Why Lisbon's Tram 28 Is a Tourist Trap

Lisbon's historic trams are charming. The Number 28 specifically has become one of the most photographed and most recommended tourist experiences in Portugal. It is also, in practice, one of the worst ways to spend an afternoon in the city.

We are going to make the case for skipping it entirely — or at least for not treating it as a must-do.

What the 28 Actually Is

Tram 28 runs a winding route through some of Lisbon's oldest and most scenic neighbourhoods: Alfama, Graça, Mouraria, Chiado. On paper it sounds like a perfect introduction to the city. In practice it is a single vintage tram running a route that has become so well-known that it now functions almost entirely as a tourist vehicle.

At peak times — which during summer is most of the day — queues for the 28 at Martim Moniz or Chiado regularly stretch to 45 minutes or longer. When you eventually board, the tram moves slowly through narrow streets, packed well beyond comfort, with standing passengers crushed together. Lisbon's July heat makes this an especially unpleasant combination.

It is also the most reliably reported pickpocket hotspot in the city. The congestion on board is useful cover, and the tourist-heavy nature of the route means bags are an easy target. Plenty of visitors board with a camera and a wallet and leave with one fewer of those things.

The Hills Are Not Going Anywhere

Here is the thing: the reason people want to take Tram 28 is to experience Lisbon's dramatic topography and its historic neighbourhoods. That experience does not require the tram.

Alfama is best explored on foot. The neighbourhood's labyrinthine streets, stairways, and miradouros — viewpoints — cannot be properly appreciated from a moving tram window in any case. Walking it at your own pace, stopping at the viewpoints, ducking into a courtyard to hear fado from an open window, is what the neighbourhood is actually about. The tram passes through it. That is not the same as experiencing it.

Graça, at the top of the hill, has one of Lisbon's best viewpoints and a daily market that sees a fraction of the tourists that Alfama does. You can walk from the city centre or take a faster, emptier bus.

What to Take Instead

Lisbon has other tram lines that see almost no tourist traffic and work perfectly well as transport. The Number 15E to Belem is useful and significantly less chaotic. The Number 24E covers some hilly ground without the same crush.

The elevadores — funiculars — are the other option most visitors overlook. The Elevador da Bica and the Elevador da Lavra are short rides, genuinely scenic, and far less crowded than the 28. They give you the vintage-transport experience without the queue or the press of bodies. The Elevador da Glória is steps from the Chiado and takes you to a neighbourhood that most Tram 28 riders roll straight past.

There are also the miradouros. Lisbon's viewpoints are the real payoff of all this topography: Portas do Sol, Santa Luzia, and the Miradouro da Graça in particular. None of them require a tram to reach, and all of them offer a better view of the city than you get from inside a packed vintage vehicle.

The Tram Is Fine, on Its Terms

If you genuinely want to ride a historic tram through Lisbon — and there is nothing wrong with that — go early. Before 9am, the 28 is a different experience: manageable, almost pleasant, with space to breathe and time to look out of the window. Locals still use it at that hour. Get on at the first stop, keep your bag in front of you, and get off before the tourist crowd boards.

But treating it as a priority experience, or queueing for it in the middle of a summer afternoon, is how Lisbon's best neighbourhood ends up being a sweaty tram full of anxious tourists watching their belongings.

The Smarter Route

Walk Alfama. Ride one of the quieter elevadores. Find a miradouro and sit with a drink until the city makes sense. None of this requires a queue.

Our Lisbon city break guide maps the best routes through the historic hills, which transport options to actually use, and how to see the same ground without the tram 28 experience.