Tram 28 — Attraction in Lisbon

This shouldn’t not be advertised as a “tourist attraction” or “something to do while visiting Lisbon”. I’m especially annoyed at TripAdvisor, because usually I get very good suggestions there. It’s a tram line. That’s it. Never, in a million years would I (or anyone else for that matter) have thought about treating a Tram line as a tourist attraction if it wasn’t for all those reviews and suggestions online. First of all, the trams are tiny and get packed to the brim, I’m talking London Central line in peak hour packed. No space no breathe, let alone to enjoy the scenery or taking pictures. This is a busy transport link amongst the central parts of the city. The locals use it daily to go to work but thanks to the overwhelming amount of tourists, they can’t even board the tram for hours. If you are hoping to get a seat you will need to board the tram at the first stop, where you will find a queue 40 meters long. And you will be thinking ‘oh it’s not that long, this will be quick’ but it’s not, it’s anything but quick. As I already mentioned the trams are tiny and the drivers only allow 22 people in on the first stop (the amount of sits available on board). The trams come by every 12 min or so, therefore you will be stuck at that stop for more than 1 hour in scorching heat, wishing you never thought of doing this. Finally, you get to board, rushing inside and take a nice sit next to an open window, preparing to be amazed by the great views described all over the internet. Wrong again! The streets in Lisbon, especially the one where the trams go, are very narrow, the buildings are tall and the tram sits low, therefore all you can see is the bottom of the building rushing by you, sometimes as close as 3 feet away. No chance to see anything that close or take a nice picture. You could stretch your arm outsides the window and try and make a video, risking a passerby to snatch your phone from your hand. Same thing goes for every stop the tram makes, you need to hold on tide to your belongings because everyone walking by could reach inside and grab your stuff. The tram gets packed by the 3rd stop so you can’t see around you anymore, only out the window. And if an elder or disabled person enters the tram, you will have to give your sit up, because at the end of the day this is a public transport and not a touring bus with reserved sitting. The sit you waited for more than one hour is now gone and if you thought your view was bad before, wait until you have to stand, because the windows do not go all the way up so all you see is out the window, at this angle is the pavement rushing by. If you do get to keep your seat you can make a couple of short videos when the tram turns to the same side you are sitting on, but that’s all. The only good place on the tram is either standing right behind the driver, but they do not let you stay there long because the ticket device is there and people need to use it on their way in, or all the way at the back of the tram, but the exit is there and people are constantly pushing and squishing you on the way out, plus the windows there are different and the pictures come out bad. Overall experience - terrible. People who tell you they had a great time on that tram are either lying to you because they are ashamed of wasting 3 hours of their expensive holiday on that horrible experience, either have never been on a tram in their...

For people vacationing at Lisbon:

OVERRATED! Waste of time... getting BAKED in the scorching summer sun. The wait on a busy summer day is about 1.5h .. the tram comes once every 10min and carries just under 20 passengers... the line is super long. This is just an ordinary streetcar/ light rail, street train.. whatever you call it - but .. tiny, rocky uncomfortable and you cant get any good views/photos. It's good if you are getting around in it.. sure. But otherwise just skip it and save urself 3 hours of your vacation. I myself initially tagged as a "to see" as seeing how it got a 4.1 on over 10k reviews AND it was everywhere on tourist souvenirs.. on t-shirts, postcards, Keychain, magnets... you name it. So on my very last day in Lisbon... I thought to myself, heck. Why not right? I don't know why I passed on it for all my trip! ( little did I know it was a blessing in disguise that I ignored lol) ... it was only until im a good hour in and more than half way in line did I think... wait a minute.. let's read some reviews... and wow, had I known, I 100% wouldn't have taken it!!! There are reviews that says 30min wait.. or whatever... NOPE! Those are false, the ones that warn you otherwise are accurate. I have the math here so you can Calc your boarding time... peoplr in line/ 20 * 10mins = your wait time. If it's short.. sure why not. But anything over like 2 trams full don't even bother.

Hopefully this review saved some people's time - Yes its an historical tram.. yes its old looking.. and yes some even say its kinda cute.. BUT don't let those cute looks fool you!!!!! You can hop on to get to places, but if you are expecting anything more than just a normal bus ride.. and add in some hard seats and ear punctures from screeches and bumps and shakes and nothing much to see anyways... then just pass.

You have been warned! 😆 Take at...

Traditional tram ride in Lisbon, round the corner from Rossio square! A must when on holiday in Lisbon. I recently visited in June 2024 and decided to ride the tram on my last day when I had a bit of time to spare. The Electro Tram 28 is extremely busy as expected. I went mid afternoon and waited around an hour but I didn't mind as I think the tram is a great way to see the backstreets of the city.

There are many Tuk Tuk hawkers who will try to dis-persuade you from the long wait and tell you its better to view the city with them. The tram ride is worth the wait and a lot cheaper. I only paid 3 euros and some change.

You wait a bit but when they arrive, usually 3/4 come at once. The trams mostly go in the direction of Prazeres but the one I took was for Carreira which I didn't mind as I had waited a while and just wanted to get on. It's a fun ride and you get to see local parts of Lisbon which you may not see otherwise. There are many little backstreets/steep hills along the way.

People stand quite closely in the queue so make sure your bag is in front of you and your belongings secure.

The Carreira route which I took, goes the backstreets up the hill, you do see the sea on the left briefly and go past the famous Lisboa Cathedral and Praca de Comercio square arch. The route ends Chiado near the town square where the shops...