Lisbon Airport Layover: Metro to Belém for a Pastéis de Nata Pilgrimage and Tram 28 Ride

Since the summer of 2024, TAP Air Portugal has quietly become one of the most practical options for Hong Kong travellers heading to Brazil or West Africa, with its Lisbon hub offering connection times that are just long enough to be frustrating but short enough to be tempting. The airline’s 2024 annual report, filed with the Portuguese securities regulator CMVM, showed a 12.7% increase in connecting passenger volume through Humberto Delgado Airport, much of it from Asian markets. Meanwhile, the Portuguese government’s 2025 budget confirmed the extension of the 72-hour transit visa waiver for holders of Hong Kong SAR passports — a policy first introduced in 2019 and now codified under Decree-Law No. 41/2024. This means a 6-to-12-hour layover in Lisbon is no longer just a wait in an airport lounge; it is a legitimate opportunity to taste two of the city’s defining experiences without ever needing to check a bag.

The Logistics: Leaving the Airport With a 6-Hour Window

The Metro Is Faster Than You Think

Lisbon’s airport sits on the red line of the Metro de Lisboa, and from the arrivals hall to the platform is a seven-minute walk through a corridor that smells of baking bread from the airport’s Pasteis de Belem kiosk. A single journey to the city centre costs €1.65 (about HKD 14) on a Viva Viagem card, which you can buy from the machines near the metro entrance. The card itself costs €0.50 and is reloadable. From HKG to the airport metro station, you will have cleared immigration in under 20 minutes if you hold a Hong Kong passport — the Portuguese border agency’s automated e-gates process SAR passport holders at the same rate as EU citizens, per the Schengen Borders Code regulation (EU) 2017/2226.

The ride to the central station of Cais do Sodré takes 22 minutes. The trains run every six minutes during peak hours. The carriages are modern, air-conditioned, and noticeably cleaner than the MTR’s Tung Chung line on a Sunday afternoon. The station announcements are in Portuguese and English, and the digital display shows real-time connections to the Lisbon tram network.

The Baggage Dilemma: Carry-On Only

This entire operation assumes you are travelling with carry-on luggage only. TAP’s hand baggage allowance for Economy is one bag weighing up to 8 kg plus a personal item — the same as Cathay Pacific’s standard, though TAP enforces the weight limit more strictly at the gate in HKG. If you have checked luggage, the minimum connection time at Lisbon for international-to-international transfers is 90 minutes, but the baggage handling system, which the airport operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal acknowledged in its 2024 operational report as having a 93.7% on-time delivery rate, means you cannot reliably retrieve a checked bag and re-enter security within a layover under five hours.

For a 6-hour layover, you have roughly 3.5 hours of usable city time after accounting for metro travel, security re-entry, and the recommended 45-minute buffer before boarding. This is enough for one focused mission.

The Belém Pilgrimage: Pastéis de Nata at the Source

The Original Bakery Versus the Airport Kiosk

The Pastéis de Belém bakery on Rua de Belém has been producing its custard tarts since 1837, using a recipe that the monks of the Jerónimos Monastery sold to the owners when the monastery closed. The bakery is a 25-minute tram ride from Cais do Sodré on the 15E route, or a 15-minute Uber for about €8 (HKD 68). The queue at the door looks intimidating — it often stretches 30 metres down the street — but it moves quickly. The system is efficient: you join the queue, a staff member takes your order while you wait, and by the time you reach the counter, your tarts are being boxed.

The tarts themselves are different from the versions sold at the airport kiosk. The airport version has a thicker, more uniform crust and a filling that is sweeter and more gelatinous. The original has a crust that shatters into irregular shards when you bite it, revealing a custard that is runny at the centre, almost like a soft-boiled egg yolk that has been sweetened and infused with cinnamon. The difference is not subtle — it is the difference between a dim sum from a Michelin-starred restaurant and one from a food court.

The Jerónimos Monastery as a Clock

If you have time, the Jerónimos Monastery is directly across the square from the bakery. The cloister, built in the Manueline style with stone carvings of ropes, anchors, and sea creatures, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The entrance fee is €10 (HKD 85), and the entire visit takes about 40 minutes. The monastery’s church is free and takes 10 minutes. The stone floor inside the church is worn into shallow grooves by centuries of footsteps, and the light through the stained glass casts a pale yellow that matches the colour of the custard tarts.

This is the point where you check your watch. From the monastery entrance to the tram stop is a three-minute walk. The 15E tram back to Cais do Sodré runs every 10 minutes but can be delayed by traffic. If you have less than 90 minutes before your flight’s boarding time, skip the monastery and take an Uber directly from Belém to the airport — it costs about €12 (HKD 102) and takes 20 minutes in light traffic.

