Free tastings and samples anyone can walk into, and the cheap local classics that keep a day of sightseeing going.
€1.60The original custard tart, baked since 1837 from a recipe that started in the monastery next door. Served warm, with cinnamon and icing sugar shakers on the table.
Daily from early morning to late evening. The takeaway line on the street moves fast, and the tiled rooms inside usually have free tables further back.
Source: Pastéis de Belém
€1.20An espresso, called a bica in Lisbon, costs €1.20 even at the most famous pastry shop in the country. Tart plus coffee comes to €2.80, which is breakfast.
Any time the shop is open. Prices are the same seated or standing here, which is not true everywhere in the centre.
Source: Pastéis de Belém
About €2Sour cherry liqueur poured from the bottle at a one-room bar open since 1840. You drink it standing on the pavement of Largo de São Domingos. Say 'com elas' if you want the cherries in the glass.
Daily, morning to late evening. The price per glass is not posted on the bar's website, so check the board at the counter.
Source: A Ginjinha Espinheira
FreeLisbon's tap water is good, and the water company EPAL runs a network of public drinking fountains in gardens, squares and along the river. Its free H2O Quality app maps the nearest one.
All year, any hour in open public spaces. Fountains inside fenced gardens follow the garden's hours.
Source: EPAL
The two-storey cloister is the finest Manueline stonework anywhere, every arch carved with ropes, coral and sea creatures, and nothing free in Lisbon comes close. At €18 it is the dearest ticket in Belém, so go at 9:30 opening when the stone is in soft light and the tour groups have not arrived.
Everything above is free. This is the only paid pick on the page, chosen because no free option replaces it.
See tickets and prices
