September–October
Wk 38–40
The quietest stretch among this region's best weather weeks: crowd level around 65 out of 100, weather comfort near 90.
- Crowd level
- 64–68
- Comfort
- 87–92
Portugal · Lissabon
Lisbon: seven hills above the Tagus
Capital of Portugal since 1256, the city was two thirds destroyed by a severe earthquake and a tsunami on 1 November 1755, then rebuilt, with the lower town, the Baixa, given its rectangular street grid. On the Tagus bank in Belém stands the Torre de Belém, not far from the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos; together they have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
Busiest week
SeptemberCrowd level 100
Wk 36 · 503,442 overnight stays
Quietest weeks
JanuaryCrowd level 0–2
Wk 2–4 · measured against the region's own year, not against other regions
Sweet spot
September–OctoberCrowd level 64–68
Wk 38–40 · quietest while the weather still holds
Warmest month
23 °CComfort 97
August · around 2 mm of rain in the month
Lissabon in brief
Lisbon lies on the north bank of the Tagus estuary in the far southwest of Europe; the city area covers 84.7 square kilometres with around 506,654 inhabitants (as of 2018). The Moors took the city in 719, in 1147 the Portuguese under Afonso I retook it with the help of a crusader army, and in 1256 Lisbon became capital of the Kingdom of Portugal under Afonso III. On 1 November 1755 a severe earthquake and a tsunami destroyed around two thirds of the city; the rebuilding under the later Marquês de Pombal gave the lower town, the Baixa, its rectangular street grid. In Belém stand the Torre de Belém and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, jointly a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983; the tower was built from 1515 to 1521, and the monastery holds the tomb of Vasco da Gama.
When is Lissabon busy, when is it quiet?
Click a week. The panel on the right explains why it is busy or quiet.
Weather profile
Weather comfort is an absolute scale (0 = poor, 100 = ideal) and a second axis next to the season-relative crowd level.
JanuaryØ 6
FebruaryØ 24
MarchØ 44
AprilØ 65
MayØ 70
JuneØ 69
JulyØ 76
AugustØ 89
SeptemberØ 76
OctoberØ 72
NovemberØ 41
DecemberØ 20
Colour = season-relative crowd levelBar = weather comfort (Sun & warmth), absolute 0–100
Why this week?
September · Wk 38
Crowd level64/100 · moderate
quietbusy
Weather comfort72/100 · Sun & warmth
+7 % versus the region's annual average.
- Contributing months
- September (100 %)
- Overnight stays/week
- 403,431
- Main source markets
- Portugal (42 %) · United Kingdom (15 %) · Germany (10 %) · 82% of guests modelled
- Region range
- 226,196–503,442 (avg 376,226)
- Base years
- 2023, 2024, 2025
v1: Crowd-Score aus der Eurostat-Basisschicht (Übernachtungen), moduliert vom Schulferien-Druck der Quellmärkte, region-spezifisch gewichtet mit dem Quellland-Mix. Season-relativ zur Region. Event-Schichten folgen.
Plan your trip
Pre-filled with the next date in week 38.
DestinationLissabon
Travel datesPick a week in the calendar
FlightSearch flights (opens in a new tab)
StayFind stays (opens in a new tab)
ActivityExplore activities (opens in a new tab)Ad · commission link
Photos: Johny Goerend · reisetopia · Dino Reichmuth on Unsplash
The travel year in Lissabon, month by month
The year as a table to read and to cite: crowd level for every month, plus weather comfort and temperature from the climate normals.
| Month | Crowd level0–100, season-relative | Weather comfort0–100, profile “mild” | Avg temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6 | 51 | 11 °C |
| February | 24 | 55 | 12 °C |
| March | 44 | 59 | 13 °C |
| April | 65 | 70 | 16 °C |
| May | 70 | 86 | 18 °C |
| June | 69 | 95 | 21 °C |
| July | 76 | 97 | 23 °C |
| August | 89 | 97 | 23 °C |
| September | 76 | 93 | 22 °C |
| October | 72 | 83 | 20 °C |
| November | 41 | 66 | 15 °C |
| December | 20 | 54 | 12 °C |
The crowd level is season-relative: 100 is the annual peak of Lissabon itself, not the busiest destination in Europe. The figures say when it is quiet here — not where it is quieter than elsewhere.
