Best time to visit Lisbon

Portugal · Europe

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in Lisbon

Tap a month for its page

Sweet spot
Good
OK
Avoid
Busy

Go in May — 23C max, 3 rainy days. Jul is the next best.

Prices thereModerate, about 60% of the US
MoneyEuro
PlugsType C and F, 230 V
DrivingOn the right

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Best in May 23°C · 3 rainy days quiet May in Lisbon ›

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Things to do

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Things to do in Lisbon

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the monastery was built in the 16th century and is an outstanding example of the Portuguese late Gothic Manueline style.
Torre de Belém A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the iconic fortified tower was built in the early 16th century in the late Gothic Manueline style as a fortress.
Monument to the Discoveries Climbing the monument gives you a spectacular view of Belém.
Ponte 25 de Abril Suspension bridge in Portugal
Castelo de São Jorge Humans settled on this hill as early as the 8th century BCE, and the first fortifications date from the 1st century BCE.
Praça do Comércio This magnificent plaza, facing the river, is the beginning of Lisboa's downtown.
Lisbon Cathedral Built in 1147, the cathedral has survived various earthquakes and has undergone restoration, renovation, and modification over the years.

Tours and tickets in Lisbon

Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank

Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Lisbon/Alfama, Lisbon/Baixa, Lisbon/Belém), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.

Lisbon in pictures

Torre de Belém — i

Rehman Abubakr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Monument to the Discoveries — i

Jean-Christophe BENOIST, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ponte 25 de Abril — i

Mike, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lisbon Cathedral — i

Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Month by month

Month	Max °C	Rain days	Humidity	Sun h/day	Verdict	Why
Jan	15°	7d	81%	7.4h	ok	15C max, 7 rainy days
Feb	16°	6d	79%	8.2h	good	16C max, 6 rainy days
Mar	18°	8d	75%	9.5h	good	18C max, 8 rainy days
Apr	20°	7d	73%	11.1h	good	20C max, 7 rainy days
May	23°	3d	69%	12.5h	sweet spot	23C max, 3 rainy days
Jun	26°	2d	70%	13.3h	goodbusy	busier than usual
Jul	28°	0d	67%	13.4h	goodbusy	busier than usual
Aug	29°	0d	67%	12.4h	good	29C max, 0 rainy days
Sep	27°	2d	68%	11.0h	goodbusy	busier than usual
Oct	24°	6d	74%	9.1h	good	24C max, 6 rainy days
Nov	18°	8d	81%	7.5h	good	18C max, 8 rainy days
Dec	16°	7d	83%	7.3h	ok	16C max, 7 rainy days

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at Rossio, in the Baixa, 8 km from the airport (LIS): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

Busiest in June, July and September; quietest in December and January.

Then and now

Lisbon's May days now average 23.3°C, 3.9°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 11 of 12 months are clearly warmer.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1981–90	13.7°	14.3°	16.5°	17.0°	19.4°	23.2°	25.6°	25.9°	25.4°	21.2°	17.4°	14.8°
2017–26	14.8°	16.4°	17.7°	20.1°	23.3°	25.6°	28.3°	28.8°	26.9°	23.5°	18.1°	15.8°
Change	+1.1°	+2.1°	+1.2°	+3.0°	+3.9°	+2.3°	+2.7°	+2.9°	+1.5°	+2.3°	+0.7°	+1.0°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Busy and quiet times in Lisbon

Lisbon has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot summers. The peak tourist season occurs in summer when the weather is warm and sunny, while spring and fall offer more moderate conditions and less crowding.

Busiest	early Jun to late Aug — Ideal summer weather, high demand among tourists.
Quieter, still good	early Apr to late May — Pleasant spring weather and fewer crowds. early Sep to late Oct — Milder temperatures and reduced tourist traffic.

Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.

What Lisbon is like

Lisbon (Portuguese: Lisboa) is the capital of Portugal situated on seven hills at the wide mouth of the river Tagus (Tejo) where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing: Lisbon is a city on the water—the River Tagus (Rio Tejo)—built on seven hills that are traversed by trams. This has led to comparisons with San Francisco. More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing: Go out at night to the central Bairro Alto, or 'High Neighbourhood'. Just up the hill from Chiado, this is the place to go out in town. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in: The Lisbon Airport serves the city. If no flight fits, you can take a plane to Porto or Faro. More on Wikivoyage
Staying safe: Lisbon is generally safe, but use common sense precautions, especially at train stations and on public transport. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Lisbon, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Getting there

By rail from the airport (LIS), by metro: Linha Vermelha.

Lines that stop at the airport's terminals, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); the operators' own timetables have the times and fares.

How far Lisbon is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Like a local in Lisbon

On arrival

Paying — Cards and cash are both accepted. Use Multibanco cash machines, which mostly charge no fee; Euronet machines charge high fees and poor exchange rates.
UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
Tipping — Not expected; about 8 to 10% in restaurants for exemplary service. Round up taxi fares and add €1 to €2.

Getting around Lisbon

Tap a contactless bank card or phone at Metro gates, in and out, and on Carris buses, trams and lifts, where a tap buys that vehicle's on-board fare. Or load a navegante occasional card (€0.50) with zapping credit.

Apps — Rides: Bolt, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.

Lisbon has a very efficient public transport network that covers the entire city in addition to the surrounding areas. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Lisbon, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ferries from Lisbon

Transtejo Soflusa: Barreiro → Seixal · about 10 min
Transtejo Soflusa: Cacilhas → Cais do Sodré · about 10 min
Transtejo Soflusa: Cais do Sodré → Cacilhas · about 10 min
Transtejo Soflusa: Seixal → Barreiro · about 10 min
Atlantic Ferries: Setúbal (Cais 3) → Tróia (Ponta do Adoxe) · about 15 min
Atlantic Ferries: Tróia (Ponta do Adoxe) → Setúbal (Cais 3) · about 15 min
Transtejo Soflusa: Cais do Sodré → Seixal · about 20 min
Transtejo Soflusa: Seixal → Cais do Sodré · about 20 min

Crossings within 60 km, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Times are typical where the map records them.

Help

Emergency — 112 (any emergency).
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (26)

Before you go

Type C and F plugs at 230 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the Euro. No UK Foreign Office advice against travel. Entry rules for British travellers. Everything for Portugal: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Around Lisbon

Also in Portugal

Nearby

Routes through here

Kind of place

Cities

Lisbon is in Portugal, Europe. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

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