Eight in the morning, Baixa-Chiado station. The long escalators carry you down beneath the city while a green-line train pulls in, packed with people staring at their phones. Lisbon public transport leads a double life: on one side, the yellow trams climbing the hills in front of the tourists; on the other, an everyday network that is efficient, cheap and frankly simple once you have understood one thing, the Navegante card.
Here is how each mode works, what it costs in 2026, and the habits that save you time and money.
Which Lisbon public transport should you use day to day?
The city runs on five families of transport. The metro, fast and regular, for longer distances. The Carris buses and trams, run by the municipal company, for everything else. The CP suburban trains, towards Sintra, Cascais, Azambuja and the Setúbal peninsula. The ferries, to cross the Tagus. And, beyond the city limits, the yellow buses of Carris Metropolitana, which serve the neighbouring municipalities.
All of them share the same card. That is the good news: once your monthly pass is loaded, you get on the metro, the tram, the bus or the suburban train without going back to the ticket office.
How does the Lisbon metro work?
The Lisbon metro has four lines, each known by a colour:
- Azul (blue), from Reboleira to Santa Apolónia, via Marquês de Pombal and Baixa-Chiado;
- Amarela (yellow), from Odivelas to Rato, via Campo Grande and Saldanha;
- Verde (green), from Telheiras to Cais do Sodré, via Alameda and Rossio;
- Vermelha (red), from São Sebastião to the airport, via Saldanha and Oriente.
It runs every day from 6.30 am to 1 am. The red line is a newcomer's best friend: it links the airport to Saldanha and Alameda, where a single change takes you almost anywhere in the centre.
One project to watch: the future circular line, which is due to extend the yellow line from Rato to Cais do Sodré with two new stations, Estrela and Santos. After several years of delays, the Metropolitano de Lisboa announced in spring 2026 that it would open in the first quarter of 2027. The network map will change then, and so will some journeys.
One detail that surprises people: you have to validate your card on the way in and on the way out. The exit gates will not open without it.
Trams, funiculars and buses: how do you use Carris in Lisbon?
Carris runs the city's buses, trams and historic lifts. The buses cover every neighbourhood, including those the metro ignores, such as Belém, Ajuda or a good part of the Graça hill. You get on at the front and validate your card.
The trams are both a means of transport and a postcard. Tram 28 (the 28E), which winds from Martim Moniz to Campo de Ourique through Graça, Alfama and Chiado, is besieged by visitors from the morning onwards. If you use it to get somewhere, board at its Martim Moniz terminus or avoid the tourist rush hours, and keep your bag in front of you: pickpockets love the 28 as much as the tourists do. Regulars often prefer the quieter 12E or 24E. The 15E, for its part, is a modern articulated tram that runs along the river to Belém and Algés.
As for the funiculars, things have changed. After the Elevador da Glória accident on 3 September 2025, the historic lifts were stopped. In early September 2026, according to the Portuguese press, the Glória remained closed with a return considered for 2029, the Bica and the Lavra had no reopening date, and the Santa Justa lift was closed too. The Graça funicular, on the other hand, reopened on 30 April 2026. Check the state of the network on the Carris website before counting on any of them.
How do you reach the suburbs by train or boat?
The CP urban trains are the backbone of suburban life. The Sintra line leaves from Rossio (and Oriente), the Cascais line from Cais do Sodré, the Azambuja line from Oriente and Santa Apolónia. The Lisbon to Cascais train is probably the most beautiful suburban ride in Europe: forty minutes or so along the water, from the Belém tower to the beaches of Carcavelos and Estoril. In 2026, a Lisbon-Cascais return costs €5.10.
To head south, trains run by Fertagus, a private operator, cross the Tagus on the lower deck of the 25 de Abril bridge, from Roma-Areeiro, Entrecampos and Sete Rios to Setúbal.