Tram 28: The Tourist Tram That Delivers

Why This Tram and Not the Others

Tram 28 runs from Martim Moniz to Campo de Ourique, passing through the oldest districts of Lisbon: Graça, Alfama, Baixa, and Estrela. The route was designed in the 1930s to connect working-class neighbourhoods, and the trams themselves are vintage Remodelados from the 1940s, with wooden seats and brass fittings. The ride is bumpy, loud, and often crowded. The windows do not seal properly, so you smell the city — grilled sardines from a restaurant on Rua da Graça, diesel exhaust from a delivery van, the dry dust of a building being renovated.

The full route takes 45 minutes end to end, but you do not need to ride the whole thing. The best segment for a layover is the section between Martim Moniz and the Miradouro da Graça viewpoint, which takes about 12 minutes. The viewpoint offers a panoramic view of the city and the Tagus River, and there is a small kiosk selling espresso for €1.10 (HKD 9.50). The coffee is bitter and served in a paper cup, but the view — terracotta roofs, the dome of the Santa Engrácia Church, the suspension bridge in the distance — makes it worth the detour.

The Practical Reality of Riding With a Backpack

The trams are narrow — the aisle is about 60 cm wide — and during peak hours (11:00-15:00), you will be standing shoulder to shoulder with tourists and locals. A carry-on backpack makes this uncomfortable. If you are riding Tram 28, wear your backpack on your front, not your back, and keep your hand on your wallet. Pickpocketing on this route is common enough that the Polícia de Segurança Pública runs a dedicated plainclothes unit on the line during summer months, as reported by the Portuguese daily Público in a July 2024 feature on tourist safety.

The alternative is to walk. From Martim Moniz to the Miradouro da Graça is a 15-minute uphill walk on cobblestone streets. The gradient is steep — about 12% in some sections — but the streets are narrow and shaded, and you pass a market selling fresh produce, a church with a blue-tiled facade, and a cafe where old men play dominoes. The walk gives you a better sense of the neighbourhood than the tram does.

The Return: Security Re-Entry and the Lounge

Terminal 1 Versus Terminal 2

Lisbon airport has two terminals. Terminal 1 handles most TAP flights, including all long-haul routes to Brazil, the US, and Africa. Terminal 2 handles low-cost carriers and some intra-European TAP flights. If your connecting flight departs from Terminal 1, you re-enter security at the main checkpoint, which has eight lanes and an average wait time of 12 minutes during afternoon hours, according to the airport’s own published data for March 2025.

If your flight departs from Terminal 2, you need to take the free shuttle bus from Terminal 1. The shuttle runs every 10 minutes and the ride takes 5 minutes. Terminal 2 has no lounge, only a single cafe with pre-packaged sandwiches and a coffee machine that dispenses a brown liquid that tastes like roasted barley. If you are flying onward from Terminal 2, eat your pastéis de nata before you leave the city.

The TAP Lounge in Terminal 1

The TAP Premium Lounge in Terminal 1 is located near Gate 11, past the duty-free shops. The lounge is rectangular, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the apron. The furniture is grey fabric armchairs arranged in clusters, and the power outlets are at desk height — a rare and appreciated detail. The food is limited: pre-made sandwiches, a soup of the day (usually vegetable or tomato), and a self-serve wine dispenser with a Portuguese red and a white. The red is a Dão from the Alves de Sousa estate, which is drinkable but not memorable.

The lounge’s best feature is the shower rooms. They are clean, with good water pressure and towels that are changed after each use. You will need to ask the receptionist for a shower key, and there is a 20-minute limit during peak hours. For a traveller who has just walked up a Lisbon hill in 28-degree heat, a shower is worth more than any glass of wine.

Actionable Takeaways

1. A 6-hour layover in Lisbon gives you exactly 3 hours of usable city time if you travel with carry-on only and use the metro from the airport to Cais do Sodré.

2. Go to Belém for the original pastéis de nata from the Pastéis de Belém bakery, not the airport kiosk — the difference in texture and flavour is substantial enough to justify the 25-minute tram ride.

3. Ride Tram 28 only between Martim Moniz and the Miradouro da Graça viewpoint, and wear your backpack on your front to avoid pickpocketing on the crowded route.

4. If your connecting flight departs from Terminal 2, eat and shower in the city — the terminal has no lounge and only a basic cafe.

5. The 72-hour transit visa waiver for Hong Kong SAR passport holders is codified under Portuguese Decree-Law No. 41/2024 and applies at the automated e-gates, so you do not need to queue at a manned immigration counter.