic castle in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, located in the freguesia of Santa Maria Maior. Human occupation of the castle hill dates to at least the 8th century BC while the oldest fortifications on the site date from the 2nd century BC. The hill on which Saint George's Castle stands has played an important part in the history of Lisbon, having served as the location of fortifications occupied successively by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, and Moors, before its conquest by the Portuguese in the 1147 Siege of Lisbon. Since the 12th century, the castle has variously served as a royal palace, a military barracks, home of the Torre do Tombo National Archive, and now as a national monument and museum.
Estádio Nacional
The Estádio Nacional, also known as Estádio do Jamor, Estádio Nacional do Jamor or Estádio de Honra (English: Stadium of Honour), is a multi-purpose stadium located within the Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor. Located in the municipality of Oeiras some 12 kilometres from the centre of the national capital Lisbon, the stadium has a capacity of 37,593 spectators.
National Museum of Ancient Art
The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, furniture, textiles, ceramics, and prints, MNAA is one of the most visited museums in Portugal.
Palace of Queluz
The Palace of Queluz is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for King Joseph I's brother, Peter of Braganza, later to become husband and king jure uxoris to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It eventually served as a discreet place of incarceration for Maria I, when she became afflicted by severe mental illness in the years following Peter III's death in 1786. Following the destruction of the Palace of Ajuda by fire in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese Prince Regent John, and his family, and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil following the French invasion of Portugal (1807).
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Lisbon's Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as French decorative arts. It also features the jewellery of René Lalique and works by some of the most important painters of all time, such as Rembrandt, Monet, Rubens, Manet, Renoir, Degas and Turner. The Museum was founded by Armenian Portugal-based oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian. The Gulbenkian Museum closed for renovation until July 2026, and reopened on 18 July 2026.
Church of Santa Engrácia
The Church of Santa Engrácia is a 17th-century monument in Lisbon, Portugal. Originally a church, it was converted into the National Pantheon, in which important Portuguese personalities are buried. It is located in the Alfama neighbourhood, close to another important Lisbon monument, the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.
Places from Wikidata and Wikipedia.
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