Getaways from Lisbon: day trips and destinations close by.

Several routes start at a station

There are direct flights to Lisbon airport from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Málaga, Seville, Bilbao, Asturias, Gran Canaria and Tenerife South. For most of the plans on this page you do not need a car for the first days: the city is a good base and several routes start at a station.

From Rossio station the train to Sintra leaves, and from Cais do Sodré, the one on the Cascais line, which runs beside the estuary. The Intercidades leaves from Oriente for Évora; the Alfa Pendular and the Intercidades reach Coimbra, and there is a direct CP train to Tomar. For the south coast of the Tagus there are buses: the 3721 from Sete Rios to Sesimbra and the 4720 from Oriente to Setúbal. To Mafra and Ericeira goes the 2751 from Campo Grande.

With a hire car, each route leads to a type of plan. The 25 de Abril Bridge and the A2 cross to the south, towards the Costa da Caparica, the Arrábida hills and Setúbal and Tróia; the Vasco da Gama Bridge and the A12 lead to Palmela and Azeitão. The A8 goes up the west coast to Óbidos, Peniche and the Berlengas and Nazaré; the A1, to the centre of the country, to Fátima and Batalha, Tomar and Coimbra.

The Costa da Caparica, half an hour away, with surfing from age six

Less than an hour away is almost everything you can do by train or bus. The Costa da Caparica, 30 minutes, with surf lessons from age six; Sintra and Cascais, 35; the Palmela and Azeitão wineries, 35; Sesimbra and Guincho, 40; the Sado dolphins from Setúbal, 45, and the Arrábida and Ericeira and Mafra, 50.

With one or two hours by car the Sunday goes north or inland. Óbidos and its walls are 65 minutes away; the island of Berlenga, 80 counting the road to Peniche; Fátima and Batalha, 85; Nazaré, between 85 and 90; Évora, 95, and Tomar, 100. Coimbra, two hours away, is the limit of what fits into a day. Several of these places have a version with a night: one night in Óbidos with a canoe on the lagoon, Nazaré and Alcobaça in two nights or Templar Tomar with Almourol and Castelo de Bode.

About three hours away is the long weekend: the Costa Vicentina, with Sagres and a surf lesson, in two nights and by car.

In a storm, the giant waves of Nazaré

In winter, the sea rules. From October to March, if there is a storm, the giant waves of Praia do Norte are seen from the fort on the Sunday in Nazaré and Alcobaça. Évora is enjoyed from October to June. In December, with children, there is the Christmas in Óbidos, with the Vila Natal park open from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Sintra is often foggy, but there are very few people.

In spring, from March to June, it is the season for Sintra, the Arrábida with the beach road open, and Tomar without the heat in the convent.

In summer the coast wins. The Berlenga in a day only has a boat from 8 May to 30 September, and in July and August you book weeks ahead. The beaches of Tróia and the coves of Sesimbra are at their best, and at Caparica it is best to be back before 17:00 to avoid the bridge jam. From 4 June to 15 September the Arrábida beach road is closed to cars by day. At Guincho, bike in the morning: the north wind blows almost every afternoon. Évora is not recommended in July and August.

In autumn Sintra and the Arrábida return, and in September is the grape harvest at the Palmela and Azeitão wineries. Coimbra, with the students back, has more life.

Seven flat kilometres to the Boca do Inferno

• Without a car, in a day: A Sunday in Cascais. Train from Cais do Sodré, about seven flat kilometres along the promenade and the Boca do Inferno, which in a swell is more impressive in winter.
• By car, in a day: Dolphins and Tróia from Setúbal. 45 minutes away, a two-hour boat trip on the Sado in the morning, with less wind, and a catamaran to Tróia for the afternoon.
• With two nights: Sesimbra and Azeitão. 40 minutes away, also reached by bus 3721; coves by boat from June to September and moscatel on Sunday.