Home Destinations Europe Portugal Lisbon Travel Tips By Air

By Air in Lisbon

Lisbon Categories:

Arriving & Departing

By Air

International and domestic flights land at Lisbon's small, modern Aeroporto de Lisboa, also known as Aeroporto de Portela, 7 km (4 1/2 mi) north of the city. There's a tourist office here as well as a currency exchange bureau. TAP, the Portuguese national airline, flies to Lisbon from the New York area (Newark Liberty International Airport); it also links Lisbon with other European capitals. Continental has a daily service between Newark and Lisbon. Air France, British Airways, and Alitalia also fly to Lisbon.

Car-rental firms and the tourist-information office at the airport provide free maps of Lisbon and its environs. The trip to the city center takes 20-30 minutes, depending on traffic. There are no trains or subways between the airport and the city, but getting downtown by bus or taxi is simple and inexpensive.

A special bus, Aerobus 91, runs every 20 minutes, 7:45 AM-8:15 PM, from outside the airport into the city center. Tickets, which you buy from the driver, cost EUR 3.10; TAP passengers can get a voucher entitling them to a ride for EUR 2. The bus stops close to all the major hotels at several useful points, including Praça Marquês de Pombal, Avenida da Liberdade, the Rossío, Praça do Comércio, and the Cais do Sodré train station. As you board the bus, the driver will ask your hotel, note it on a sheet of paper, and call you when it's your stop.

City buses 44 and 45 cost only EUR 1.20 one-way and depart every 15-30 minutes 5 AM-1:40 AM from the main road in front of the terminal building. They pass through Praça dos Restauradores en route to the Cais do Sodré train station (from here you can continue by rail to Estoril and Cascais).

Taxis in Lisbon are relatively cheap, and the airport is so close to the city center that many visitors make a beeline for a cab queue outside the terminal. To avoid any hassle over fares you can buy a prepaid voucher (which includes gratuity and luggage charges) from the tourist office booth in the arrivals hall. Expect to pay EUR 13-EUR 18 to most destinations in the city center and around EUR 40 if you're headed for Estoril or Sintra.