A month in Lisbon

A month in a registered Alojamento Local is still an AL stay. The AL number stays on the listing, the lodging files the guest registration form, and the Lisbon tourist tax applies but stops counting after 7 nights: EUR 4 a night for 7 nights, EUR 28 per guest aged 13 or over for a month in one place.

A lease is the other route. Under the Portuguese Civil Code a fixed-term residential lease normally runs at least a year, but that minimum does not apply to leases for special transitory purposes such as work, study or tourism, as long as the purpose is written into the contract. Only one transitory lease for tourist purposes may be signed per unit per calendar year.

Avenidas Novas works for a month: metro lines into the centre, everyday shops and streets outside the historic camera zones. Parque das Nações is flat, modern and close to the airport, with the riverside promenade on the doorstep. Príncipe Real is walkable and calmer than Bairro Alto next door.

Alfama works well for a week and is harder for a month with a car, because the car lives in a car park outside a camera zone that runs around the clock. This ranking is editorial, not a statistic.

Deposit: on a lease, the deposit (caução) may not exceed two months' rent, and rent may be paid in advance for no more than two months. A platform booking is not a lease, so the platform's own terms apply instead.

Registration at the lodging: a boletim de alojamento is filed for every foreign guest, EU nationals included.

EU, EEA, Swiss and Andorran citizens staying longer than three months request a Certificado de Registo from the Câmara Municipal where they live, within 30 days after the first three months.

Visitors from outside the EU are limited to 90 days in any 180-day period across the Schengen area; longer stays need a national visa. Non-EU visitors who arrive in Portugal from another Schengen country must declare their entry within three working days, unless they stay in lodging that files the registration form for them.

The EU Entry/Exit System registers non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay in 29 European countries and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026.

Vrbo's monthly-stays page, as archived in June 2026, describes stays of 28 nights or more and says select homes offer a discount for them. Agoda lets its partners create long-stay promotions, invites some to offer a discount on bookings of more than 28 days, and permits stays of up to 90 days. How Expedia filters month-long stays could not be verified, so this guide does not name its filter.

Whatever the label, the legal status comes from the listing: an AL number means an AL stay; a direct contract for a transitory purpose means a lease.

A listing without an AL number, or a lease that does not state its transitory purpose. The first is missing what the law requires in advertising; the second may not qualify for the short-lease exception.

Planning on street parking. EMEL street stays are capped at two to four hours; a month with a car needs a car park, and only some EMEL car parks sell monthly subscriptions. Belém's is hourly only.

A deposit above two months' rent on a lease, which the Civil Code does not allow.

Miscounting Schengen days. The 90 in 180 limit covers the whole Schengen area, not just Portugal.

Assuming utilities are included. No reliable source on typical practice was found, so ask.