Europe > Portugal > Lisbon (LIS)
The Car or no Car advice for Lisbon can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in Lisbon ; is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in Lisbon ?
These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.
💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in Lisbon?
These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.
Lisbon without a car 🚋🚶♀️
Lisbon is one of Europe’s great no-car cities. The historic core is compact, atmospheric, and best explored on foot, even if the hills can be challenging. Fortunately, the city’s transport network does much of the climbing for you. Trams are iconic, especially Tram 28, which winds through Alfama, Graça, Baixa, and Bairro Alto, while funiculars and lifts help bridge steep gradients that would otherwise be exhausting.
In addition, Lisbon’s metro system is fast, modern, and very easy to use, linking the airport directly with the city centre. This means you can land, hop on the metro, and be in Baixa or Saldanha within half an hour, with no need to think about taxis or car hire at all. Buses and suburban trains then fill in the gaps, making almost every urban journey straightforward 🚇.
Day trips by train 🚆🌊
Moreover, Lisbon excels as a rail-based base for day trips. The most famous is Sintra, with its palaces, forests, and dramatic scenery, reached in about 40 minutes by frequent trains. Equally appealing is Cascais, a relaxed coastal town accessed by a scenic rail line that hugs the Tagus estuary and Atlantic coast. Both trips are quicker, cheaper, and far less stressful by train than by car.
Ferries across the Tagus to places like Cacilhas add another layer of variety and offer superb views back towards the city skyline, all without touching a steering wheel ⛴️.
When a rental car becomes useful 🚗
However, a car does start to make sense once you look beyond Lisbon’s immediate orbit. Exploring the Alentejo, with its whitewashed hill towns and vineyards, or heading south into the Algarve, is far easier with a rental car. These regions reward slow, flexible travel, something public transport struggles to offer outside main routes.
Conclusion: should you rent a car in Lisbon? 🤔
For Lisbon itself and nearby highlights like Sintra and Cascais, no car is needed at all. Yet, if your trip expands into rural Portugal or along the southern coast, renting a car for part of your stay becomes a very sensible upgrade. 🌍
