Where to live in Lisbon for international schools: St Julian's, OIS and CAISL

If your child will attend St Julian's, OIS or CAISL, the answer to where to live in Lisbon for international schools is usually not Lisbon itself: live on the Cascais train line for St Julian's, in or near Oeiras for OIS, and on one of CAISL's school bus routes for CAISL. All three schools sit west of the city, in three different municipalities, and the right base depends more on how your child gets to school than on distance on a map.

This guide sets out the geography, the rents in each municipality on official 2026 figures, and the fees each school publishes for 2026/2027.

Where are St Julian's, OIS and CAISL?

The three schools are in Cascais, Oeiras and Sintra municipalities, not in Lisbon.

1. St Julian's School is at Quinta Nova, Av Jorge V, 374, 2775-588 Carcavelos, in the Cascais municipality, according to the school's website.
2. Oeiras International School is in the Oeiras municipality. The school describes its site as a green environment near Lisbon and does not publish a street address on its homepage, so ask admissions for the exact gate before you look at flats.
3. CAISL, the Carlucci American International School of Lisbon, is at Rua Antonio dos Reis 95, Linho, 2710-301 Sintra, according to the school's website.

Carcavelos and Oeiras both have stations on the Cascais line. Linho is inland, off that line.

Where should you live for St Julian's School in Carcavelos?

For St Julian's, the strongest choice is a home near a station on the Cascais line. Trains run from Cais do Sodre about every 20 minutes, with extra services at rush hour, and take 33 to 45 minutes to Cascais depending on stops, according to the Cascais Portugal travel guide (accessed 26 September 2026). The same guide gives an adult single at 2.55 euros, a child single at 1.30 euros and a zapping fare of 2 euros.

Stations on the line include Alcantara-Mar, Belem, Caxias, Paco de Arcos, Santo Amaro, Oeiras, Carcavelos, Parede, Sao Pedro do Estoril, Estoril, Monte Estoril and Cascais. A home at Parede or Carcavelos keeps the trip short. Belem and Alcantara keep a Lisbon address on the same line.

Passes change the maths for families. Metropolitano de Lisboa lists the Navegante Metropolitano at 40 euros a month for adults, and young people aged 4 to 23 travel free on a personalised Navegante card.

St Julian's also runs a door to door bus with a partner company, in three zones. For 2026/2027 a round trip costs 1,098, 1,204 or 1,364 euros per term depending on the zone, and a zone runs only if enough students subscribe. Morning buses arrive between 8:00 and 8:10, and primary lessons start at 8:20.

Where should you live for Oeiras International School?

For OIS, live in Oeiras or a neighbouring Cascais line town such as Paco de Arcos or Carcavelos. The municipality has its own stations, but a campus is not a platform, so plan for the school bus or a short drive for the last leg.

OIS publishes three bus zones for 2026/2027. A round trip costs 770, 845 or 880 euros per term, and a one way trip 450 to 550 euros. Ask which zone your street falls in before you sign a lease.

Where should you live for CAISL in Linho, Sintra?

For CAISL, live where its school bus runs, or accept a daily drive. The Sintra railway runs from Rossio in about 40 minutes and from Oriente in about 47, roughly every 20 minutes (Sintra Portugal travel guide, accessed 26 September 2026), but it does not stop at Linho.

CAISL says its bus serves the most populated areas of Cascais and Lisbon, with routes built around the main metro and train corridors, and picks up at home where possible. It does not reach every address, and the school asks families to check with its accounts office. For 2026/2027 the bus costs 3,632 euros a year for a round trip, or 1,816 euros one way.

If you drive, test the route at school time on a weekday. None of our sources publishes a reliable peak drive time, and a Saturday viewing tells you nothing about a Tuesday in November.

How much is rent near the international schools west of Lisbon?

Rents in Cascais and Oeiras are close to Lisbon's, so moving west buys a shorter school run more than a cheaper flat. INE, Statistics Portugal, measured median rents on new leases over the 12 months to March 2026 (published 26 June 2026):

INE does not quote Sintra's figure in its text. Its chart ranks Sintra below Porto (14.29 euros), and every Greater Lisbon municipality above the national median. The T3 column is our model: the median multiplied by 100 square metres.

These are agreed rents on declared contracts, not asking prices. Numbeo's crowd figures for a three bedroom flat in Lisbon, updated 24 September 2026, are 2,526.09 euros in the city centre and 1,767.39 euros outside it. Expect listings for family homes to sit above the INE medians. Our post on Lisbon rent prices in 2026 explains why asking and signed rents move differently.

How much do St Julian's, OIS and CAISL cost in 2026/2027?

Annual tuition runs from about 12,100 to 30,000 euros a child across the three schools, on each school's own 2026/2027 schedule.

St Julian's says all admission fees are non refundable and gives 15 percent off tuition for a third child attending at the same time. Lunches cost extra at St Julian's (1,209 to 1,459 euros a year) and CAISL (1,212 euros from Grade 1). OIS lists a meal at 7 euros.

Apply early. The schools.reviews guide says St Julian's and OIS consistently run waiting lists and advises applying 6 to 12 months before you arrive.

What should you check before signing a lease when moving to Portugal with children?

Pick the school first and the flat second. Then work through this list:

1. Get the exact address and gate from the school, not only the municipality.
2. Ask which bus zone or route covers the streets you are considering, and whether that route will run this year.
3. Do the trip door to door at school time on a weekday, with the transport you will really use.
4. If the plan is a car, add the second car, fuel and parking to the rent before you compare towns.
5. Budget signing day on top of the rent. Our post on the Lisbon rental deposit sets out the deposit cap and what landlords usually ask for up front.

For the full monthly picture with two children, read our sourced budget for a family of four in Lisbon. To weigh Lisbon against another base, use the Destination comparison, and check your residence route with Visa Check.

Updated on 26 September 2026. Rules and prices change: confirm with the official source linked above before you act.