Originally Posted by
swiftaw
Sorry to hijack this thread, but my wife and I just decided to stop off in Lisbon on the way to see my parents for Christmas. Well, be there for about 2.5 days, arriving mid-afternoon on a Saturday, and flying out first thing Wednesday morning.
You say 2.5, but the dates suggest 3.5. Makes quite a difference. Which is, 2.5 or 3.5?
What would you say are 'must do' things? We like good food (especially seafood), wine and beer.
See guide books and internet resources for 'must do' and see what fancies you. You will see recommendations for Lisbon center (Alfama, castle, Baixa, Chiado, Bairro Alto) and Lisbon monumental area of Belém, and also a side trip to Sintra and Cascais. This are the normal tourist staples. See if anything catches your attention along those lines and let us know.
Seafood, wine and beer are all very strong in Portugal, so you could not have chosen a better place for that. Plenty of excellent seafood at every budget level, good and cheap wine Wine and beer are cheaper than bottled water.
We are city more than country people, and I like to take photos of cityscapes.
For cityscapes look for Lisbon's "miradouros" and get immersed in the local flavor of streets of Alfama, Bairro Alto, or baixa. Plenty of city photo ops.
I've started looking at hotels, budget is not a huge concern, but I don't really have an idea of which part of the city would be best to stay in.
Anywhere from Saldanha to Baixa to Belém would be fine. I would avoid the newer areas, as you would not be so in the center of cityscapes. Among international hotels, the Sheraton, some Best Westerns, the Clarion, the Sofitel are all well located. A Doubletree is also near the Sheraton. The Four Seasons and an Intercontinental are well located but a good hill to climb. I would avoid the locations of the Marriott, the Radisson, the Holiday Inn, the Novotel, the Mercure. Good hotels, but if you want location for tourism they are not it. There are many good local boutique hotels that are very well located, and Airbnb is also flourishing. Pestana and Sana are local chains with some interesting hotels. If budget is not a huge concern you'll do well.
We have no problem with using public transport (tram/metro etc) however since we are only there a short time would prefer not to have to take transport to get to everything we want to do.
Trust me, you will prefer to take transport to get to everything. Metro/tram/bus but also taxi/Uber. Much easier than dealing with traffic on your own, finding parking, or finding your way through a maze of one-way streets. Taxis and Uber are cheap and plentiful.