Lisbon Airport to City Centre: Metro, Bus, Taxi & Transfers 2026

The fastest and cheapest way to get from Lisbon Airport to the city centre is the metro: the red line leaves from right outside arrivals, reaches Saldanha in about 20 minutes and costs €1.90 plus a €0.50 reusable card. A taxi to Baixa, Chiado or Belém costs a fixed €19 by day (€23 at night and weekends) at participating taxis from 15 October 2026. For a driver waiting at arrivals, see our Lisbon Airport transfers page.

Lisbon Airport to city centre: quick comparison

Option	Price	Journey time	Runs	Best for
Metro (red line)	€1.90 + €0.50 card	About 20 min to Saldanha, 25–35 min to Baixa with one change	06:30–01:00 daily	Most travellers, light to medium luggage
Carris city bus	€2.30 on board	25–45 min	Daytime; night bus overnight	Direct trips to specific neighbourhoods
Taxi (fixed zone fare)	€16–19 day, €20–23 night/weekend	15–30 min	24 hours	Door-to-door, luggage, late arrivals
Uber / Bolt (TVDE)	Varies with demand	15–30 min	24 hours	App users, card-only payment
Pre-booked private transfer	Fixed price agreed in advance	15–30 min	24 hours	Families, groups, Sintra, Cascais, Fátima

Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) is unusually close to the centre, only about 7 km from Marquês de Pombal. Terminal 1 handles most flights; Terminal 2 is used mainly by some low-cost airlines and is connected to Terminal 1 by a free shuttle bus. The metro, taxi ranks and city buses are all at Terminal 1.

Lisbon Airport metro to the city centre

The Aeroporto metro station sits directly outside the Terminal 1 arrivals hall and is the end of the red line (Linha Vermelha). For most people it is the best way to get from Lisbon Airport to the city centre.

• Route: the red line runs to Oriente (for long-distance trains), Alameda, Saldanha and São Sebastião. Change at Alameda for the green line to Baixa-Chiado, Rossio and Cais do Sodré; at Saldanha for the yellow line to Marquês de Pombal; or at São Sebastião for the blue line to Avenida, Restauradores and Baixa-Chiado.
• Journey time: about 20 minutes to Saldanha; allow 25–35 minutes to Baixa, Rossio or Chiado including a change.
• Hours: 06:30 to 01:00 every day, including weekends and holidays (times are the last departures from the end stations). Trains run frequently throughout the day.
• Tickets: buy a reusable navegante ocasional card (€0.50) at the machines or ticket office, then load it. A single journey on Carris and Metro costs €1.90 (valid for 60 minutes, one metro entry). For several trips, load “zapping” credit instead: a metro trip costs €1.72 when you pay by bank card and €1.92 otherwise. A 24-hour Carris/Metro ticket costs €7.25.
• Luggage: suitcases are allowed. Lifts serve the airport station, but some interchange stations rely on escalators and stairs.

Queues at the airport ticket machines can be long when several flights land together; if you are with others, one card is needed per person. Fares and opening hours are on the Metropolitano de Lisboa website.

Lisbon Airport bus: Carris city buses and the Aerobus

Carris city buses stop near the arrivals area of Terminal 1. Several daytime lines (including 705, 722, 744 and 783) link the airport with different parts of the city, and routes 208, 705 and 744 also serve Oriente station. Night bus 208 runs through the night when the metro is closed.

• Fare: €2.30 when bought from the driver, or €1.90 with a loaded navegante card.
• Luggage: city buses only accept luggage up to 50 × 40 × 20 cm, so they are not suitable if you have a full-size suitcase.
• Timetables: check routes on the Carris routes page before travelling.

The dedicated Aerobus airport shuttle that used to run to Cais do Sodré is not listed on the airport’s own public transport page in 2026, and some resellers still advertise it while others describe it as discontinued. Do not plan around it unless you have confirmed it is running on your travel date.

FlixBus runs intercity coaches from the airport to other parts of Portugal, which can be useful if you are heading straight to the Algarve or the north.

Lisbon Airport taxi fare

Licensed Lisbon taxis are beige or black with a green roof. They queue at the official ranks outside arrivals and departures at Terminal 1.

