Non-Touristy Things to Do in Lisbon: 11 Picks

Most visitors do the same short list. This one goes the other way, with seven things that locals use or that sit away from the main routes. Each entry says how to get there, when it is open and what it costs.

Hours and prices below come from each place's own site, Metro de Lisboa and Transtejo Soflusa (the Tagus ferry company), read on 21 October 2026. Check them for your date.

1. Street art in Graça: best for a short first look

Graça is the hill district east of the cathedral. Its walls are covered in murals, and the Graça street art walk shows you the best of it in 1.5 hours. It costs from €20 per person and meets at the Coreto da Graça, the bandstand on Largo da Graça. It runs as a private tour or a small group, in English, and the page lists a live guide and a souvenir.

The page lists murals by Obey Giant, Vhils, Add Fuel and Isa Silva, and a gallery made for International Women's Day 2025. Stairs and hills make it unsuitable for people with mobility impairments. Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before, and reviewers rate it 4.9 from 811 reviews.

To reach Graça, tram 28 stops at Graça, as our guide to tram 28 explains. Turismo de Lisboa's Graça viewpoint page recommends the same tram. Our Alfama guide covers the viewpoints and the Tuesday and Saturday flea market on the same hill.

2. Street art across five neighbourhoods: best for a full morning

The street art tour of five neighbourhoods is from €34 per person and lasts 3 hours. A street artist guides it, and the route runs through Bairro Alto, Chiado, Baixa, Mouraria and Graça. It meets at Rua Luz Soriano 67 in Bairro Alto, runs in English, and the operator, City Guru, is named on its page.

The page says to expect uneven terrain, and it is not suitable for wheelchair users. Hotel pick-up, food, drinks and tips are not included. It is rated 4.9 from 1,451 reviews, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The page promises "away from big crowds and groups", which is the operator's claim and not something we could check.

Things to Do in Lisbon's count of GetYourGuide listings in October 2026 found 18 street art tours. Fourteen are priced per person, from €10 to €110, with a middle price of €34.50. The other four are tuk-tuk tours priced per group.

3. Mouraria: best for the old quarter people still live in

Mouraria is the old Moorish quarter below the castle. Turismo de Lisboa calls it a very authentic Lisbon neighbourhood and says it is known as the birthplace of fado. It is a district, so there are no tickets and no hours, and the page lists neither.

The Metro's Green line is the simplest way in. Martim Moniz and Intendente are both on it, and both stations are open from 06:30 to 01:00. Tram 28 also starts at Martim Moniz.

Walk without a plan, and add the street art walks above if you want the murals explained. Our page on fado shows in Lisbon says where to hear the music that began here.

4. Bordalo Pinheiro Museum: best for a quiet indoor morning

The Museu Bordalo Pinheiro shows the work of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, a 19th-century caricaturist and ceramicist. Turismo de Lisboa's museum page describes the collection and the early 20th-century building in Campo Grande.

The museum's site gives its hours as Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. It is closed on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May and 24, 25 and 31 December. Turismo de Lisboa lists it as free with the Lisboa Card. None of the pages gives the ticket price, so check the museum's site before you go.

The address is Campo Grande 382. The Metro's Campo Grande station is on the Yellow and Green lines, and Metro lists buses 701, 717, 736, 747, 767, 778, 796, 798 and 750 there. No source gives the walk from the station to the museum.

A city is easier to know from its small museums than from its biggest ones.

5. Gulbenkian Garden: best for a calm afternoon

The garden surrounds the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's buildings. The foundation's page says it is open every day until sunset. It lists a pond, an open-air amphitheatre and a café and ice cream parlour that also close at sunset. The foundation gives no entry price.

For the way there, the foundation says the two closest Metro stations are São Sebastião (Blue and Red lines) and Praça de Espanha (Blue line). It also lists Carris buses 716, 726 and 756 on Avenida de Berna, and 746 on Avenida António Augusto de Aguiar.

Go in the last hours of daylight. Sunset moves through the year, so check the time for your date.

6. The ferry to Cacilhas: best for the river without a cruise

The ferry crosses the Tagus from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas on the south bank. Transtejo Soflusa's timetable page gives an average crossing of 10 minutes. Its fare page, in Portuguese, lists a single ticket at €2.00 and pay-as-you-go zapping at €1.60.

Cais do Sodré is on the Metro's Green line, and Metro's station page lists the ferries to Cacilhas, Seixal and Montijo there, together with trams 15E, 18E and 25E. Turismo de Lisboa says you can sail across the river to Almada from here. Our guide to Lisbon metro tickets has the card, the fares and the machines.

The operator does not say what to see in Cacilhas, so treat this as a crossing and a walk. Weekday boats leave Cacilhas from 05:00 until after 02:00, and several leave each hour in the daytime.

7. A food and wine walk: best for eating where locals eat

The food and wine small-group walk is from €70 per person and lasts 3 hours. It meets at Praça Dom Pedro IV 101, the Rossio square. Its page lists 15 tastings at six spots, including port with cheese and a ginjinha tasting, and says the stops are traditional cafés, taverns and restaurants popular with locals.

