Adult
Ages 26–64
€30
- Castle + Camera Obscura + archaeological site
- Skip-the-line priority queue
- 5-minute audio history sent before your visit
- Flexible rebooking if we can't secure your slot
Where Lisbon was born
The 11th-century Moorish fortress on the city's highest hill, taken by Afonso Henriques in 1147 to found Portugal. Walk the parapet, watch the peacocks in the inner garden, and look down on the whole white city tumbling to the Tagus. Open-date ticket — use any day within 90 days of purchase.
See ticket options- 2,500 yrs Continuously occupied since the Iron Age
- 1147 Reconquered by Afonso Henriques
- 110 m Above the Tagus estuary
- Best view Of the entire Lisbon old town
Choose your ticket
Youth
Ages 13–25 (photo ID required)
€20
- Castle + Camera Obscura + archaeological site
- Skip-the-line priority queue
- 5-minute audio history sent before your visit
Senior
Ages 65+ (photo ID required)
€27
- Castle + Camera Obscura + archaeological site
- Skip-the-line priority queue
- 5-minute audio history sent before your visit
Child
Ages 0–12 (free entry)
€0
- Free entry under 12 with a paying adult
- Tickets on the same booking as the accompanying adult
Berlin, Germany
“The BOL portal is genuinely confusing in Portuguese — I tried twice on my phone before booking through them. Tickets in my inbox in under an hour, sunset on the ramparts an hour later.”
Edinburgh, Scotland
“We had two days in Lisbon and chose São Jorge over the others — the kids loved the Camera Obscura and the peacocks. The walk up Alfama is worth doing slowly.”
Tokyo, Japan
“The 5-minute audio briefing on the tram was the best part. Phoenician layers under a Moorish castle — I had no idea this hill had that much history.”
- Refund if we can't deliver
- Cards & Apple Pay
- Instant confirmation
- Concierge in your language, 24/7
5-minute audio guide
Your 5-minute Castelo de São Jorge briefing
A short, calm narrative — Phoenicians, Romans, Moors, the 1147 reconquest, the royal Alcáçova, and the 1755 earthquake. Listen on the walk up through Alfama or on the tram.
- Why this hill has been occupied for 2,500 years
- The 1147 siege — 17 weeks, with help from Northern European crusaders
- Why the castle was named for Saint George — the oldest continuous diplomatic alliance in the world
- What the 1755 earthquake destroyed and what survived
- The Camera Obscura in the Tower of Ulysses — what it actually does
- Best time on the ramparts: golden hour over the Tagus
Recorded for Castelo de São Jorge Tickets concierge. Free to download.
About Castelo de Sao Jorge
Castelo de São Jorge sits on the highest hill in central Lisbon — the Hill of São Jorge — looking down over the Tagus estuary, the old Alfama quarter, and the city's seven other hills. From the ramparts on a clear day you can see almost the entire historic centre laid out below, the river opening to the Atlantic, the suspension bridge, and the south bank thirty kilometres away.
The site has been continuously occupied since at least the Iron Age. Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, and the Umayyad Caliphate all used the hilltop. The visible fortress is essentially a Moorish castle — built and expanded between the 8th and 12th centuries by the Muslim rulers of Lisbon. Then in 1147, during the Second Crusade, King Afonso Henriques laid siege to the city for 17 weeks; the castle fell on 25 October.
For the next four centuries this was the royal residence of the Portuguese crown — the Alcáçova — through the great age of Portuguese exploration. Vasco da Gama was received here on his return from India in 1499. The 1755 earthquake destroyed the royal palace within the walls; the crown moved out and never moved back. Today it is operated by EGEAC as a national monument and museum.
“Booked through them in the morning, walked past a 25-minute queue at 6pm, watched the sun set over the Tagus from the eastern ramparts. Best concierge purchase of the trip.”
Practical information
- Opening hours
- Summer (1 March – 31 October): daily 09:00–21:00, last admission 20:30. Winter (1 November – 28/29 February): daily 09:00–18:00, last admission 17:30. Closed 1 January, 1 May, 24 December, 25 December, 31 December.
