Things to do in Lisbon before Portugal tour starts

We did a day trip to Sintra, which was a lot of fun. Took the train in the morning, visited several of the castles & gardens, had dinner, then the train back. We also used tuk-tuks while there to make it faster & easier to go from site to site since they are spread out and it is a LOT of walking. The shuttles were generally very crowded so it helped with that as well. They were all fun rides. We were able to visit Pena Palace, Quinta De Regaleira, the National Palace and Monserrate.

I highly recommend a visit to the Gulbenkiam Museum. A varied and interesting collection. And they have a wonderful cafeteria!

Seconding a day trip to Sintra. If I recall correctly, Castelo de Sao Jorge is not on the tour, although you do walk through the Alfama district. If it's a nice day, that's a great viewpoint. The tile museum is also not on the tour (or wasn't). Wandering through Rua Augusta, the pedestrian shopping street is touristy but fun. If you are staying at the Hotel Lisboa Plaza, there was an excellent Indian restaurant up the hill from there, I think it was called Tamarind. We also had great Peruvian food at QOSQO.

Lisbon is beautiful and interesting. There is so much to do that five nights is not a lot of time. You will not get bored.

Just walking around Lisbon is a joy but there are four or five hoho bus routes. Each route is different and you pay for each one separately.

Belem is another place to consider if it is not included in your tour. You could easily spend a wonderful day there. A lot to do and see.

I believe Gulbenkian and Belem are included on the tour...

The Gulbenkian Museum and the Tile Museum are both temporary closed.

The Castelo de S. Jorge has a guided tour included in the ticket price, it’s pretty good.