Lisbon Cruise Port

Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, or Lisboa is you prefer, is one of the great capital cities of Europe that merges the old with the new and for full disclosure before you read the rest of this guide, it is one of my favourite cities in the world.

There is lots to love about the city including the fact that it is very walkable, if you just want to stay in the main city centre, but even if you want to go off and explore the hills around it or head off farther afield to somewhere like Belem, its easy to use metro system makes it cheap and straightforward to do it.

As a fan of cruising, it will perhaps be of no surprise that I love to be near to water and Lisbon is somewhere dominated by H2O as it sits on the northern bank of the Tegus River and most of its streets in its centre run from the river back inland.

The city is home to many iconic sights, lots of great attractions and some of my favourite food in the world, including Peri Peri Chicken and Pastel de Nata and thanks to an improving street food scene, it is easy to try both quickly and cheaply whilst in port but what is on offer for those visiting the capital of Portugal on a cruise holiday, that is just what I look at in this guide.

I have been lucky enough to visit the city several times and not just on a cruise holiday, so this guide is based on my experience of visiting there at different times of the years, in different ways and of course from my visit on a cruise holiday.

Cruises To Lisbon

Our Visit To Lisboa

I was fortunate enough to visit the city onboard a cruise for the first time back in 2023, when I was sailing on a repositioning cruise between Southampton and Barcelona onboard the Norwegian Prima.

As me and my wife, who I was sailing with, had visited the city plenty of times before, we made use of our knowledge of Lisbon to head back to some of our favourite places, but we also headed to a couple of new spots.

So that would see us walk from the ship to the metro station next to the cruise port and head for the train down to the beautiful Belem district of the city.

We walked along the seafront, took some pictures of Belem Tower and but were then shocked to hear a huge bang noise.

Sitting in the Tagus was a Portuguese warship that was firing blanks as it was Republic Day in Portugal and that meant huge parades from every branch of the arm forms parading in front of the impressive Jerónimos Monastery, which was where we were heading too next.

That kind of put a line through our plans as whilst impressive, it was incredibly crowded and you really couldn’t see much, so we changed what we were going to do and headed for the peace and quite of the Belem botanical garden.

Upon leaving and with roads now blocked and crowds heading for the train, we decided to jump on the next bus heading back towards town and thankfully we soon found one stopping at Cais do Sodre, where you get the train down to Belem and a transport interchange.

When we got there, we noticed a large market and some street food stalls, so we thought we would wonder other and see what was on offer.

Thankfully, our favourite Di Nata shop had a stall there, so we helped our self to one or two sweet Custard Tarts and walked around the rest of the market, before jumping back on the underground and into town to do some shopping and exploring.

From the city centre, we would wonder the streets, always an interesting experience in Lisbon where there is just so much to see and do, and head back towards the ship.

Thanks to the city centre location, you get break views form your ship of the city, so we grabbed a drink and simply watch daily life go on in the city before it was time to sail away.

The exit, and entry of course, in Lisbon is one of the best in Europe, if not the world, as you sail past the city centre, under the famous Ponte 25 de Abril bridge and past the Sanctuary of Christ the King statue.

You then sail past Belem and numerous seaside towns before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Lisbon Cruise Guide

If you are trying to decide whether a cruise itinerary visiting Lisbon is one you should book, or if you have already booked a cruise calling into Lisbon and want to make the most of your time on shore, this is the guide for you.

Type of Cruises Available

No matter how you prefer to cruise or how you want to visit Lisbon on a cruise, you can do!

Lisbon is a hugely popular stopping off port of call for ships heading between the north of Europe and either the Med, the Canary Islands or for those heading either farther afield and crossing the Atlantic.

That makes for a great selection of both round-trip itineraries and repositioning routes that visit some of the most popular European cruise ports and offer either a day of exploring in Lisbon or on the odd occasion, an overnight stay to really make the most of your time there.

The port also has turnaround and interporting facilities, so if you want to spend more time there and make use of it’s the good links it has to the rest of Europe via its international airport, and you have plenty of chances to do just that.

With repositioning trips starting or ending there, you can enjoy a stay in both Lisbon and another great city in the region such as Barcelona or you can choose to start in Lisbon and then end in Southampton and save an extra flight.

To really make the most of your time in the region and in the city, you can choose to sail on a ship based out of Lisbon or that is offering a round trip from there.

The closeness of the cities airport to the cruise port and the ease of getting between the two, including on the cities metro system, makes it a good choice for those wanting to simply fly in and set sail on a Mediterranean adventure.

Lisbon Cruise Port Location

The cruise port is located just to the south-west of the city centre of Lisbon, in the Alfama district and a 10-minute stroll from the Praca do Comercio square.

There is a metro station and a ferry terminal just a short stroll from the cruise terminal and there is also a train station a few minutes’ walk, that goes close to the airport and links to it via the city’s metro.

There are plenty of shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and attractions close to the cruise terminal and from your ship, you have great views of Lisbon, the Tegus River, a number of churches and Lisbon’s Moorish quarter.

Lisbon Cruise Facilities

The cruise port of Lisbon is well equipped for every type of visit as it can handle numerous ships at the same time, that are either homeporting, getting turnaround, interporting or simply calling in there as a port of call.

There is a long walkway that links all of the different berths to the central cruise terminal building so that all cruises enter and exit in the same place, no matter if you are staying there overnight, are starting or ending your holiday or are just there for an overnight stop.

In that terminal, you have everything you could ever need from such a building including a tourist information desk, a waiting area, a ATM machine with currency exchange, a duty free shop, toilets, taxis, a help desk and there is an area outside the building for hop on hop off tour buses and taxis to pick people up.

