Lisbon Tourist Traps and Scams (and How to Avoid Them)

Lisbon is one of the safest capitals in Europe, and most visitors go home with nothing worse than tired legs. It does have a few tourist traps. Some are scams; most are simply ways to pay more than you need to. Here are 14 to know, where they happen, how common they are and how to avoid them.

Quick answer: the five to know are fake drug sellers in the Baixa and Bairro Alto (keep walking), pickpockets on tram 28 and at busy viewpoints, the couvert (bread and olives are charged if you eat them), Euronet ATMs and paying in your home currency (use bank ATMs and always pay in euros), and airport taxis (check the fixed fare, or take Uber or Bolt from P2). Lisbon is a safe city overall, and none of these is dangerous.

Street scams and theft

1. Fake drug sellers

In Rossio, the Baixa and Bairro Alto, men mutter “hashish? cocaine?” at passers-by. What they sell is almost always pressed bay leaves, flour or crushed tablets. Selling bay leaves isn’t a drug offence, which is partly why the problem has lasted for over 20 years. In 2026 the government said it was preparing a law against selling fake drugs.

How common: very, especially in the evening. Avoid it: don’t reply or argue; keep walking. Drug possession is decriminalised in Portugal but not legal, and you would be buying leaves. See is Lisbon safe?

2. Pickpockets on trams, the metro and terraces

Pickpockets often work in small groups wherever people are packed together and distracted: tram 28, tram 15 to Belém, the metro (including the red line from the airport), Rossio, Rua Augusta and the miradouros at sunset. One blocks the tram door or asks a question while another opens your bag. On busy café terraces, a phone on the table or a bag on a chair back is an easy grab.

How common: common in these places, rare elsewhere. Avoid it: wear a zipped crossbody bag in front, keep your phone out of back pockets and off the table, and step away from anyone who crowds you. See Lisbon public transport and is Portugal safe?

3. Street sellers, bracelets and clipboards

Around Praça do Comércio, Rua Augusta and Rossio, sellers offer sunglasses, selfie sticks and “friendship bracelets”. A bracelet tied on your wrist as a “gift” comes with a request for money. A clipboard petition for a “charity” leads to a request for a donation, and the board can hide a hand in your bag.

How common: the sellers are common; the bracelet and clipboard tricks less so. Avoid it: keep your hands to yourself and walk on with a firm “não, obrigado”. See Baixa and Rossio.

Money and eating out

4. The couvert

Bread, butter, olives and perhaps cheese or pâté may arrive at your table before you order. This is the couvert. Locals pay for it too, so it isn’t a scam, but it isn’t free: anything you eat is charged, from under €1 an item to much more for ham or seafood.

How common: almost every restaurant. Avoid it: say “não, obrigado” straight away and it goes back. By law, an untouched couvert can’t be charged. See the couvert in Portugal and tipping in Portugal.

5. Euronet ATMs and “pay in your currency”

The yellow and blue Euronet machines on tourist streets and at the airport commonly charge €5 to €8 a withdrawal. They, and many card machines, also offer to charge you in your home currency. This dynamic currency conversion quietly adds about 3 to 7%.

How common: very, in the Baixa and at the airport. Avoid it: use Multibanco machines run by Portuguese banks, and always choose euros, or “without conversion”. See money in Portugal.

6. Restaurant touts and menus without prices

On Rua Augusta, around Rossio and along Rua das Portas de Santo Antão, staff with photo menus call you in. Fish and shellfish are often priced by the kilo, not by the plate. In Alfama, touts offering “fado tonight” can lead to a pricey set menu and a weak show.

How common: very, on those streets. Avoid it: walk a street or two away and look for a handwritten prato do dia (dish of the day). Restaurants must show a priced menu at the door, so skip any that won’t, and ask the price per kilo before your fish is cooked. Portas de Santo Antão also has some long-running good restaurants, so judge the place, not the street. A Lisbon food tour is an easy way to find good tascas. See the best restaurants in Lisbon and fado in Lisbon.

Getting around

7. Airport taxis

After complaints about detours, meters left off and cash-only demands, a PSP check at the arrivals rank in August 2026 recorded 67 offences in about 100 taxis. Since 15 October 2026, airport taxis charge fixed fares into Lisbon, luggage included: €16 or €19 on weekdays from 7am to 10pm, and €20 or €23 at night, at weekends and on public holidays. The Baixa, Alfama and Belém are in the dearer zone.

How common: the fixed fares should make it rarer. Avoid it: confirm the fare before you get in; drivers in the scheme must take cards. Ignore anyone offering a ride inside the terminal. Uber and Bolt pick up in the P2 car park by Terminal 1, or book a fixed-price airport transfer. See Lisbon airport to the city centre and Uber vs Bolt vs taxi.

