Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport to Belém
Lisbon Airport to Belém is about 12 km along the river; a taxi is quickest, or take the Metro to the centre and Tram 15.
Belém, LisbonLisbon Photoshoots / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0This riverside district holds Lisbon's great Age-of-Discovery monuments — the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower, both UNESCO sites — and the original pastéis de Belém custard tarts.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Belém, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €20).
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €20 | Private transfer |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €20 | Private transfer |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €20 | Private transfer |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Cheapest fare | From €1.9, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Taxi
The most direct option to riverside Belém. Uber and Bolt also serve the airport, often a little cheaper.
Where to catch it: Taxi rank outside Arrivals.
Best for small groups in a hurryMetro
No direct Metro — ride to the centre, then Tram 15 or the Cascais-line train to Belém (a separate fare).
Where to catch it: Aeroporto station at terminal level.
Best for budget travellers near a stationPrivate transfer
Fixed price, paid upfront.
Where to catch it: Driver meets you in arrivals.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsBelém & Lisbon in photos
Buying tickets in Lisbon
The red metro line runs directly from the airport (Aeroporto station) into the city. Fares load onto a reusable travel card, historically the Viva Viagem but being replaced through 2026 by the Navegante card (about €0.50 to buy), sold at station machines. A single metro trip is around €1.90, or slightly less using pre-loaded "zapping" credit. Note the old Aerobús shuttle was discontinued in 2022, so the metro or a taxi are the practical options. Machines accept cash and cards.
Taxi scams & safety in Lisbon
Take taxis only from the official rank outside arrivals, where cars are metered; anyone approaching you inside the terminal with a handwritten sign or a verbal offer is almost never legitimate and can overcharge badly. Ask for the meter and expect a modest fare into the centre, more at night and with luggage. Uber and Bolt are both legal in Lisbon and often cheaper and clearer on price; book in the app and meet the driver at the signed ride-hail pickup area, not the taxi rank.
Getting from LIS to Belém
There is a particular kind of pilgrim who lands at Lisbon and thinks first not of trams or tiles but of a warm, blistered custard tart eaten in the shadow of a 500-year-old cloister. If that is you — bound for the great riverside sweep of Belém, where the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower stand as Portugal's proudest monuments from the Age of Discovery — then the journey out from the airport is worth a moment's planning. Belém sits about 12 km away, downstream along the Tagus, roughly 25 minutes by road, and how you cover that distance sets the tone for everything that follows.
The lie of the land before you set off
It helps to picture where you are going. Belém is not central Lisbon; it is a stately district strung along the river to the west, built for monuments rather than crowds. Both the monastery and the tower carry UNESCO World Heritage status, and between them huddles the little pastry shop that has been turning out pastéis de Belém to a guarded recipe since 1837 — the original, the one every imitator across the city is quietly measured against. Knowing that Belém lies off to one flank, and not on the direct Metro line, is the single fact that shapes your choice of transport. Everything hinges on whether you want to arrive at the door or arrive on a budget.
Straight to the cloister door
For the history-hungry traveller with a monastery to reach before the queue thickens, a licensed metered taxi is the most direct answer. The rank sits just outside Arrivals, cabs run around the clock on demand, and the fare to riverside Belém typically lands between €15 and €25 for a ride of about 25 minutes. There is something fitting about being delivered straight to the great limestone frontage of the Jerónimos, luggage and all, rather than trailing a suitcase across town. Uber and Bolt also serve the airport and are often a shade cheaper than the metered rank, so if you are the sort who likes a fixed figure on a screen before setting off, they are worth a glance. Either way, this is door-to-door travel — no changes, no stairs, no deciphering of tram maps with a tart-shaped destination pulling at your attention.
The unhurried route through the city
If you would rather feel the city gather around you — and keep a few euros back for a second plate of tarts — the Metro plus Tram 15 is the honest traveller's path. The Aeroporto station sits right at terminal level, and a single ride costs €1.90. Do note, though, that there is no direct Metro to Belém: you ride into the centre first, then change onto Tram 15 or the Cascais-line train out along the water, and that onward leg is a separate fare. Trains and Metro run frequently, roughly every six to nine minutes, so waits are short even if the whole trip stretches to around 45 minutes. It is slower and it asks something of you, but the reward is real — Tram 15 rattling westward with the Tagus flashing between buildings is a proper Lisbon overture, and you step off into Belém already half in love with the place. Pack light if you take it; cobbles and suitcases were never friends.
Arriving without a single decision
Some journeys you simply want handed to you, especially when you land frayed and short on patience. A private transfer — booked ahead through the likes of Welcome Pickups or GetYourGuide — lets you bypass the taxi rank and walk straight from Arrivals to a waiting car, then carries you to Belém in about 25 minutes for a fixed €20 to €35, paid upfront. It costs a little more than the metered taxi at the lower end, but you buy certainty with it: no surge, no fumbling for change, no negotiating in a language you are still warming up to. For families, for early arrivals, or for anyone who would rather spend their first mental energy choosing between the monastery's south portal and its cloister than working out a fare, it is money well spent.
Whichever way you go, aim to reach Belém earlier rather than later. The custard tarts are at their finest warm and dusted with cinnamon, the queues at Jerónimos lengthen as the morning wears on, and the low sun off the river turns the Belém Tower to gold in the late afternoon. Arrive with time to linger, and this quiet corner of Lisbon gives back everything the guidebooks promise.
