Hotels
Best hotels in Lisbon: eight places on the right side of the hill
Tram 28 grinds its way up towards Graça, a woman hangs washing from a second-floor window, and down by the river the Tagus glitters so hard you have to squint. Lisbon is a city of hills, and your hotel decides how many of them you climb each day. These are the hotels we think are worth it, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
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Lisbon sits on seven hills, the Portuguese say, and it feels like more. What looks like a short stroll on the map can turn out to be a hundred steps and a cobbled drop. So choosing a hotel in Lisbon is first of all a choice of altitude: up in Chiado and Bairro Alto with the views and the nightlife, down in Baixa where it is flat and practical, or in Alfama where the streets are at their narrowest and oldest.
We have chosen eight hotels in four areas, from an old palace hotel by Rossio to Alfama terraces with the river in your lap. Some are expensive. Others are here because they offer unusually good value in a city that has become pricier in recent years. For each one we say who it suits and who should look elsewhere. The links go to Hotels.com, and the hotel was always chosen first.
Short answer: where to stay in Lisbon
Stay in Chiado on a first visit: it sits between Baixa and Bairro Alto, has tram and Metro stops, and you walk to most things without the worst of the climbs. Alfama suits anyone who wants old Lisbon with views and fado. Avenida da Liberdade is the choice if you prefer large, calm hotels and do not mind ten minutes on the Metro to the centre.
Best for romance: Memmo Alfama
Best for families: Valverde Hotel
Best for a first visit: Bairro Alto Hotel
Best for value: Hotel Avenida Palace
Best for design: Memmo Príncipe Real
How to choose a hotel in Lisbon
Think altitude, not distance: A hotel 500 metres away can be 60 metres above you. Check whether it sits on top of a hill or down by the river, and whether one of the public lifts, such as the Elevador de Santa Justa or the Elevador da Glória, is nearby.
Cobbles and suitcases do not mix: Alfama and Bairro Alto have lanes a taxi cannot enter. If you travel with heavy luggage, choose a hotel in Chiado, Baixa or along Avenida da Liberdade.
Bairro Alto is loud until three in the morning: The district is the city's night out, and the streets fill every evening. If you want to stay there, ask for a room at the back. If you want to sleep, stay in Chiado just below.
A roof terrace beats a pool: Lisbon is about light and views, and many hotels have terraces with the Tagus in sight. A pool is pleasant in August; a terrace is pleasant all year.
Breakfast in Portugal is coffee and a pastel de nata: Hotel breakfasts are often good, but the same coffee and better pastries are at the pastelaria on the corner for a fraction of the price.
Praça Luís de Camões
Chiado on one side, Bairro Alto on the other.
Chiado and Bairro Alto: up on the hill with the nightlife
Chiado is Lisbon's elegant quarter, with bookshops, coffee houses and theatres around Praça Luís de Camões. Directly above it lies Bairro Alto, a grid of narrow streets that is quiet by day and full every night. Above that again is Príncipe Real, with gardens, antique shops and the best viewpoints in the city.
Bairro Alto Hotel: the corner where Chiado meets Bairro Alto
The hotel stands on Praça Luís de Camões, exactly where Chiado ends and Bairro Alto begins, in a building that has been a hotel since the nineteenth century. From the roof terrace you look down over the Chiado rooftops to the Tagus and across to the bridge, and the bar up there is as much for locals as for guests.
We recommend it to first-time visitors: Baixa is five minutes downhill, Bairro Alto two minutes up, and tram 28 stops outside. Rooms are elegant in dark wood and muted colours, and those facing the square hear the city all night. Ask for the back if you sleep lightly.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Bairro Alto Hotel
The terrace
The pool faces the city, the city faces the river.
Memmo Príncipe Real: the view from the edge of the pool
The hotel is on a steep street in Príncipe Real, just above the garden with the great cedar tree, and it is built in terraces down the slope so that nearly every room and the pool on the terrace face the city and the river. The interiors are contemporary Portuguese, with tiles, cork and pale timber.
You stay for the design and for the calm of one of the city's most lived-in neighbourhoods, with antique dealers and restaurants you will not find in the tourist streets. The drawback is the hill: it is steep down to Chiado and steeper back up. You can walk to most things, but your calves will know about it.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Memmo Príncipe Real
The terrace
The red pool above the rooftops of Alfama.
Alfama: the oldest streets and the best views
Alfama is the hill east of Baixa, below São Jorge castle, and the one district that survived the earthquake of 1755. The streets are so narrow that the tram waits for pedestrians, and in the evening fado drifts out of open windows. Staying here is not practical, but it is what many people remember best.
Memmo Alfama: red pool, white city
The hotel hides in an alley just below the cathedral, and you barely find it before you are standing at reception. The terrace with its small red pool hangs over the Alfama rooftops with the Tagus and the cruise ships directly below, and it is one of the most photographed views in the city for good reason.
This is the hotel for a weekend for two, with Alfama in the evening and the terrace in the morning. Rooms are small and simple in white and wood; it is the view and the district you pay for. Taxis stop some way off, and a suitcase over the cobbles is part of arriving. Not one for bad knees.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Memmo Alfama
The square in front
Café tables under the castle wall, Alfama below.