Weather comfort 0–100 from the climate normals, profile “mild” – the same profile as the recommendation above, not the selection in the calendar. A “–” means the data for that month is missing.
Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026
The windows worth catching
Three windows from the model: first whether the weather suits the region, then how busy it gets.
May–June
Wk 21–23
A second option, also with usable weather: crowd level around 67, weather comfort near 91.
- Crowd level
- 59–71
- Comfort
- 89–93
August–September
Wk 34–36
The region's peak: crowd level around 93 out of 100. Only if the dates are fixed.
- Crowd level
- 87–100
- Comfort
- 95–96
Lissabon compared with Europe
How full the accommodation is here, measured against Europe – on the only measure on which two travel regions can be compared.
- Bed occupancy in Lissabon
- 47.0
- European median
- 23.1
per cent of bed places, annual mean
per cent of bed places, annual mean
Furthest from the median: March, at 2.8× the value. Closest to the median: July, at 1.3× the value.
Mean across 12 months, weighted by their weeks. This occupancy compares travel regions with one another. The crowding in the table above compares Lissabon with itself. The two measures are never combined.
Climate through the year
Average temperature with day/night range and precipitation across the twelve months.
- Avg temperature
- Day/night range
- Precipitation
| Month | Avg temperature (°C) | Day avg (°C) | Night avg (°C) | Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | 11 | 10 | 64 |
| Feb | 11 | 12 | 11 | 53 |
| Mar | 12 | 13 | 11 | 80 |
| Apr | 14 | 16 | 13 | 66 |
| May | 17 | 18 | 15 | 39 |
| Jun | 19 | 21 | 17 | 13 |
| Jul | 21 | 23 | 19 | 3 |
| Aug | 21 | 23 | 19 | 2 |
| Sep | 20 | 22 | 18 | 23 |
| Oct | 18 | 20 | 17 | 63 |
| Nov | 14 | 15 | 13 | 90 |
| Dec | 12 | 12 | 11 | 82 |
The band shows mean daytime to nighttime temperature. Precipitation shown as monthly total (mm). Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
How sunny?
How much sun a typical day delivers, month by month, expressed as hours of full midday sun.
Very sunny
≈ 4.9 h of full midday sun per day, annual average
Jul
Sunniest month
| Month | ≈ h of full midday sun per day |
|---|---|
| Jan | 2.3 |
| Feb | 3.2 |
| Mar | 4.5 |
| Apr | 5.7 |
| May | 7.0 |
| Jun | 7.4 |
| Jul | 7.6 |
| Aug | 6.9 |
| Sep | 5.4 |
| Oct | 3.7 |
| Nov | 2.4 |
| Dec | 2.1 |
Basis: mean daily solar irradiance in kWh/m²/day; 1 kWh/m² is roughly one hour of full midday sun (1,000 W/m²). Not the same as measured sunshine duration. Typical monthly value (climate normal), not a forecast.
Directly reachable from
Destination airports of Lissabon and every European departure airport with a direct connection to them.
Destination airports
Select a destination airport to see the direct departure airports.
“Directly reachable” means a direct connection exists according to our sources. We do not show a live timetable. Availability and flight days can vary by season and airline.
Lissabon in detail
Location and shape
Lisbon lies on the north bank of the Tagus estuary in the far southwest of Europe; the city area covers 84.7 square kilometres with around 506,654 inhabitants (as of 2018). The city sits on seven hills, not counting smaller rises; the highest point within the city area reaches 226 metres. Since 2013 Lisbon has been divided into 24 civil parishes (freguesias); before that there were 53, grouped into four districts (bairros).
From the Moors to the capital
Under Roman rule the city was called Olisipo from around 205 BC and became part of the province of Lusitania as Colonia Felicitas Iulia in 48 BC; a legend recorded by Pliny the Elder traces its founding to Odysseus. The Moors took the city in 719, after which it was called al-Ushbuna and belonged to the Emirate of Córdoba. In 1147 the Portuguese under Afonso I retook Lisbon, aided by a crusader army of the Second Crusade. In 1256 Afonso III moved his residence from Coimbra to Lisbon, which thereby became capital of the Kingdom of Portugal.
The earthquake of 1755
On 1 November 1755 an earthquake of magnitude 8.7 to 9.0 and the tsunami that followed destroyed around two thirds of the city. The planned rebuilding was carried out on the orders of the later Marquês de Pombal; the newly laid out lower town, the Baixa, was given a rectangular street grid around the Rua Augusta.