8. Tuk-tuk prices

Tuk-tuks wait at Praça do Comércio, the cathedral and the viewpoints. Hail one without agreeing terms and you have nothing to point to if the final price is higher than you expected. Roughly €60 to €120 per tuk-tuk for two hours is normal.

How common: occasional. Avoid it: agree the price, length and route first, or book a private tuk-tuk tour online at a fixed price. See Lisbon tuk-tuk tours.

9. The red “hills tram” and the tram 28 queue

At Praça do Comércio, red sightseeing trams run over the tram 28 hills for €25. The yellow tram 28 covers the same ground for €3.30 on board, or about €1.72 with a navegante card, but its queue at Martim Moniz can top an hour in summer.

How common: the queue forms daily from mid-morning. Avoid it: ride tram 28 before 9am, board at the quieter western end, or try tram 12, or tram 25 on weekdays. See the Lisbon trams guide.

10. The Santa Justa Lift

The iron Santa Justa Lift, still in many older guidebooks, has been closed since September 2025, after the Glória funicular accident, and Carris has given no reopening date. The Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars are closed too.

How common: a frequent disappointment. Avoid it: photograph it from Rua do Ouro, then take the free escalators inside Baixa-Chiado metro station up to Chiado, or minibus 51E to Largo do Carmo. See the Santa Justa Lift.

Sights, passes and queues

11. Belém queues

Belém Tower reopened in May 2026 with half-hour slots and about 900 visitors a day, so turning up without a booking can mean no entry. The Jerónimos cloister queue can be long, and both close on Mondays. At Pastéis de Belém, the line on the pavement is for takeaway.

How common: daily, worst from late morning, at weekends and in summer. Avoid it: book the tower (€15) at least 24 hours ahead and the cloister (€18) a few days ahead, and go early or late. The takeaway line moves faster than it looks; to eat in, walk straight inside. See Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery and Pastéis de Belém.

12. A Lisboa Card or bus ticket that doesn’t fit the trip

The Lisboa Card (€31, €51 or €62 for 24, 48 or 72 hours) pays off on busy sightseeing days, not slow ones. A 24-hour card started on a Monday, when Jerónimos and Belém Tower are shut, rarely does. Hop-on hop-off buses cost from €22 to about €33 a day, while a 24-hour navegante transport pass is €7.25.

How common: common. Avoid it: add up the paid sights you will really visit, plus about €7 a day for transport, and buy the card only if it costs less. Take the bus for a first-day overview or if hills are hard work. See is the Lisboa Card worth it? and Lisbon’s hop-on hop-off buses.

Nights out and where to stay

13. Pink Street late at night

Rua Nova do Carvalho in Cais do Sodré makes a good daytime photo. After midnight at weekends it is packed and loud, and crowds are where phones go missing.

How common: a mismatch of expectations, not a scam. Avoid it: see it by day, or have one drink and move on to Bairro Alto or Príncipe Real. A glass of ginjinha by Rossio costs about €1.50 to €2. See Lisbon nightlife.

14. Rentals that look different, and stairs with luggage

Wide-angle photos make small flats look bigger, and listings don’t always mention the climb. Many old buildings in Bairro Alto, Alfama and the Baixa are walk-ups with no lift, cars often can’t reach the door, and rooms above Bairro Alto’s bars are noisy until about 2am at weekends. A few listings are fake.

How common: stairs and noise are common; fake listings are rare. Avoid it: search reviews for “stairs” and “noise”, ask which floor you’re on, book through well-known sites and never pay a stranger by bank transfer. With big cases, Avenida da Liberdade or Parque das Nações is easier. See where to stay in Lisbon and luggage storage in Lisbon and Porto.

Plan it: sort mobile data before you fly with a Portugal eSIM, compare places to stay in Lisbon, and book Lisbon tickets and tours at a fixed price.

FAQ

Is Lisbon safe for tourists?

Yes. Portugal ranked 7th on the 2026 Global Peace Index, and violent crime against visitors is rare. The main risks are pickpockets in crowds and paying more than you need to. The emergency number is 112.

Are the street drug sellers real?

The sellers are real, but what they sell almost never is. It is usually pressed bay leaves or flour. Ignore them and keep walking: buying drugs in the street is illegal, and you would be paying for a fake.

What should you do if you’re pickpocketed in Lisbon?

Block your cards in your banking app straight away, then report the theft to the PSP police so you have a reference for your insurer. Any police station will take a report.

Is the couvert a scam?

No. Locals pay for it too. You only pay for what you eat, and you can send it back untouched.

More: 40 Lisbon travel tips, things to do in Lisbon, Lisbon on a budget and overrated places in Portugal, and what to do instead.

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