- Address
- Rua de Santa Cruz do Castelo, 1100-129 Lisboa, Portugal
- Getting there
- From central Lisbon, walk up through Alfama (~20 min from Praça do Comércio, steep cobblestones) or take Tram 28 to Largo das Portas do Sol and walk 5 min. Tuk-tuks operate constantly. From Lisbon Airport, Metro Red Line to Oriente then Blue Line + walk, or 20-min taxi.
- Accessibility
- Partially accessible. Outer courtyards and main viewing terraces are reachable on cobbled paths. The Castelejo (inner castle) involves narrow medieval stairs. Wheelchair users should contact EGEAC in advance.
- Bag policy
- Small bags allowed. Large backpacks may need to be checked at the entrance.
- Photography
- Personal non-flash photography permitted everywhere. Tripods, drones, and selfie sticks discouraged in narrow rampart sections.
About our service
Castelo de São Jorge Tickets acts as a facilitator to assist international visitors in purchasing skip-the-line tickets directly from EGEAC (Empresa de Gestão de Equipamentos e Animação Cultural) via the official BOL portal. We do not resell tickets — we provide a personalised booking and English-language support service that bypasses the Portuguese-default UI and the MB Way payment trap. Our concierge service fee is included in the displayed price. For those who prefer to purchase directly, the official portal is castelosaojorge.bol.pt.
Plan your visit
Practical guides written by our concierge team
Best Time to Visit Castelo de São Jorge
Lisbon's hilltop citadel changes character with the season, the hour and even the weather. A concierge breakdown of when to come for the best light, the smallest crowds and the most comfortable ramparts.
How to Get to Castelo de São Jorge
Six legitimate routes up the hill, ranked honestly by time, cost and effort — from the iconic tram 28 to the back-door bus that almost no first-time visitor knows about.
Castelo de São Jorge vs Belém Tower
Lisbon's two most-visited fortifications belong to different centuries, different geographies and different stories. A concierge comparison for visitors deciding between one, the other or both in a single day.
Frequently asked
Do I have to visit on the exact date I selected at checkout?
No. Castelo de São Jorge tickets sold by EGEAC are open-date — they admit you on any single day within 90 days of purchase. We collect a planned visit date at checkout so we can send you weather forecasts and the audio history at the right time, but your ticket is not locked to that date. Show up any day within 90 days and the gate will admit you. If your plans shift, no need to contact us — just use the ticket on a different day.
What's included in the skip-the-line ticket?
Entry to the entire Castelo de São Jorge complex: the inner castle (Castelejo) with its eleven towers, the rampart walks with panoramic Lisbon views, the Camera Obscura optical projection in the Tower of Ulysses, and the archaeological site preserving Phoenician, Roman, and Moorish layers beneath the fortress.
When should I arrive?
Late afternoon. Arriving 90 minutes before sunset puts you on the eastern ramparts at golden hour with Lisbon below in honey tones — the photograph everyone takes home. Mid-morning between 10:00 and noon is coach-tour peak; avoid if you can.
How long does a visit take?
Allow 2 hours minimum, 3 hours if you want to absorb the Camera Obscura, the archaeological museum, and the ramparts at a slow pace.
What about the famous Tram 28?
Tram 28 stops at Largo das Portas do Sol, a 5-minute walk from the castle gate. It's a romantic option but it's also the most pickpocketed tram in Lisbon — keep belongings front-zipped. Walking up through Alfama is more rewarding if you have decent shoes.
Is the castle wheelchair-accessible?
Partially. Outer courtyards and main viewing terraces are reachable. The inner castle involves narrow medieval stairs. Contact EGEAC at +351 218 800 620 in advance for the most current accessible route.
What is the Camera Obscura?
A working medieval-style optical device in the Tower of Ulysses that projects a live image of the surrounding city onto a concave screen — like a giant in-room periscope. A guide rotates the apparatus through 360 degrees and narrates what you're seeing. Twenty minutes well spent.
What's your refund policy?
Tickets are issued for a specific date and are non-transferable once issued. If your plans change, reply to your confirmation email at least 48 hours before your date and we will rebook your visit to any open slot in the operator's calendar.
Why book through a concierge?
The official BOL portal defaults to Portuguese, surfaces MB Way (a Portuguese-only payment app) prominently, and many international cards fail at checkout without a clear error. We handle the portal in English on your behalf, deliver a clean QR ticket to your inbox within 2 hours, and give you a real human contact if anything changes.