Lisbon Attractions

Lisbon is a city that offers the usual types of historical sights to look at in a major European city including numerous churches, a castle fortress, historic buildings and pretty much the whole of Belem.

The highlights of a visit to Belem are the stunning Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (a monastery home to royal tombs and the resting place of Vasco de Gama), Belem Tower (which can be explored as it is now a tourist attraction), the Padrao dos Descobrimentos monument and a botanical garden.

Belem is also where Di Natas were created and still houses the original Di Nata shop which from personnel experience is well worth a visit.

The area around the cruise terminal, called Alfama, is one of the best neighbourhoods in the city for tourists to simply walk around and see what you come across next thanks to its mix of architecture, squares and small independent shops.

Another great neighbourhood to explore is the Bairro Alto, or the Upper Quarter, which as you may expect is up one of the large hills in Lisbon, but you can get to the top of it either on the metro or via one of the cities funiculars.

The district is perhaps best known for been where to head to on a night, as it is home to many bars and restaurants, but during the day, there is lots to see including a convent and it is also home to many local and international shops.

If you just want to head from your ship, walk into town, grab a bight to eat and do some shopping, the best place to head to is the Baixa district.

This features a grid like layout of mostly pedestrianised streets that feature shops, bars, cafes and squares as well as been where you can jump onboard the red tourist tram, and you can also walk over to the Lisbon Cathedral.

It is within strolling distance of the cruise terminal and opens out onto the Praca de Camercio, which is the largest square in Lisbon that offers great views of the Tegus, and it is also where the Arco de Triunfo can be found.

There are numerous museums in the city including an antiquities museum, the national tile museum, an earthquake museum and a museum dedicated to royal horse coaches.

There are also some modern attractions and ones that are more aimed at families including the Oceanario de Lisboa aquarium, Lisbon Zoo (which has a cable car ride of a large African savannah enclosure) and there is a large park, called the Parque Eduardo VII Park that offers including views over the whole city.

If you set off the other way from the city when you depart your ship, there is a cable car that runs alongside the river and that gives you great views of the impressive Vasco de Gama bridge.

Football is a religion in the city, and the country as a whole, with the city been home to Benfica and Sporting Club, two of the largest clubs in the country and in European football and both of which have large stadiums you can visit and take a tour of.

The Ponte 25 de Abril bridge is an attraction in its own right, but you will get one of the best views of it that you can do on your arrival and departure from the city.

Next to the bridge, on the other side of the Tegus, is the impressive Sanctuary of Christ the King statue.

There are a few shopping malls around the city if the weather takes a turn for the worse and for those wanting to try some local food and drink, I would recommend heading to Cais do Sodre and visiting the food market there.

Lisbon Shorex

If you have never visited Lisbon before, I would recommend saving your money and simply exploring it on your own or using the hop on hop off buses to explore all that is on offer as not only is there something for everybody in the city, but it is an easy place to explore.

If you have visited the city before, just want to sit back and let somebody else do the work or you want to pack in as much as possible into your visit, a shore excursion could be worth doing and there are plenty of options for those wanting to do just that.

One place that I would recommend taking a trip to is the nearby town of Sintra which is like nowhere else I have ever visited before.

If you were to ask a child to draw a fairytale town, Sintra is what they would come up as it is home to many hilltop castles and palaces, with many of them been brightly coloured.

It also features a hilltop fortress, a stunning town hall, former royal gardens including incredible follies, many royal buildings and several squares where you can sit and people watch or wait for a horse and carriage ride.

If you have mobility issues or prefer not to use public transport but want to see the best that there is to see in the city, most line will offer best of Lisbon style tours that will drive past many sights and also stop off in key areas for you to take photos.

If you have visited Lisbon before and only stayed in the centre, I would also recommend jumping on a tour taking you down the coast to Belem as it is one of my favourites places in Lisbon and offers plenty to see and do, that are also quite close to each other.

Somewhere such as Lisbon may not be the first place you think of as a beach destination and whilst the city centre may not offer that, there are a few beach resorts just along the river with Casais a popular choice and whilst there are regular trains taking you there if you want to do it yourself, most lines will offer it as an excursion.

Another nearby seaside resort is Estoril, which offers more than just beaches and many excursions going there will also take you to the nearby huge cliffs where you can watch some of the biggest waves in the world.

Best Time To Visit Lisbon on a Cruise

Lisbon can be visited all year around, but there are sometimes that I would recommend avoiding it as its popularity, not just as a cruise destination but as somewhere that attracts people from across the world, can make it far too crowded to enjoy.

That includes major religious holidays including Christmas and Easter and also late July and the whole of August.

It is a very outdoor city, so it is arguably best to visit in either June and early July or September to make the most of better weather and less crowded streets but it is also somewhere great to visit in winter, between October-March as it offer decent weather where the temperature are much cooler than the summer but still warm enough to enjoy walking its streets and exploring all on offer.

Transport

If you love to explore on your own, Lisbon makes it simple as there is one of the widest ranges of public transport options in Europe.

Getting around the main city centre can be accomplished by bus, tram, funiculars or on the metro system whilst if you want to head further afield, there are a few trainlines that take you along the coast to Belem or Estoril and Casais- known as the Portuguese Riviera.

If you want to visit the Sanctuary of Christ the King statue, your best option is to take a cross river ferry, which there are numerous along the banks of the river that also offer the chance to visit many others locations along the Tegus.

Lisbon Cruises From UK

If you want to visit Lisbon on a cruise directly from the UK, not only can you, but you can from a number of different ports.

The majority of lines sailing out of the UK will offer at least one itinerary sailing towards the Med or the Canaries that calls into the city, which most offering a wide range to do just that.

Lisbon Cruises From Southampton

For the widest range of lines and itineraries, it is from the UK’s leading cruise port of Southampton that is the place to sail from.