Republic, revolution, world exposition
On 5 October 1910 the First Portuguese Republic was proclaimed from the balcony of the city hall, ending 771 years of Portuguese monarchy. In late April 1974 Lisbon was the centre of the Carnation Revolution. The Expo 98 world exposition ran from 22 May to 30 September 1998 on 340 hectares, with 143 countries and 14 international organisations and around 10.12 million visitors over 132 opening days. Fado has been on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage since 2011; it originated in the poor quarters, first in the district of Mouraria.
Belém: monastery, tower, monument
The Torre de Belém and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos were jointly declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. The Torre de Belém was built from 1515 to 1521, damaged during the Napoleonic invasion and restored in 1846. The Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is one of the surviving buildings of the Manueline style, a Portuguese variant of late Gothic with Renaissance elements, and holds the tomb of Vasco da Gama. On the Tagus bank in Belém stands the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, a discoveries monument built in 1960 and 54 metres tall.
Castle, cathedral, lift, bridges
The Castelo de São Jorge was built by the Moors, passed to Afonso I in 1147, then served for centuries as a royal castle and was largely destroyed in the earthquake of 1755; the walls were rebuilt in the 1940s. The cathedral of Santa Maria Maior was begun in 1147 as a Romanesque church on the site of a mosque, was damaged by an earthquake in 1344 and received its Romanesque west facade in 1380; the Convento do Carmo, built for the Carmelite order from 1389 to 1423, survives only as a ruin after the earthquake of 1755. The 45-metre Elevador de Santa Justa, a lift connecting the Baixa and Chiado districts, was built by a pupil of Gustave Eiffel; the 19-kilometre Aqueduto das Águas Livres crosses the Alcântara valley on an arched bridge 941 metres long and 66 metres high, carried by 109 arches. The 145-metre Torre Vasco da Gama observation tower was built in 1998 for the world exposition; the Tagus is crossed by the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge, completed in 1966, and by the Ponte Vasco da Gama, more than 17 kilometres long, likewise completed in 1998 for the Expo.
Frequently asked questions about the best time to visit Lissabon
Short answers on timing, weather and getting there, all from the data on this page.
When is the best time to visit Lissabon?
- The best time to visit Lissabon is September–October (Wk 38–40): it is the quietest stretch among the region's best weather weeks – crowd level around 65 out of 100, weather comfort about 90 out of 100.
When is Lissabon quietest?
- January (Wk 2–4) is the quietest time in Lissabon. Crowd levels there sit at 0–2 out of 100, the lowest across the year.
When is Lissabon busiest?
- Lissabon is busiest in September (Wk 36) with around 503,442 overnight stays in the peak week.
What is the weather like in Lissabon and when is it warmest?
- It is warmest in Lissabon in August with an average of 23 °C and around 2 mm of rain in the month.
How do you get to Lissabon?
- Lissabon is reachable via 2 destination airports with direct flights, including Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) and Cascais Municipal Aerodrome (CAT).
Quiet travel windows across Europe, once a month
The Crowd Report names the emptiest weeks of the coming months — for every region, not just this one. Free, unsubscribe any time.
Sources and data vintages
Every provenance note on this page, collected in one place.
- Cover photo
- Photo by Aayush Gupta on Unsplash
- Cover video
- Video by Masood Aslami on Pexels
- Crowding figures
- Index 2.0 · As of 25/08/2026. v1 approximation, calculated from Eurostat overnight stays. Day tourism and cruises (Venice, Dubrovnik …) are still missing, so we show these destinations as quieter than they are. The crowd score is a model-based forecast, not a measurement.
- Climate data
- Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2025.
- Reachability
Data sources: direct connections from Wikipedia (“Airlines and destinations”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, aggregated and modified by us), cross-checked with Eurostat, Destatis and the UK Civil Aviation Authority; airport data from OurAirports (Public Domain). The derived connection data is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Data as of: September 2026
- Region text
- Text by HolidayHub, written from Wikivoyage „Lissabon“ (1747340) · Wikipedia „Lissabon“ (268970074) · Wikidata Q597. Wikivoyage and Wikipedia are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikidata CC0.
- Data basis
- All figures are approximations derived from open data (crowd level from Eurostat overnight stays, climate from Copernicus/ERA5-Land), not measurements.