Lisbon in One Day: A Realistic Itinerary

1. 09:00Praça do Comércio · about 35 min

2. Walk · 1.0 km · about 19 min

   09:54São Jorge Castle · about 92 min

3. Walk · 0.8 km · about 16 min

   11:42Carmo Convent · about 52 min

4. 12:34Lunch break · about 60 min

5. Public transport (planner estimate) · 7.6 km · about 32 min

   14:06Jerónimos Monastery · about 86 min

6. Walk · 1.5 km · about 25 min

   15:57Belém Tower · about 52 min

09:00–09:35 — Praça do Comércio. The vast arcaded square where the royal palace stood until the 1755 earthquake, open on one side to the river. The yellow arcades and the marble steps down into the Tagus are the city's formal front door. It is a public open-air space with no ticket and no closing day.

09:54–11:26 — São Jorge Castle. Moorish walls and a hilltop terrace with the widest view in the centre: the Baixa grid, the river and the bridge laid out below. The castle itself is mostly ramparts and gardens; you come for the walls and the panorama. Verified opening hours: 1 November to end of February daily 09:00–18:00 (last admission 17:30); 1 March to 31 October daily 09:00–21:00 (last admission 20:30). Wall-walks and towers close at 17:30 in winter and may close from 18:00 in summer depending on daylight. The castle museum is temporarily closed while the toilet facilities are upgraded.

11:42–12:34 — Carmo Convent. The Gothic church whose roof fell in during the 1755 earthquake and was deliberately never replaced. The nave arches stand open to the sky; the apse holds a small archaeological museum with Peruvian mummies among its odder pieces. Verified opening hours: Monday to Saturday: November to April 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:40); May to October 10:00–19:00 (last entry 18:40). Closed on Sundays, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.

12:34–13:34 — Lunch. The planner reserves time to eat right after Carmo Convent, so the afternoon continues from where the morning ended instead of detouring for food.

14:06–15:32 — Jerónimos Monastery. The finest Manueline building in Portugal, paid for with the spice trade and finished with rope, coral and sea-creature carving in pale limestone. The church, with Vasco da Gama's tomb, is free; the double-storey cloister is the ticketed part and the real reason to come. Verified opening hours: Cloister Tuesday to Sunday 09:30–17:30 (last entry 17:00). Church Tuesday to Saturday 10:30–17:00; Sundays and religious holidays 14:00–17:00. Closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. The church is free; the cloister is ticketed. Official ceremonies can close the monastery at short notice.

15:57–16:49 — Belém Tower. The 16th-century fortress that once guarded the mouth of the Tagus, now standing at the water's edge after the river moved. The outside is the photograph; inside is a narrow spiral staircase on a one-way timer, and the rooms themselves are small and mostly bare. Verified opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 09:30–17:30. Closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December.

It uses the early morning for Praça do Comércio — an open-air sight with no opening hours, which is the best use of the time before ticketed venues open.

It reaches Carmo Convent at 11:42, after it opens at 10:00, so there is no waiting at the door.

The day covers about 3.2 km on foot and 1 public-transport hop (about 7.6 km), used only where walking would cost more time than it saves.

No stop on this route needs advance booking.

Times come from the planner's visit-length model: every stop starts from its typical duration, is adjusted for a couple at a balanced pace, and every walk gets a small buffer. The day runs from 09:00 to 16:49.

The longest stops are São Jorge Castle (92 minutes) and Jerónimos Monastery (86 minutes). If a stop takes longer than planned, the planner in the app reschedules the rest of the day around it.

To keep the day realistic, the planner left out 3 further candidates rather than squeezing them in at a run.

Your day falls on a closing day. Carmo Convent is closed on Sundays; our guide to what is open in Lisbon on a Monday has a full alternative route.

It rains. Praça do Comércio, São Jorge Castle and Carmo Convent are largely outdoors. Rain-safe alternatives in MEVAYA's Lisbon data include Tram 28 and Fado in the Alfama.

You are travelling with children. Switch the party to "family" in the planner and it keeps walks shorter (it caps a single walking leg at about 1.1 km) and favours family-friendly stops such as Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara and Lisbon Oceanarium.

You start late. Planned with an 11:00 start, the planner drops Carmo Convent and keeps the rest of this route.

Mobility is limited. Praça do Comércio: Level and paved; fully accessible. São Jorge Castle: Partially accessible: the main terrace and gardens are level but cobbled; the walls and towers are stairs only. Choose "step-free" in the planner and it filters out stops known to be inaccessible.

Built by the MEVAYA planner from MEVAYA's curated Lisbon data. Opening hours were checked against official and independent sources in October 2026; the route, times and durations are the planner's own output, not estimates written by hand.