The Transtejo ferries are the other way across. From Cais do Sodré you reach Cacilhas, Seixal or Montijo; from Terreiro do Paço, Barreiro; from Belém, Trafaria and Porto Brandão. Ten minutes' crossing to Cacilhas, and Lisbon seen from the other bank: many people who live in Almada make the trip every day and never tire of it. If you are torn between the two banks, our article on the best neighbourhoods to live in Lisbon will help you choose.
Navegante card: which Lisbon public transport pass should you choose?
Everything goes through the Navegante card. It comes in two versions:
- the Navegante ocasional (formerly the Viva Viagem), a cardboard card sold for €0.50 at ticket machines, anonymous, for single tickets and Zapping;
- the Navegante personalizada, a plastic card in your name and with your photo, which you need for a monthly pass. It costs €7 (€3.50 up to the age of 23), or €12 for the express version, and you apply for it at certain large metro stations such as Marquês de Pombal, Campo Grande or Cais do Sodré.
The monthly passes, at 2026 prices:
| Pass | Monthly price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Navegante municipal | €30 | All transport within a single municipality (Lisbon, for example) |
| Navegante metropolitano | €40 | All transport in the 18 municipalities of the metropolitan area |
| Navegante metropolitano +65 | €20 | The same, for people over 65, retired people and pensioners |
| Navegante família metropolitano | €80 | The whole household, whatever its size |
| Navegante família municipal | €60 | The whole household, within a single municipality |
The price of the Navegante pass has not moved since it was created in 2019, and it is one of the best deals of Lisbon life. The choice is simple: if you live and work in Lisbon, the municipal pass is enough; as soon as you cross a municipal boundary, from Oeiras to Lisbon or from Almada to the centre for example, you need the metropolitano.
Three details people usually learn too late. The pass is valid for a calendar month, from the first to the last day: buying it on the 20th means paying a full month for ten days. Once it has been loaded the first time at the ticket office, you can renew your pass at any Multibanco cash machine, with no queue. And the Lisbon Navegante municipal also covers CP trains within the municipality, between Cais do Sodré and Algés for example: handy for reaching Belém in a few minutes.
For young people up to the age of 23, the Navegante metropolitano can be free, under the rules set by Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa. People over 65 who are tax-domiciled in Lisbon are also entitled to a free city pass. The conditions change over time: ask at the ticket office whether you qualify before you pay.
How much is a metro or bus ticket in Lisbon?
For an occasional journey, you have several options in 2026:
- Carris/Metro ticket: €1.90, valid for one hour after the first validation, on the metro, buses and trams. It does not allow two successive entries into the metro.
- Zapping: you load money onto your card (from €3 to €40) and each journey is deducted; a metro journey then costs €1.72.
- Contactless bank card: accepted at the metro gates, at €1.92 a journey. Useful on the day you arrive, not for every day.
- 24-hour ticket: €7.25 for Carris and the metro, €10.35 if you add the ferry to Cacilhas, €11.40 if you add the CP trains.
Buying a ticket from the bus driver costs more than validating a loaded card. In your very first week, get a card and top it up.
Bikes, scooters, taxis: what other ways are there to get around Lisbon?
Lisbon has built cycle lanes, particularly along the river and on the main avenues, and the city council runs the Gira bike-sharing scheme, many of them electrically assisted, which helps a lot given the hills. Shared e-scooters are everywhere, with their share of accidents on wet cobblestones.
Taxis are plentiful and their fares remain reasonable compared with Paris or Geneva. Ride-hailing apps are widely used, especially at night, when the metro stops.
And the car? In the city centre, it is rarely a good idea: parking is scarce and paid, the streets are narrow, and traffic jams build up at the entrances to the city. If you live on the outskirts or plan to criss-cross the country, our guide to driving in Portugal explains tolls and Via Verde.
Our advice for your first month
For the first few days, an ocasional card and some Zapping are enough. As soon as your address is settled, get your personalised card made and take a monthly pass from the 1st of the month. At €30 or €40 for the whole network, Lisbon public transport weighs little in the budget, and that is one of the arguments that count when you compare the capital with other cities. To put all this in perspective, read our article on the cost of living in Portugal.