Fixed taxi prices from Lisbon Airport (from 15 October 2026)

Under an agreement between Lisbon City Council, the taxi associations, ANA and the Lisbon tourism association, participating taxis charge fixed prices from the airport rank to two zones of the city. The price includes all supplements and tolls:

• Zone 1 (Alvalade, Areeiro, Avenidas Novas, Beato, Lumiar, Marvila, Olivais, Parque das Nações, Penha de França, Santa Clara): €16 weekdays by day, €20 at night (22:00–07:00), weekends and public holidays.
• Zone 2 (including Santa Maria Maior for Baixa and Alfama, Misericórdia for Chiado and Bairro Alto, Santo António for Avenida da Liberdade, Arroios, Estrela, Campo de Ourique, Alcântara, Belém, Ajuda, Benfica, Campolide, Carnide, São Domingos de Benfica and São Vicente): €19 by day, €23 at night, weekends and holidays.
• Larger vehicles carrying more than four passengers: €20 (Zone 1) or €23 (Zone 2) by day, €24 or €28 at night, weekends and holidays.

You can pay the driver directly or buy a taxi voucher at the Turismo de Lisboa desk in the arrivals hall. Taxis must accept bank cards and MB Way and cannot charge extra for card payment. The scheme is voluntary for taxi operators and is described as transitional until the city approves permanent airport taxi rules, so confirm the fixed price with the driver before you set off.

Metered fares

Outside the fixed-price scheme, taxis use the meter. Portugal’s new national taxi tariff, phased in from late summer 2026, cut the flag fall from €3.25 to €2.00 and abolished the old luggage and pet supplements; night, weekend and holiday rates are higher than weekday daytime rates. A €0.80 supplement still applies if you book a taxi by phone.

Uber and Bolt from Lisbon Airport

Ride-hailing (called TVDE in Portugal) is widely used in Lisbon. At the airport, Uber and Bolt pick-ups are at car park P2, level 2, on the arrivals level, and drop-offs are at Drop Off 1 or Drop Off 2 next to departures. Prices change with demand, so compare the app quote with the fixed taxi fare, especially at busy evening arrival times.

Pre-booked private transfers from Lisbon Airport

With a pre-booked transfer, a driver meets you at arrivals with a name sign and takes you directly to your address for a price agreed in advance. It is worth considering when:

• you are a family or group and need a minivan, or have surf boards, golf bags or a lot of luggage;
• you need child or booster seats fitted;
• your flight lands after the metro closes at 01:00 and you would rather not queue for a taxi;
• you are going straight on to Sintra, Cascais, the Alentejo coast, Fátima or Porto;
• someone travelling with you uses a wheelchair or needs a vehicle with a ramp or lift.

Compare local operators on our Lisbon Airport transfers hub and book directly with the company. Companies listed for Lisbon include Retális – Rádio Táxis de Lisboa, Vip Drive, Portugal Transfers, Personal Drivers and, for wheelchair-accessible vehicles, Adapted & Senior Tours Portugal. For hotel, station and cruise terminal transfers within the city, see transfers in Lisbon.

Getting to popular places beyond the city

Lisbon Airport to Sintra

Sintra is about 30 km from the airport, usually 30–45 minutes by car depending on traffic on the IC19. By public transport, take the metro towards the centre and change to the CP suburban train from Rossio (about 40 minutes to Sintra). See Sintra transfers.

Lisbon Airport to Cascais

Cascais is about 35 km away, roughly 35–45 minutes by car via the A5. By public transport, take the metro to Cais do Sodré (one change) and then the coastal train to Cascais, about 40 minutes. See Cascais transfers.

Lisbon Airport to Fátima

Fátima is about 130 km north, around 1 hour 30 minutes by road on the A1. Coaches run from Lisbon’s Sete Rios bus station. See Fátima transfers.

Lisbon Airport to Porto

Porto is about 315 km north. The fastest public option is the train from Oriente station (one metro stop from the airport), at around 3 hours; by car allow 3 to 3.5 hours. See Porto transfers.

Tips for arriving at Lisbon Airport

• Night arrivals: the metro stops at about 01:00. After that your options are a taxi from the rank, an app ride, the night bus or a pre-booked transfer.
• Use the official rank: take taxis only from the marked rank and book app rides only through the app. Do not accept offers from people approaching you inside the terminal.
• Check the fare first: for the fixed-price zones, agree the price before departure; on a metered trip, make sure the meter is switched on and ask for a receipt.
• Ticket machine “helpers”: people sometimes offer to help at the metro machines and then ask for a tip. The machines have an English option.
• Tipping: not expected; rounding up a taxi fare is common.
• Card payment: cards are accepted on the metro, on taxis and on the apps, and taxis cannot charge extra for paying by card.
• Peak traffic: the Segunda Circular and the roads into the centre are slow on weekday mornings and from about 17:30 to 19:30. The metro is more predictable at those times.