When thinking of a bridge in Lisbon, the first one that comes to mind for most people would be the Ponte 25 de Abril. Quite remarkable if you consider that Lisbon is also home to the longest bridge in Europe. Often forgotten, but that does not make this bridge any less impressive.  With a length of 17.2 km, the Ponte Vasco da Gama is the longest continuous bridge in Europe. Yes, the Crimean bridge is 19 km, but with an island in the middle, it’s technically 2 bridges, so Portugal is still number 1. This guide tells you all you need to know about the Ponte Vasco da Gama, including a fun fact at the end. Financial challenges With the Ponte 25 de Abril unable to handle the increased volume of commuters, plans were made to build an extra bridge over the widest part of the river Tejo. Ideas of this new bridge were around for decades already, but the length in combination with the soft swampy ground and the chance of seismic activity pushed the cost for this project way beyond the government's budget. A big help in overcoming these financial challenges was the World Expo 1998 being held in Lisbon, bringing in investors, leading to the city’s biggest renewal project since the 1755 earthquake. The Portuguese government outsourced the building, maintenance, and most importantly, the financing to private companies. Therefore, this bridge didn’t cost the Portuguese tax payers a cent. Consortium Lusoponte, consisting of Portuguese, French and British companies, got the contract for the almost impossible task of finishing this bridge before the World Expo. In return they get all the toll income for both bridges for the next 40 years. With a toll ranging between €3.20 for cars up to €13.55 for trucks and an average of 60.000 vehicles crossing this bridge every day, Lusoponte is earning back the investment. Engineering masterpiece It only took Lusoponte 3 years to build this bridge: eighteen months of preparation and eighteen months of construction. The bridge was built in 4 separate pieces executed by 4 different companies overlooked by Lusoponte.  The foundations of the bridge reach 95 meter underground. The pylons built on shock absorbers and hydraulic couplings, are not fixed to the deck, making it able to move separately. According to the architects, the bridge can withstand earthquakes stronger than the one in 1755, winds of over 250 km/h and even ships colliding with the bridge.  All this together, makes the Ponte Vasco da Gama a true engineering masterpiece. Opening of the bridge As mentioned previously, a main reason to rush the construction was the 1998 World Expo starting on 22 May. Theme of this World Expo was “World oceans” aligning with the 500 year anniversary of Vasco da Gama reaching Calicut. For this reason the bridge is named after the most famous Portuguese explorer. On 29 March 1998, it was finally time to open up the bridge to traffic. It’s a shame they couldn’t wait another 52 days to 20 May, as this would be exactly 500 years after the man after whom this bridge got its name, became the first European to sail from Europe to India. Parque das Naçoes: The area close to the bridge has gone through a huge transformation from the start of the construction till today. After the World Expo, the area got closed for 6 months, buildings were already sold to investors before the Expo to prevent them from being abandoned and making sure the event wouldn’t leave Portugal with a huge debt. Nowadays it’s a true modern center of the city, with the main entrance to the Expo being converted to the Vasco da Gama shopping center, the Vasco da Gama tower being a 5-star hotel and apartment blocks housing thousands of people.  Wherever you go in Parque das Naçoes, you’re never far away from a breath taking view over the river and of course the Vasco da Gama bridge. Fun fact: One week before opening the bridge, 15,000 people, including the workers, got invited for lunch on the bridge. Everyone was sitting on the same table, stretching out for over 5 km, breaking the world record for longest table setting. On this long table, people were enjoying feijoada, a typical Portuguese stew with meat, sausages and black beans. Very tasty, but it can get a bit messy, especially with that many people. This was kind of the point as the event was hosted by detergent producer Fairy as part of a marketing campaign.