Santiago de Alfama: the palace under the castle wall
Santiago de Alfama occupies a restored fifteenth-century palace directly below the walls of São Jorge castle, with a small square in front where the café tables stand. Inside are white walls, old stone arches and a mix of antiques and modern Portuguese design, and every room is different.
Stay here if you want history and quiet and do not mind walking. The castle is just above, the Portas do Sol viewpoint just below, and tram 28 stops nearby. Rooms are more spacious than at Memmo Alfama, but the hills are the same. Poorly suited to pushchairs and heavy luggage.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Santiago de Alfama
The lobby
Marble and chandeliers, Rossio just outside.
Baixa and Avenida da Liberdade: flat, grand and practical
Baixa is the flat grid between the hills, rebuilt after the earthquake with wide streets and large squares. North from Rossio and Restauradores runs Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon's own boulevard, with fashion houses, trees and the city's largest hotels. From here the Metro goes everywhere.
Hotel Avenida Palace: the grand hotel by Rossio
Avenida Palace sits between Rossio square and Restauradores, wall to wall with the old Rossio railway station, and has looked much as it does now since it opened around the turn of the last century. The lobby is marble and chandeliers, with a drawing room where afternoon tea is served.
This is the hotel for anyone who wants old-world grandeur at a price below the new luxury hotels, and wants to stay flat and central with Metro and trains on the doorstep. Rooms are classic and large, some a little heavy in style. The square outside is busy round the clock, so ask for a room deeper into the building.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Avenida Palace
The view from the roof
Parque Eduardo VII just below, the Tagus at the bottom.
Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon: the park in the window
The Ritz stands at the top of Avenida da Liberdade beside Parque Eduardo VII, and it is Lisbon's classic luxury hotel of the 1950s. Inside are Portuguese art and tapestries from the time it was built, and on the roof there is a running track with a view across the whole city down to the river.
Stay here if you want big, quiet and thoroughly done, with a spa, a restaurant and service that has seen everything. It appeals to anyone who wants the hotel to be a destination in itself. The catch is distance: the centre is ten minutes by Metro or a long walk down the avenue, and the neighbourhood is more offices than cafés.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
Sky Bar
The avenue below, the hills around, the river in the distance.
Tivoli Avenida Liberdade: the rooftop bar everyone mentions
The Tivoli sits halfway along Avenida da Liberdade and is one of the city's oldest grand hotels, recently refurbished, with a garden and a pool behind the building. The Sky Bar on the roof is why many people know the hotel, with views over the avenue, the hills and the river, and it is full every evening in season.
This suits anyone who wants a grand hotel with a pool and some life, and likes having the avenue's shops outside. Rooms are classic and well updated. The location is flat and practical, but the avenue is busy with traffic and Chiado is a quarter of an hour on foot. If you want silence, look at Valverde a few hundred metres away.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Tivoli Avenida Liberdade
The courtyard
A private home on the avenue, with a pool out the back.
Valverde Hotel: the town house with a courtyard pool
Valverde is in a town house on Avenida da Liberdade, but you forget the avenue once you are inside. The hotel is furnished like a private home, with sitting rooms, a library and an inner courtyard with a small pool and restaurant, and that courtyard is where you retreat after a day on the hills.
We recommend Valverde to families and to anyone who wants peace without staying far out. Rooms are warm and personal, with fabrics and art rather than hotel standard issue, and some connect. It is small, so book early, and it is not the place for anyone who wants the anonymity of a big hotel.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Valverde Hotel
When to book
May to October is peak: Lisbon works all year, but summer and early autumn are busiest, and the small hotels in Alfama and Chiado fill first. Book two to three months ahead.
Santo António in June fills the city: The city's big street festival in mid-June, with sardines and parties in Alfama, means hotels there sell out well in advance. The same goes for major concerts and fairs at Parque das Nações.
Winter is underrated: November to February brings fewer visitors, lower prices and light every bit as good as in summer. Christmas and New Year are the exception.
Frequently asked questions about hotels in Lisbon
Where should I stay in Lisbon?
Chiado is the best choice for a first visit, central between Baixa and Bairro Alto with tram and Metro stops. Alfama for views and the old city, Avenida da Liberdade for large hotels and calm.
Is Alfama a good area to stay in?
Yes, if you want atmosphere and views and can cope with steep lanes and cobbles. Taxis rarely get all the way there, so pack light and expect to walk the last stretch.
How many nights do I need in Lisbon?
Three nights cover Alfama, Baixa, Chiado and an evening of fado. Four or five leave room for Belém, a day trip to Sintra and an afternoon with no plan in Príncipe Real.
Is Bairro Alto too noisy to stay in?
It can be. The streets are full from eleven at night until two or three in the morning, especially at weekends. Choose a room at the back, or stay in Chiado just below if you are a light sleeper.
Should I stay in Belém?
No. Belém is six kilometres west of the centre and quiet in the evening. Visit by tram 15 or train during the day, and sleep in the centre.