Lisbon for 1 evening: Where would you stay?

[SeaWatch]

We have a flight stopover in Lisbon on our way home after our cruise. We arrive around 3pm and fly out the next morning at 10 am.

 

Any suggestions on where to stay to maximize the little time we have there?

 

Frequent visitors to Lisbon: what would you do from 4 to midnight?

 

Thanks!

[roothy123]

I was hoping someone would answer this, as we will be spending a night and morning on our own in Lisbon pre-cruise and I was curious as to where would be a good place to spend the night. I'm not crazy about big, fancy, American-style hotels, and would love to find a more "homey" hotel for the night. I'm just not sure WHERE - Baixa (spelling?) or Alfama or near Rossio station? Near the big park (Pombal?) with the great view of the city and port spread beneath?

 

I am planning to muddle around in Alfama while I'm there, visit the Discoveries monument, the Belem Tower, the Monastery, Pombal area and the park. My husband is also interested in the Maritime Museum. We will likely just get a transportation day pass rather than using the more expensive Hop On Hop Off bus.

 

Can anyone answer the poster's plea for help, or mine?

[Mands&Ian]

We stayed at the Britania a couple of years ago. Relatively small, great location and consistently gets good feedback. We'd happily book there again post-cruise.

Mands

[KirkNC]

IMHO the nicest area in Lisbon is Belem but I am not sure of hotel opportunities there. The old section of Lisbon can be a little rough.

[Keith1010]

Be sure to also check out http://www.tripadvisor.com which is Cruise Critic's sister site.

 

Keith

[Hlitner]

Lisbon has an excellent public transit system so we normally are not too picky about where we stay. As to the evening, if you are a music lover you might consider going to a decent Fado dinner show. Our personal favorite is a restaurant/Fado show at Senor Vinho (http://www.srvinho.com/). If you do go to this restaurant it often pays to arrive a little early so you can snag one of the better table locations for the Fado show. Reservations are also important.

 

Hank

Edited November 11, 2013 by Hlitner

[cruise_bunnies]

For a short stay 4pm-midnight, I'd recommend having a hotel near Rossio. That means that after arriving, you can shop around Rossio Square, then walk up to Baixa-Chiado (reminder, that's rather steep and not wheel chair accesible) which has a lot of luxury shops and end in Barrio Alto, where you can hang out in the bars, listen to Fado or other live music and have a great dinner. All in all, depending on how much you shop, it's around a 15-20 mins walk up from Rossio to Barrio Alto.

 

If you are tired going down you can grab a taxi for as little as €5-€10 euros.

 

I would not recommend sleeping near Barrio Alto or Chiado, because of the noise. Rossio is also a well lit area and is very wide and well maintained. It's near the harbor as well, so depending on where you ship docks you can either walk it there or grab a short taxi ride.

[cruise_bunnies]

I was hoping someone would answer this, as we will be spending a night and morning on our own in Lisbon pre-cruise and I was curious as to where would be a good place to spend the night. I'm not crazy about big, fancy, American-style hotels, and would love to find a more "homey" hotel for the night. I'm just not sure WHERE - Baixa (spelling?) or Alfama or near Rossio station? Near the big park (Pombal?) with the great view of the city and port spread beneath?

 

I am planning to muddle around in Alfama while I'm there, visit the Discoveries monument, the Belem Tower, the Monastery, Pombal area and the park. My husband is also interested in the Maritime Museum. We will likely just get a transportation day pass rather than using the more expensive Hop On Hop Off bus.

 

Can anyone answer the poster's plea for help, or mine?

 

If you have the time (not sure how long you have), I'd take a hotel near Pombal, you will be central to many sights and it's easier to move around the subway stations. You will also have less noise and traffic, but you will need to move around, as it doesn't have any spectacular dining options, unless you want to eat at your hotel.

 

For Belem, all you would have to do is take the green line down to Rossio/Cais do Sodre) and hop on the metro/tram (I think it's E15).

 

Definitely do not do HoHo unless you have limited time and want to see all the sights. Otherwise it's just very expensive as all public transport and taxi's are cheap in Lisbon.

[roothy123]

 

Definitely do not do HoHo unless you have limited time and want to see all the sights. Otherwise it's just very expensive as all public transport and taxi's are cheap in Lisbon.

 

Glad to hear your input on the HOHO. I am going to be in Lisbon about 48 plus hours and am debating between the 6 euro all day public transportation pass and the HOHO, which is reasonable given that I will have 2 days to explore. However, I was a bit worried about how long I might have to wait for the HOHO versus a local tram or bus that might be going to the same locations I want to visit. Your comment is making me think I should just buy a day pass (or 2 day pass if available), do some research, and plot out my adventures on my own.

[cruise_bunnies]

Glad to hear your input on the HOHO. I am going to be in Lisbon about 48 plus hours and am debating between the 6 euro all day public transportation pass and the HOHO, which is reasonable given that I will have 2 days to explore. However, I was a bit worried about how long I might have to wait for the HOHO versus a local tram or bus that might be going to the same locations I want to visit. Your comment is making me think I should just buy a day pass (or 2 day pass if available), do some research, and plot out my adventures on my own.

 

Sorry, was on a cruise, and just passed Lisbon again :)

Definitely don't do HoHo, you have enough time to do Lisbon on your own and it will be much cheaper. Also, Lisbon offers many sights and the HoHo doesn't do all of them. You can now pick and choose what you prefer to do.

 

There are only day passes, sadly, so no way to make it cheaper.

 

There is however a Go Lisboa card

 

• 24 hours Lisboa Card: 18.50 euros
  
• 48 hours Lisboa Card: 31.50 euros
  
• 72 hours Lisboa Card: 39.00 euros
  

Which will include travel and discounts on some of the sights. Some of these however are already free and touted as free on the website (which I find a bit off putting). So, instead of paying €12, you can pay €31,50 which might make it worth it, depending on what you are going to see.