Complete Guide to Lisboa Card. Is It Worth Purchasing?
Article updated May 2025. This post includes affiliate links.
If you started researching your upcoming visit to Lisbon, then you most likely stumbled upon a mention of Lisboa Card. In this post I will take you through everything you need to know about this most popular tourism discount card – its cost, value, and ultimately, if it’s worth purchasing for your trip.
What is Lisboa Card?
Lisboa Card, also known as the Lisbon Card, is the official travel card of Lisbon. It offers free access to some of the best attractions, free travel by public transit and some great discounts for tours, shopping and more.
What are the benefits of Lisboa Card?
- Free unlimited travel by public transit, including bus, tram and metro
- Free travel on CP train lines to Sintra and Cascais
- Free access to 52 attractions
- Discounts on tours, shopping and nightlife
Looks pretty good already, doesn’t it? By seeing this I was almost sold from the start. However, I have varied experience with different city cards. Some offer so much, but nothing I want to see in particular. Would Lisboa Card be the same? In this case, the most important thing was finding out which attractions I can access for free, not just for a discounted rate, AND which of those are in Lisbon and close proximity to where I was staying.
Attractions in Lisbon with 100% free admission:
- Jeronimos Monastery
- Belem Tower
- Pilar 7
- Lisboa Story Centre
- National Tile Museum
- National Coach Museum
- National Ancient Art Museum
- Santa Justa Lift
- National Pantheon
- Ajuda National Palace
- Royal Treasury Museum
- Chiado Museum
- Castle of Sao Jorge
- National Ethnology Museum
- National Costume Museum
- National Museum of Theatre and Dance
- Music Museum
- Dr. Anastacio Goncalves Museum House
- Republican National Guard Museum
- Rua Augusta Arch
- Cold Green House
The above list contains 95% of the most popular attractions, which is amazing for a city card! Personally, every place I visited during my 3-day stay was included in the Lisboa Card.
There are several other attractions with free admission outside of Lisbon and many with discounted rates in Lisbon. You can view a full list here. Please keep in mind that offerings can change from day to day without notice.
What is the cost of Lisboa Card?
24 hours:
- Adult – 31 Euro
- Child (4-15) – 21 Euro
48 hours:
- Adult – 51 Euro
- Child (4-15) – 28 Euro
72 hours:
- Adult – 62 Euro
- Child (4-15) – 35 Euro
Children below the age of 4 have free admission, no tickets needed.
How to purchase the Lisboa Card?
You can purchase the card online through all major ticket sellers, such as Tiqets or Get Your Guide.
How to use the Lisboa Card?
Before you can use your card, you need to exchange your purchase voucher for a hard copy of the card from one of the “Ask Me Lisboa” tourist information offices. Make sure you have a valid ID with you.
If you’re flying into Lisbon, then the easiest way is to pick it up right at the airport office located in the arrivals hall.
Your confirmation email includes a list of pick-up points, addresses and opening hours.
No matter the purchase or pick up date, the card is only activated with the first use.
Is Lisboa Card worth purchasing?
The answer is… research! Personally, purchasing the card was a great decision for me. I opted in for the 72 hours Lisbon-Sintra pass, because I knew I will be going for a day-trip to Sintra on a Monday when most of the attractions in Lisbon are closed.
In terms of savings, I probably saved around 10-20 Euros by purchasing the Lisboa Card. Even though I have planned my itinerary in full before arriving in Lisbon, I really liked the flexibility the card offered. I also appreciated not standing in long lines to purchase tickets. If I had an extra day in Lisbon, then this card would have saved me even more money.
If you don’t want to take public transit, aren’t a fan of museums or if you’re in Lisbon just for 1 day, then this might not be the best purchase for you.
So how do you decide?
My biggest tip would be to map out all attractions with free admission on Google maps and compare the distance from where you’ll be staying. Doing this automatically excluded some attractions for me, but also helped me combine those that were in close proximity to each other. This way you will see more attractions in less time.
My second tip is to calculate the admission of each attraction you would like to see during your stay, as well as adding up the cost of public transit to get to those places.
Keep in mind that CP train lines to Sintra and Cascais are free with the card if you are thinking of doing day trips to these towns.
Overall, I really recommend purchasing the Lisboa Card even if you only break even for the cost. Why? The flexibility and ease of use combined with time efficiency during a busy stay is a huge benefit to me.
Do you want to learn more about visiting Lisbon? Check out the resources below.
Attractions:
- National Coach Museum
- Jerónimos Monastery
- Royal Treasure Museum
- Ajuda National Palace
- Belém Tower
- São Jorge Castle
- National Tile Museum
- Top 5 Must-See Attractions in Lisbon
Itineraries:
Book hotels, rent a car, purchase travel insurance & more!
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