Starting your day with a coffee and pastel de nata in the pleasant morning sun at your local pastelaria, followed by some cultural activities in Belém and exploring the narrow streets of Alfama, to finish off your day with dinner and some drinks in Bairro Alto. Sounds good right? But how do you get from one place to the other as fast and as easily as possible? Public transport of course!  This guide will help you understand the public transport system of Portugal’s capital, so you can enjoy your days here without wasting too much time on figuring out how to get from A to B. I will cover what to do when arriving in Lisbon, the different forms of public transport and how to pay for them. Navegante card There are basically 2 main points of arrival in the city. The airport when you come by plane, or one of the trainstations when you combine your Lisbon trip with a visit to Porto or the Algarve. In both cases, there is a metro station from where you can go to your accommodation.  To pay for the metro you have 3 options: Check in with your bank card. (€1.80) Buy a Navegante card with zapping (€1.61 + once €0.50) Buy a Navegante card with a single ticket (€1.80 + once €0.50 - Not recommended) Since 2023 it’s finally possible to pay with your bank card when taking the metro. If you don’t plan on using the public transport besides your 2 trips from and to the airport for instance, this is the best option. However, if you are planning on using public transport more often, I would recommend getting the Navegante card with zapping. The Navegante card is the yellow paper card that can be used for all public transport in the entire Lisbon metropolitan area. These cards can be purchased on the machines or ticket counters on all metro or train stations. You pay once a €0.50 fee for the card and with the option zapping you can add credit to the card.  Benefits of the Navegante card in comparison with paying by bank card are the following: Bank card payments are only possible in the metro, Navegante in all forms of public transport, like metro, bus, tram and train. Zapping on the Navegante card gives you a discount. Especially on the more touristy forms of public transport, like the old trams or funicular, this discount can save you a lot of money. Public transport in Lisbon Now you know the easiest and cheapest way to pay for your transportation, let’s dive deeper into the different forms of public transport in Lisbon.  Metro I’ve already mentioned the metro a lot in the first part, mainly because this is the most commonly used way of public transport in Lisbon. It’s the fastest and most comfortable way to get around. There are 4 metro lines, green, blue, red and yellow. The metro stations can easily be found with the big red and white M signs in the streets. The metro is open from 6.30 AM to 1 AM every day. Unfortunately in most cases, the metro does not bring you to the higher hilly neighbourhoods. The map can be found here . Tram & funicular Unlike the metro, the trams (especially the old small yellow trams) cover the hills of Lisbon much better. Tram 28 and 12 are an easy connection between the most popular hills of São Jorge (Castle, Alfama, Graça) and São Roque (Chiado, Bairro Alto, Principe Real). The modern long tram 15e brings you from central Lisbon to Belém. There are 4 funiculars to climb the hills, glória, Bica, Lavre and Graça. Besides a form of public transport, the trams and funiculars are also a popular tourist attraction. Unlike what many (online) tourist guides say, avoid going to Martim Moniz (one of the start points) to take tram 28 from there. The lines, especially in the high season, can take up to 2 hours! It’s public transport, so you can get in at all the stops and if you want to take the trip from beginning to end, you can better go to the other start point at Campo Ourique (Prazeres) .  Make sure to pay with the Navegante card to avoid the tourist scams when you pay in the front. Tram costs only €1.35 instead of €3.00 and the funicular also €1.35 instead of €3.80 in the front. Bus With over 170 lines, this basically covers the entire city, including some places you can’t get to by metro or tram. If you’re in a rush, this might not be the perfect way as the times buses arrive are not very reliable. But then again, where are they? Train Unlike most big cities, Lisbon does not have one main central train station, from which you can go in every direction. Instead there are different train stations that go their own way. The 2 most important ones are Cais do Sodré and Rossio. From Cais do Sodré you can take the train to Cascais and from Rossio you can go to Sintra. The price with zapping is €1.90 one way, does not matter how far you go. Taxis Technically not public transport, but still an important method of transportation through the city. The classic taxis in Lisbon can easily be recognized, they are all black with a bit of a strange green coloured roof. The starting fee is between €3,25 and €3,90 depending on the time of day, with an extra €1,60 fee for luggage. Personally I would never take the classic taxis, but an Uber or Bolt instead. Besides that they are cheaper, I just think it’s a much more reliable way. The price is already fixed when you order, so you don’t need to worry about paying too much for a taxi that takes all the detours. You simply order in the app and the driver picks you up wherever you want.