I just got back from a week in Lisbon and wanted to share the great hotel and restaurant I found. I stayed at the Residencial Florescente which is recommended in Fodors's, Frommer's, and Rick Steves' guides. It is located on the "eating lane" next to Praca dos Restauradores. It was 60Euros per night for a double including a hearty buffet breakfast. The sleeping area of our room was sufficient, but not rather large. However, the bathroom was huge with tub/shower/bidet and they even give you the basket of amenities.(shampoo, shower cap, tissues, etc) Everything was spotless. Our room looked out over all the restaurants and we kept the French doors open all night to get the nice breeze. Most of the staff spoke passable English and we were centrally located to all sights and transportation options.

The restaurant we loved and ate at twice is called Santiago, right down the street from our hotel. The have excellent steaks, fish, and a veggie plate for reasonable rates. Ask for Nunu. He is super nice, speaks great English, and loves people. Tell him what you are in the mood for and he will recommend something. Trust him! He picked our food and wine both times and it was fantastic.

Lisbon is a great city and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone!

Thanks, Mona, Lisbon is on my list. A friend goes EVERY year, she loves it that much and says is inexpensive.
Did you find that so?

Yes, we did find it inexpensive compared with, say, London or Paris. The biggest value we found was in transportation. Local buses and trams were about .80 or .90, the metro was .65, and trains to Estoril and Sintra were about 1.30Euros one way. Admission prices to attractions were inexpensive too. Food prices were reasonable. If you added in wine, bread, cheese, etc if would add up though. A liter bottle of beer at a local store was only 1.50 euros. The hotel we stayed in was by far the best value. They could charge 100Euros per night and it would still be a great value.

Have a great trip!

cigalechanta,

I visited Lisbon briefly this summer for a match during the European Football Championships. I also can heartily recommend it. Plus, I found it quite cheap even during this big event. While I have not been to the places Monalisa mentions, I absolutely share her observations regarding the price level. Even taxis won't break the bank. We crossed town on one, driving from the stadium in the North to a pub row by the River Tejo called Docas and paid around € 15.- for that.

BTW, I have posted a trip report about this, so if you are interested, even though I presume you get even better advice first hand from your friend, here is the URL:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...rchText=Lisbon

... and upon checking if the link works, I just found that you already read it back then . I hope you don't mind.