We arrive on a Friday morning. Saturday we plan a day trip to Sintra and Cascais. What would you suggest for Friday and Sunday? Monday we leave for Porto.....Schedule, unfortunately, is not flexible. Thanks in advance.

You do not indicate your interests. I would spend Sunday in Belem. I would be recovering from jet lag on Friday, but if you have sufficient energy the Gulbenkian and just walking around and visiting the viewpoints.

See also: Loving Lisbon

If you're flying in from NYC, then jet lag shouldn't be an issue. If you're planning a day trip to Sintra and Cascais, then it will have to be on two different days if you actually want to see anything in Sintra and enjoy your time. Both are reachable by commuter rail. You can purchase your tickets when you arrive, but you should purchase your tickets to the Pena Palace and other ventues before you arrive.

Sunday in Belem would work, but only if you drop one of the other must-sees.

You're joking, right? I can't sleep in economy so it is certainly an issue for me.

I managed both on the same day with no problem.

Some smaller museums that sound interesting are the Coach Museum and Tile Museum. Haven’t been there yet but will be in Lisbon for the first time on April 22.

As Thursdaysd stated, you haven’t told us what your interests are.

I was just in Lisbon for my second time (currently working on the trip report) and had just that amount of time (two and a half days). I would suggest doing exactly what I did do for the first half day.

Starting with lunch at Confeitaria Nacional café on Praca da Figueira. Beautiful building and fabulous food at amazing prices (we ate upstairs in the cafeteria section). Praca da Figueira is right next to Lisbon's main square, Rossio. Rossío, a grand space, with 2 ornate French fountains and undulating sidewalks, with arabesques of black and white plus you can see the Castle up the hill to one side, and the ruins of Carmo to the other. At one end is the National Theatre and the Rossio Train station, both amazing buildings. From Rossio we walked along Lisbon's 'main street', Rua Augusta and through the Arco Rua Augusta (19th century triumphal arch) to Praca do Comercio – incredibly majestic and very blindingly white in the sunshine, it’s avast waterfront square. Then up through the Alfama (stopping by two miradouras (viewpoints) Santa Luzia and Portas do Sol, to the castle. We spent at least an hour in the castle. Then back down to Baxia through the winding streets of the Alfama. Then dinner at the 'Time Out Market' at Mercado da Ribeira.


Then a half day for Belem, the other half for more exploring more of Lisbon (Convento Carmo and Sao Vincente de Foro were highlights on my first trip but didn't get to them this recent trip due to lousy weather). Then that leaves one full day for Sinta (or Sinta plus Cascais).

If you are not jet lagged I suggest walking around the Alfama and visiting the Tower of Belem on your first day. We did something similar - we took taxis as much as possible to save time (we also took a taxi to Sintra), but this was 9 years ago when my energy levels were slightly different. It also helped that I flew business class on that particular trip. Had I read thursdaysd's blog back then I would have found my way to the Gulbenkian.

Glad the blog was informative. However, I think that the stand out sight in Belem is the Monasterio, so I would not go there just to see the Tower.

I thought the tower was more fun than the Mosteiro.