1 - 2

Lisbon provides a wide range of accommodation catering for all types of visitors or tourist to the capital. Over the last 5 years there has been a steady year on year rise of prices and Lisbon is no longer the budget destination it once was with the price of accommodation comparable with most other European capital cities.

This accommodation and hotel rooms guide is not written to promote or recommend any specific hotel or hostel, hotels can change owners and standards fluctuate between seasons. This accommodation guide has been written to assist you in your choice of location of the hotel and to provide a few helpful tips when selecting a hotel or hostel in Lisbon.

For all new visitors to Lisbon it is suggested to stay within the Baixa & Rossio or the south end of Avenue de Libidard near Praca dos Restauradoresa. This area is packed full of hotels has excellent transport connections (bus, metro and tram) and is within walking distance of many of the popular tourist attractions. Bairro Alto is again popular but the area can be very noisy on Friday and Saturday nights with Lisbon revellers crowding on the streets socialising.

 

Alfama has a number of good hostels but because of the narrow poorly lit streets care must be taken late at night, Alfama has a lot of hills to climb. To stay further north of marquis Pombal Square will require constant use of public transport and the feel of just being outside all of the action. For hotels with extensive amenities eg swimming pools are found outside of Lisbon city heading towards Cascais.

General Information for Booking Accommodation in Lisbon

 

With the advent of the internet booking accommodation has never been so easy, gone are the days of phoning Portugal with both parties never truly understanding what the other is saying, but internet booking does have some disadvantages.

 

Every hotel that appears on intermediate booking websites pay high levels of commission and many good and established hotels do not wish to pay this additional change as they have regular customers from other sources, therefore limiting their visibility on the web. For example three of my favourite low/mid range hotels in Baixa were very difficult to even locate on the internet let alone trying to book a room.

The levels of booking fees vary from website to website so shop around first before booking a room using the internet. Reviews posted describing hostels and hotels are often very dated, only really consider the views or reviews that have been written within the last year and remember every one has very different opinions of service and quality.

Always try to book well ahead as accommodation can become sparse during the summer months with the poorer options remaining. If caught in this situation just book a couple of nights and try to locate a better establishment while out in Lisbon.

Before booking any accommodation, ensure that the location is either close to the historic centre of Baixa or close to a major tube station. The metro shuts early with the last train around 22:30 but afterwards taxis prices significantly increase and nights in Lisbon start very late.

1 - 2