Almost every guest asks us about tram 28. And we get it: a 1930s wooden tram rattling and screeching through Lisbon’s steepest, narrowest streets is genuinely one of the best city experiences in Europe — when you do it right. Done wrong, it’s forty minutes standing in a crush of backpacks with a hand on your wallet. After a decade of sending guests up that hill, here’s exactly how to do it right.
What Is Tram 28?
The 28E runs on vintage remodelado trams from the 1930s — polished wood interiors, brass dials, windows that actually open. It’s not a tourist attraction; it’s a regular Carris public transport line that happens to trace the most scenic route in the city, because these historic hills are too steep and too tight for anything modern.
The full route runs from Martim Moniz to Campo de Ourique (Prazeres), taking roughly 50 minutes: up through Graça, down through Alfama past the cathedral, across Baixa and Chiado, past the Estrela Basilica, ending by the gates of the Prazeres cemetery.
The Golden Rules
Go early or go late. Board before 9am or after 7pm and you’ll share the tram with locals heading to work, not a queue of tour groups. Mid-morning to late afternoon in high season means 30–45 minute waits at Martim Moniz and standing room only. On summer evenings, the ride at dusk — lights coming on across Alfama — is the version we’d choose every time.
Board at the terminus. If you want a seat (and on this ride, you want a seat — ideally by an open window), board at Martim Moniz or Campo de Ourique, where the tram empties completely. Boarding mid-route in Alfama in July usually means watching two or three full trams clang past without stopping.
Watch your pockets. We have to say it: tram 28 is the single most reliable place in Lisbon to meet a pickpocket. Nothing violent — just skilled hands in a crowd. Keep your phone out of your back pocket, wear your bag in front, and you’ll be completely fine.
Ride the whole line. The magic is the full journey, not a hop between two famous stops. Ride end to end, then explore on foot.
Our Recommended Ride
Start at Campo de Ourique — the leafy, local neighbourhood at the quiet end of the line (its food market and Pastelaria Aloma are reason enough to come). Grab a window seat on the right-hand side, ride the full route as the streets narrow and the tram starts scraping past doorways in Alfama and Graça, and get off at Martim Moniz. Then walk back up to Miradouro da Graça for the view you just rattled past. Doing it in this direction, the famous Alfama stretch unfolds in front of you instead of behind you — and the boarding queue is a fraction of the one at Martim Moniz.
Tickets & Practical Details
Buying a ticket on board is the expensive way (over €3 in cash). Use a navegante/Viva Viagem card with zapping credit — about half the price — or a 24-hour Carris/Metro pass, which covers trams, funiculars, metro and buses and pays for itself in three rides. Both are sold at any metro station machine. Validate your card at the machine behind the driver as you board.
Trams run roughly every 10–15 minutes from early morning until about 11pm. Check the destination board: some services short-turn and don’t run the full route.
Not Just the 28: Trams & Funiculars Worth Riding
Tram 24 climbs from Cais do Sodré to Príncipe Real on the same vintage trams with a fraction of the crowds. Tram 15 (a modern, articulated one) is the practical way to reach Belém. Tram 12 does a short historic loop through Alfama if you just want a taste.
And don’t miss Lisbon’s three funiculars — Glória, Lavra, and our favourite, the Elevador da Bica, which crawls up one of the most photographed streets in the city, a strip of cobbles and washing lines dropping straight down to the Tagus.
What to Skip
The red “tourist trams” that shadow the 28’s route charge €25+ for the same views the public tram gives you for pocket change. And skip the daytime high-season scrum entirely — a 7am or 8pm ride is a different, better experience of exactly the same route.
Staying with us? Several of our apartments are a short walk from the 28’s route — ask us for the least crowded stop near you and the best time to ride that week. Browse our apartments.