Transport and the shape of the city in Lisbon

The Navegante card

One rechargeable card covers the metro, buses, trams, the urban trains and the ferries. The monthly pass is capped at a low flat rate across the metropolitan area, which is one of the genuinely good deals of living here and makes living outside the centre far more viable than the rents alone suggest.

• Buy the card once, then load a monthly pass or credit onto it.
• The metropolitan pass covers the whole region, not just the city.
• Under-23s and over-65s travel free or heavily discounted.

Metro, bus and train

Four metro lines cover the centre well and the airport badly in one direction only, Carris buses and trams fill the gaps, and the CP urban lines run out to Cascais, Sintra and across the river. The Cascais line in particular makes the coast a realistic commute, which is why so many international-school families live along it.

Cars, bikes and the rest

A car is unnecessary in the centre and actively unpleasant — parking is scarce and expensive, and the older districts were laid out for carts. Cycling has improved with new lanes but the hills deter most people; electric scooters are everywhere and regulated in fits and starts. Uber and Bolt both operate and are cheap relative to western Europe.

The airport

Humberto Delgado sits inside the city, which is convenient and noisy depending on which side of it you live. It is on the red metro line, roughly twenty minutes from the centre, and a taxi is inexpensive. Check the flight path before signing anything under it.