Cacilhas is the ferry terminal on the Almada side of the Tejo, directly across from Lisbon. Coming here to catch the boat is half the point — it is the best way into the city — and there is enough on this side to fill the morning first.
The ferry
Boats cross to Cais do Sodré in about ten minutes, every ten to twenty minutes through the day. From the water you get the whole Lisbon waterfront, the 25 de Abril bridge overhead, and on the way back the Cristo Rei standing above you. It takes a normal transport card.
Seafood and the Ginjal
Cacilhas is known for its seafood restaurants, several right by the terminal. From there a walkway, the Rua do Ginjal, runs west along the river under the cliff — past old warehouses, some derelict, some now bars — with Lisbon full in view across the water.
The Fragata Dom Fernando II e Glória
Moored at Cacilhas, this is a restored nineteenth-century sailing frigate, the last of the Portuguese navy’s sail-powered ships, now a museum you can go aboard.
Good to know
- The ferry runs from early until late; check the last boat back if you stay in Lisbon for the evening
- The Ginjal walk is unpaved in places and partly through ruins — fine by day
- About 20 minutes by car from our apartment, or by bus
- Combine with the Cristo Rei, a few minutes up the hill