Lisboa card or online Tix at Monastery of Jeronimos

We had pre-purchased our entry to the monastery for our trip in April of this year. It was of little help, though. I guess it saved us the 5 minutes of walking up to the window to purchase the ticket. The real line was the entry line - everyone goes through it - prebought ticket or not. It was long every time we drove by during our week in Lisbon and on the day we actually went to the site, we stood out front in the line for about 45 minutes waiting to enter.

Many of the people in line with us did not know that they had to buy tickets somewhere else - back at a gated entry at the start of the line. They waited the 45 minutes with us and then were turned away to go buy tickets and start the process over. We felt terrible for them.

So is the solution to get there at 8:30am to quickly get my voucher at the TI and then hurry to stand in the entry line?

on 9/22/2022 which is a Sunday

I think you must have a typo in the date. Sept 22, 2022 is a Thursday. I don’t know if this makes a difference.

I’m not sure what the best entry time is - maybe someone with more Lisbon knowledge will chime in.

I see that the monastery opens at 9:30 and that from 9:30 to 10:30 they say there is preferential access to “persons accompanied by guides with pre-acquired groups”. I don’t know what that means for the lines at that time for independent travelers.

Yes, typo …..Sunday 9/25……Also I saw that note of tour groups having preference from 9:30 - 10:30am. I don’t know what that means either - not sure I like it though.

This was a year ago, so I don’t know how useful it will be, but we could not book ahead and waited an hour in the hot sun to buy our tickets. The line has no shade, so bring a hat and sunglasses, or buy them from the vendors taking advantage of those who didn’t.

I went to Jeronimos Monastery yesterday:

• I bought my ticket online the evening before
• I arrived at the monastery at 920am
• I did not have to walk to the other end of the monastery to buy a ticket
• I waited in the line for individual ticket holders (not ticket buyers, the line was for ticket holders only)
• at 930 there were 2 tour groups that got to go in first, then individuals; each tour group that arrived had preference over the individuals in the line

But here's the amazing fabulous cool side of my experience:

• when the tour groups went in, they gathered in their little corners and listened to their guide for a while
• while I wandered around the cloister by myself!!!! I have dozens of pictures with nobody in them. Along the cloisters. Across the cloisters.
• everywhere I went within the monastery, I was practically on my own.

They seriously stood there in their groups while I took my Rick Steves guidebook tour.

And that's not all!!!

After finishing the monastery - at 10am, well before any of the groups - I went back outside to find the church. It's a separate line and entrance, free and no ticket required.

• I was 3rd in line, behind one couple
• the church doesn't open until 1030, so I elected to wait there for 30 minutes while the line formed behind me (no precedence for tour groups, though there happened to be a large group not far behind me)
• once in, I was once again practically on my own (for a while) and have beautiful photos up tha middle of the church with no people in sight!

Based solely on my experience, I would say don't fear the tour groups. The caveat is that there were only 2 that went in ahead of me; there could have been 3 or 5 or a gazillion.

But there weren't.

By the time I left at 1030, the line for the monastery was very long (hundreds of people) but moving. Tour groups arrived occasionally. The line for the church looked miserably long (also hundreds of people) and seemed to crawl. Both lines were in full morning sun.