Originally Posted by macswim

Thank you for the recommendations! Was it the location of the hotel that you liked?

Originally Posted by threebears

We spent a wonderful five days in Lisbon last year and loved staying in the Alfama district. There's a bit of climbing up cobbled alleys and stairs and all of it adds to the charm. January would also be a very nice time and I am sure you would have a lot of
charming little plazas all to yourself.

We spent a month in Portugal and divided our time roughly like this
5 days in lisbon
7 days in coimbra
4 days in Piodao
4 days in aviero
3 days in porto
7 days in evora

Our favorites were Lisbon, Coimbra, Piodao (highly recommended), and Evora (also highly recommended)

Originally Posted by mjs

I imagine weather in Portugal will be better than the Midwest in January but temps will likely be something like high 50s to high 40s with about a 1/4 chance of rain. We also enjoyed Porto very much but weather in January is probably not the best for Portugal. Did enjoy the Corpo Santo hotel in Lisbon. Food is quite good and inexpensive, especially if you like seafood. Wine is inexpensive but perhaps not quite up to Spanish, French or Italian standards to my tastes. Does work well with their foods

Originally Posted by threebears

We spent a wonderful five days in Lisbon last year and loved staying in the Alfama district. There's a bit of climbing up cobbled alleys and stairs and all of it adds to the charm. January would also be a very nice time and I am sure you would have a lot of
charming little plazas all to yourself.

We spent a month in Portugal and divided our time roughly like this
5 days in lisbon
7 days in coimbra
4 days in Piodao
4 days in aviero
3 days in porto
7 days in evora

Our favorites were Lisbon, Coimbra, Piodao (highly recommended), and Evora (also highly recommended)

Originally Posted by bakerstreet

My daughter (early 20s) and I spent 5 days in Lisbon in December a couple of years ago, stayed at the centrally-located Avenida Palace and it was a good choice. We hired a Tuk Tuk guide for several days and went all over the city - it was great not having to climb up every single time. He had plastic "walls" and blankets in the Tuk Tuk and we were comfortable. A different guide took us on a day trip (including to Sintra). Weather was good, it was fun and a great experience. Those pastries - pastel de nata - were an unexpected delight. Have a wonderful trip.

Originally Posted by mjs

I imagine weather in Portugal will be better than the Midwest in January but temps will likely be something like high 50s to high 40s with about a 1/4 chance of rain. We also enjoyed Porto very much but weather in January is probably not the best for Portugal. Did enjoy the Corpo Santo hotel in Lisbon. Food is quite good and inexpensive, especially if you like seafood. Wine is inexpensive but perhaps not quite up to Spanish, French or Italian standards to my tastes. Does work well with their foods

Originally Posted by macswim

I am sorry for the mundane question but I a flumoxoned as to where/location to stay in Lisbon as a first timer.

My 22 year old daughter and I will be arriving in Lisbon in early January for her early graduation trip. I would assume that location might be seasonal dependent?
We love to be someplace that we can walk out the door and feel a part of the neighborhood and the charm. We love to walk, eat good food/wine (not fancy) and are both fit so not too scared of the hills. Any suggestion on the best area for us?

We have a total of 10 days in Portugal and keeping a flexible schedule because we want to explore but need some blue sky! (Escaping the Michigan winter clouds). Had planned on staying at two, max three different areas and do some day trips and hikes, but if there is rain forecasted longer than a day or two we will plan on moving to the nicer weather!

Originally Posted by macswim

Oh My, We are leaving on Wednesday and the only thing I have planned is I booked a hotel in Lisbon for the first 3 nights (Memmo Alfama). All sorts of life things have gotten in the way of planning. BUT I have a feeling it will be ok as we are going in the low season and I hope things will not be booked up. We will go with the flow! Just wanted to thank those of you who gave me some advice. Sorry I went silent! (One good thing is that I found a group of open water swimmers in Cascais who I might be able to do one swim with, and my daughter can sleep in, which would totally make both of us happy.) I will report back!

Originally Posted by bakerstreet

You might want to book a “fado” dinner at a Lisbon restaurant — it’s a unique form of singing, a tradition in Lisbon. My daughter and I very much enjoyed our fado dinner evening.

Originally Posted by macdogmom

Hope you enjoy the hotel. We stayed there in the late spring and loved the rooftop terrace. We walked all over Lisbon, ate some great food at Taberna da Rua Das Flores, Cervejaria Romano and A Cevicheria. Enjoyed lunching at the public Mercado and took an Uber back and forth to Sintra and enjoyed the castle and the grounds.