Pilar 7 Bridge Experience

Know this before you go: the lift inside Pilar 7 is under maintenance, and the only way up to the viewing platform is 372 steps, about 80 metres up the pillar. Visit Lisboa, which sells the tickets, flags the lift problem on its pages and has cut the online price to €3 for every ticket type while it lasts. If you have mobility problems, heart trouble or little time, skip it: the ground-floor model room and virtual reality booth are not worth the trip on their own. If you are fit and want the view, it is one you cannot get elsewhere. From the platform, part of which has a glass floor, you look across the Tagus to Cristo Rei on the south bank, down on the Alcântara docks and east towards the city centre, with the bridge's steelwork close by. Getting there: it is about 5.2 km from the terminal. Take a Cascais-line train from Cais do Sodré to Alcântara-Mar and walk a short way to Avenida da Índia, or take a taxi, which takes 12–15 minutes. Tram 15E also stops at Alcântara. Opening hours are 10:00 to 18:00 daily, with last entry at 17:00; it is closed on 25 December. Allow about an hour inside, more if you rest on the stairs. The platform is exposed, so bring a layer and skip the visit on a day of low cloud or strong wind. Visitors have also reported closed rooms and out-of-order toilets during the lift outage, so set your expectations accordingly. It works best paired with LX Factory, about 15 minutes' walk inland, or as a stop on the way west to Belém. Context: the attraction opened in 2017, giving the public access to the inside of the bridge for the first time.