Hotel pick-up and tips are not included. Inside Lisbon tours runs it, and its page says groups have up to 14 people. It is rated 4.9 from 5,152 reviews, and free cancellation runs until 24 hours before.

No official list says where locals eat. Turismo de Lisboa publishes member listings, and three describe traditional Portuguese food. Granja Velha, on Rua dos Douradores, is under €20 and open Monday to Saturday from 12:00 to 15:00 and 19:00 to 22:00. Chafarica, on Avenida 5 de Outubro, calls itself a traditional tasca and is under €20, with no hours printed. Maria da Mouraria on Largo da Severa is a restaurant and fado house at €20 to €50, open from 20:00 to 02:00 on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and from 17:00 on Friday. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. These are the venues' own descriptions, not a ranking. We cover more of these on our page for food and wine walking tours in Lisbon.

8. Markets: best for Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday mornings

Three markets fall on different days. The Feira da Ladra, the flea market in Campo de Santa Clara behind the São Vicente de Fora monastery, runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9:00 to 18:00, according to Turismo de Lisboa. Our Alfama guide covers the area around it.

On Sundays the LX Market takes over LX Factory at Rua Rodrigues Faria 103. Turismo de Lisboa lists free entry and says it gets very busy on sunny days. The same page lists the LX Rural farmers market there, every Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00.

The municipal neighbourhood markets, such as Campo de Ourique, Arroios and 31 de Janeiro, are where many residents shop. The council's pages for them could not be opened, and Turismo de Lisboa publishes none, so their days and hours are not given here. Check before you go.

9. Two quiet viewpoints and a garden: best for an hour away from the crowd

The Miradouro do Torel sits in the Jardim do Torel, on Rua Júlio de Andrade. Turismo de Lisboa calls it one of the best-kept secrets in Lisbon, with a view of Avenida da Liberdade. It says you can reach it by the Elevador do Lavra or by Rua do Telhal, and Carris lists the Lavra funicular as out of service, so take the street.

The Miradouro de Monte Agudo, on Rua Heliodoro Salgado between Graça and Anjos, is described as one of the calmest viewpoints, with a pergola and a kiosk for a drink. The Miradouro da Senhora do Monte, near Graça, is in our Alfama guide.

None of these pages lists opening hours or a fee. They are open-air spaces, so check the day before you plan a long visit. The Jardim da Estrela is not a hidden one, because Turismo de Lisboa calls it one of the liveliest spots at the end of the afternoon and at weekends.

10. LX Factory: best for quirky shops, studios and a Sunday market

LX Factory is the creative complex in Alcântara that Turismo de Lisboa's Lx Market page calls a cultural venue that has become essential to the life of the city. The address is Rua Rodrigues de Faria 103. Turismo de Lisboa's Industrial Route lists it as open every day, and prints no hours.

Getting there, that page gives tram 15E and buses 714 and 727. Carris lists tram 15E with a stop called Alcântara - Av. 24 Julho, and CP's Cascais line stops at Alcântara-Mar. An older event page names that station and buses 714, 742 and 751. LX Factory's own website could not be read here, so its shop and restaurant hours are not given. Sunday is the day of the LX Market in entry 8.

11. Campo de Ourique and Marvila: best for two quieter neighbourhoods

Campo de Ourique is at the end of tram 28, which stops at Prazeres, as our guide to tram 28 explains. Turismo de Lisboa's page on tram 25 says it crosses the district and is less popular with tourists than tram 28 and very popular with locals who are not in a hurry. It runs between Prazeres and Campo das Cebolas, passing Estrela, Santos and Cais do Sodré.

Marvila is on the east side of the city. Turismo de Lisboa's Industrial Route lists the Fábrica de Gás on Rua da Cintura do Porto, reached by the Metro's Red line, buses 728 and 781, or the Azambuja and Sintra train lines. It also lists a walk along Rua do Açúcar and Rua Capitão Leitão, reached by the Red line and buses 718, 728, 781 and 782. The page prints no hours for either, so check before you go.

How to choose non-touristy things to do in Lisbon

Pick by the day of the week and by the weather. The table puts the hours and prices side by side.

Key Takeaway Only the street art walks and the food walk need a booking, and the other four picks cost €2.00 or less, or have no price published.

A tour is not always better. The street art is outdoors and free to look at, so a guide only adds the names and the stories. The museum, the garden, Mouraria and the ferry need no guide and no booking.

Pro Tip Do the street art in the morning, then take the Metro to Cais do Sodré for the ferry in the afternoon. The Green line connects both ends of that day.

When a tour is the wrong choice

A tour is the wrong choice on a Monday if you planned the museum, which is closed, and for anyone who wants to move slowly. The street art walks involve hills and stairs, and two of the three pages say they suit neither wheelchairs nor reduced mobility. Check the page before you book.