Travel Muse Magazine

September 4, 2025 UPDATE: After the horrible tragedy that killed at least 16 people, everything about Lisbon’s historic elevadors is in flux. Right now, the cable cars, also known as funiculars and ascensores, are shut down city-wide while the investigation into how Ascensor Glória crashed into a building at the edge of the downhill curve toward Praça dos Restauradores. If you’re in Lisbon or going to be soon, the best thing to do is to check for updates on the Carris.pt website. This is the transportation company that runs all of the trams, funiculars, trains and buses in Lisbon. They’ll have updates on what’s open and when continuously updated.

Also check local news in English at The Portugal News website. This is a long-running trustworthy local news outlet based in Portugal that publishes news in multiple languages and has been doing print journalism there since 1977. Lisbon’s Público newspaper, which publishes in Portuguese, is another top source for local news updates. (Set your browser to “always translate” Portuguese to English and all the articles will be automatically readable for you.)

When more is known, we will update this article as well.

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August 28, 2025 – They’re sunshine yellow and draw the eye, even in the already colorful streets of Lisbon, Portugal. Everyone wants to ride Lisbon’s cool cable cars aka elevadors aka ascensores aka funiculars. Whatever you want to call them, they’re a popular and practical way up some of the city’s steep hills.

If you’re near the “Lisboa sign” in the Rossio area, you likely will see a line of people that look like they’re waiting for absolutely nothing, a line that stretches out onto the sidewalk just to the north of the Praça dos Restauradores. But those people are all actually waiting for Ascensor Glória. It’s a super popular (and popularized on socials) funicular. But there’s a better one to take that has no line: the Elevador do Lavra.

TIP: Make sure you buy an all day Carris tram-bus-metro pass for about €7, as all the funiculars and trams are included at no additional fee! This can be quite a savings as one short ride can otherwise cost about €4.

The Lavra cable car takes you up to a really cool and much less crowded, much less touristy but very cool part of Lisbon, where you can delight in a free public park (Campo dos Mártires da Pátria) and garden (Jardim Braancamp Freire) that has real roosters roaming around and chickens that roost in trees, of all things.

Not only is it cool to see the roosters being they’re such a symbol of the country, but there’s also a lovely little Italian restaurant up there in the park called La Villa where you can relax outdoors and eat good food.

If you haven’t heard of the Portuguese legend of the Rooster of Barcelos, you need to read that now. (Here’s a version from Visit Portugal.) It explains why you see the cute black rooster adorned with colorful art in every gift shop and even the airport.

Also in this park, there’s a statue (turned shrine) of Lisbon’s “renowned 1800s doctor” named José Tomás de Sousa Martins, who was dedicated to helping the poor. Sousa Martins has become almost “saint-like” in status and people leave offerings, plaques and more “giving thanks” for miracle cures. (Across the street is the NOVA Medical School and around the corner is a hospital). It’s pretty cool to see a scientist be so beloved.

Meantime, if you just really want to specifically ride the Gloria funicular too, go first thing in the morning (think 8am). The morning is such a calm time all around Lisbon and perfect for riding the famed Tram 28 too. By 8am in Ann Arbor, there’s traffic and people zipping about, filling up coffeeshops and walking everywhere. The same is true of most U.S. cities (and other major European cities too.) But, that’s not the case in Lisbon where mornings are much more relaxed and less crowded. We picked up Tram 28 with zero line around 8:30am on a Saturday and headed down through Alfama and all got window seats and enjoyed the views and crisp morning air. Walking through Alfama’s miradouros without crowds is a priceless (and even more gorgeous) experience. Plus, 8am is not actually that early. The summer sun is fully up, shining on the day. Granted, we found it hard to find cafes open that early. So just do the ride, enjoy the views, then get a galão (a latte) or bica (an espresso) to energize you right up afterwards.