The Lisbon River Without a Sailing Tour: Ferry, Viewpoints and Waterfront

You do not need a boat tour to see Lisbon from its river. A commuter ferry, a few viewpoints and a long waterfront walk give you most of the view for little or nothing. This guide sets them out honestly, then says when a Tagus river sailing trip is still worth the fare.

Do you need a tour to be on the Tagus?

No. Transtejo Soflusa runs commuter ferries across the river from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas, on the south bank, and other crossings from downtown. You buy a transport ticket, not a tour, and you share the boat with people going to work.

What a ferry cannot do is follow the city's waterfront. It goes straight across and back, so you see downtown from the middle of the river but never sail past Belém or under the bridge.

What does the Cacilhas ferry show you?

The whole downtown front from the water: the riverside square, the old town on its hills and the castle above them. On the way over you face the south bank, and on the way back the city fills the view.

Longer crossings leave from the same waterfront: from Cais do Sodré to Seixal and Montijo, and from Terreiro do Paço, by the riverside square, to Barreiro. Each gives you more time on the water and a wider view of the city behind you, on a working ferry rather than a tour boat.

The company says its new fleet is fully electric. Check the fare and the timetable on Transtejo Soflusa's own pages before you go, as both change.

Where can you watch the sunset from land?

Lisbon faces the river, so the waterfront itself is the easy choice. The Belém riverside by the Padrão dos Descobrimentos looks west down the estuary, into the sunset.

Up in Alfama, the Miradouro de Santa Luzia looks over the rooftops to the river. Turismo de Lisboa calls the view of the Tagus from there particularly impressive on sunny days. It looks out to the south, so you watch the light change on the water more than the sun itself going down.

Across the river, Cristo Rei's viewpoint stands 113 metres above the water. It closes at 18:00 from October to March and at 19:00 from April to September, so only in November, December and January does the sun set before it shuts.

Can you walk the waterfront from downtown to Belém?

Yes. The riverside runs almost the whole way, past the docks where the sailboats wait. From the downtown boat station to the Padrão it is about 6 km in a straight line, and the walk is longer.

Walk it in the afternoon, heading west, and you finish in Belém as the light turns. Tram 15E brings you back into town from the monastery, with stops at Santo Amaro, Alcântara and Cais do Sodré on the way.

Can you ride along the river by tram?

Yes, and it is the cheapest way to see the waterfront from end to end. Tram 15E runs from Praça da Figueira down to the riverside square, then west along the river through Cais do Sodré, Alcântara and Santo Amaro to Belém and on to Algés.

Carris's weekday timetable shows a tram about every ten minutes through the day. Sit on the left heading west and you get glimpses of the river and the docks between the buildings. It is a tram, not a viewpoint, but it gets you to Belém for the price of a transport ticket.

Can you see Belém's monuments without a tour?

Easily: they are on land, and a boat only passes them. Belém Tower opens Tuesday to Sunday, 9:30 to 17:30, and a ticket costs €15. The Jerónimos Monastery opens 9:30 to 17:30, with last entry at 17:00, and closes on Mondays; the Lisboa Card gets you in free.

Together the two are one UNESCO World Heritage property, inscribed in 1983. The tower was built between 1514 and 1519 on a basalt outcrop some distance off the north bank.

Between them stands the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, first put up in 1940 for an exhibition and rebuilt in concrete and stone in 1960. It is 56 metres tall, with 32 figures flanking Henry the Navigator, and you see it best from its own riverside square.

How do you reach the statue on the south bank yourself?

Take the ferry from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas, then a taxi up to the sanctuary at Alto do Pragal in Almada. The statue stands 110 metres tall with its pedestal, and was inaugurated in 1959.

The viewpoint opens at 10:00. Plan to be up there well before closing time. From the top you see the bridge, the whole city across the water, and the river running out to the sea.

Is the whole-boat sail the way to have the river to yourself?

If you want a boat that goes where the sailboats go without strangers on board, the private sailboat, the whole boat for your group, is the closest thing here. It takes your group of up to six for one to two hours from Alcântara, with a skipper and crew, for $289 per group (up to 6).

Split six ways that is about $48 each, close to a shared sunset seat. For two people it is $144 each, and then the ferry and a viewpoint look very good value.

A group of six also gets to choose the pace. With nobody else aboard you can ask the skipper to linger off Belém or turn back early, which a shared boat will not do.

What does a sail add that a ferry does not?

The route, mainly. A sail runs along the whole waterfront, past Belém Tower, the monument and MAAT, under the bridge and back towards the old town, with Cristo Rei high on the far bank.

It also adds comfort the ferry lacks: blankets on several sailboats, a toilet on many, and a seat you keep for the whole trip. And it adds a crew who tell you what you are looking at, a drink, and the sunset timed for you. On a sailboat you may feel it heel under sail, when the wind allows. None of that is on the ferry.

When is a sail not worth it?

When the budget is tight and the view is what you want. The ferry gives you downtown from the water for the price of a ticket, and the Belém waterfront is free.

It is also not worth it on a cold, wet winter evening if you only have one night: you will sit wrapped in a blanket in the dark. Check the weather by month before you book. And if what you want is the monuments up close, walk Belém instead; no boat stops ashore.

How do the options compare?

Here is what each way onto or beside the river gives you.

Which option fits your evening?

If you have a spare hour and a few euros, take the ferry over and back. If you have a free afternoon, walk west to Belém and watch the sun go down by the river.

You can also combine them. Take the ferry to Cacilhas and back in the afternoon, walk the waterfront west, and finish in Belém at sunset. That costs you a transport ticket or two and shows you the river from both banks and from the water.

If you want the river itself, with the landmarks named and a drink in your hand, book a sail. The one-hour sail from Bom Sucesso costs least, and the two-and-a-half-hour sunset sail lasts longest. The guide to choosing a sail helps you pick between them, and the post on facts about the river tells you what you are floating on.

Frequently asked questions

When a boat is worth it

Lisbon: Sailing Tour on the Tagus River

An hour on a sailboat from the Bom Sucesso marina, with a drink and a light snack. The crew let you help sail the boat when the wind allows, with no experience needed.

From $28 per person

Check Availability

2-Hour Lisbon Traditional Boats Sunset Cruise with White Wine

Two hours on a traditional Lisbon boat from the boat station downtown, with white wine served freely all the way. Up to 47 aboard, and the sunset departure is one of several a day.

From $40 per person

Check Availability

Sunset aboard a sailboat in Lisbon!

Two and a half hours on a ten-guest sailboat at sunset, with a skipper and a sailor who tell the city's stories, one drink, your own music and blankets when it turns cold.

From $34 per person

Check Availability