Where to Stay in Lisbon

01
Baixa and Chiado
Best for a first visit
The flat grid at the centre of everything, with the metro under it and both hills a short climb away. The most convenient base and priced accordingly.
Walk to old city
You are in it
At night
Medium
Nearest metro
Baixa-Chiado, in the middle
02
Príncipe Real
Best for a quieter stay
Above Bairro Alto, with a garden square and the best small restaurants in the city. Quiet at night, and the walk home is uphill — which is the trade.
Walk to old city
15 min downhill
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Rato, 6 min
03
Alfama
Best for being inside the old city
Medieval lanes on the castle hill, and the only part of Lisbon that survived the 1755 earthquake. Beautiful, and hard work with a suitcase — the lanes are steps, and taxis cannot reach most doors.
Walk to old city
You are in it
At night
Quiet, but not silent
Nearest metro
Santa Apolónia, 10 min
04
Bairro Alto
Best for going out
The bar district. Genuinely loud on Friday and Saturday, when the drinking happens in the street rather than indoors.
Walk to old city
10 min downhill
At night
Loud until 3am
Nearest metro
Baixa-Chiado, 8 min
05
Avenida da Liberdade
Best for flying in and out
A wide boulevard of hotels with the airport metro line under it. Dull, but the easiest arrival and departure in the city.
Walk to old city
20 min downhill
At night
Quiet
Nearest metro
Avenida or Marquês, direct to the airport

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Where not to book

01
Bairro Alto on a Friday or Saturday if you plan to sleep — the drinking happens in the street, and it runs until about three in the morning.
02
Alfama with a large suitcase. Many addresses are up several flights of stone steps, taxis cannot reach the door, and the lanes are too narrow for a car.
03
Anything advertised as "near the airport" in Olivais or Moscavide — it is twenty minutes from anything you came to see, and the metro from the centre reaches the airport in twenty minutes anyway.

Common questions

Which area of Lisbon is best for first-time visitors?

Baixa or Chiado. They are flat, central, connected by metro, and put both the castle hill and Bairro Alto within a ten-minute walk.

Is it worth staying in Alfama?

It is the most atmospheric part of Lisbon and the hardest to arrive at. Worth it if you travel light and are staying several nights; not if you have a large suitcase or a late flight.

Where to Stay in Lisbon

Baixa and Chiado

Príncipe Real

Alfama

Bairro Alto

Avenida da Liberdade

Where not to book

Common questions

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