For our final days of a 5-week road trip through France and Portugal (and traversing through Spain for a couple days), we will be in Lisbon for four nights before we fly home to the US at the very beginning of October. Our flight is an early one, so we have booked an airport hotel for the final night, but should be able to stay in the city until that evening.

We will be returning our car to the airport halfway through our stay in Lisbon, so I am looking at places with parking. Thinking we'll drive to Sintra, spend the day, and return the car from there before coming back to our apartment or hotel in Lisbon for the last couple days. Does that even seem feasible? Maybe we would be better off returning the car a couple days earlier and not having a car at all in Lisbon - OR - staying in Sintra a couple nights at the beginning of our "Lisbon" time, and then staying in Lisbon for the last three days without a car?

Before I book anything, it would be good to consider neighborhoods in Lisbon. What area of Lisbon would be the ideal area for sightseeing, walking to restaurants, etc?

scdreamer,
If planning to go to Sintra from Lisbon, you should NOT do this by car, since they have prohibited personal vehicles in the historic quarter, and the traffic in and out of Sintra isn’t pleasant for a first time visitor.
Most seasoned Fodorites here nowadays go to Sintra either independently by commuter train from Rossio station, by small group van tour for the day or they spend the night (or even 3 nights, as melnq8, maitaitom and progol did last year)

In addition, if planning to go to Sintra by car (not a good idea at all), then you would need a hotel with garage for the rest of your 2 nights. Having a car in Lisbon is an albatross. You would need to negotiate your way to your hotel amidst taxi drivers with lead feet, the trams, buses, tuk tuks. It can be hair raising.

I would go to Sintra by commuter train.
If you can return your leased vehicle at the airport, as progol did, you can catch the metro from the airport to Oriente station (only 2 stops) and there, take the commuter train to Lisbon rather than from Rossio in the heart of the city. This is provided that you don’t have lots of luggage.
You can either do this at the beginning and spend 2 nights (but you only have 4 with the final 4th night at an airport hotel, correct?), or spend the entire 4 nights in Lisbon and get a very early start from Rossio station in the center city, near your hotel, for your Sintra day, and also limit your expectations as to what you can accomplish. It’s now impossible to see the 5 (now 6, if you include Palácio Biestar) monuments in one day because of the crowding.
And if you plan to see the outside or inside of Pena Palace, you will definitely need timed tickets. Sintra has become complicated.

I would read progol´s melnq8´s and maitaitom´s Trip Reports to get an idea of how busy Sintra is these days.
Just some thoughts to help you…

Maribel - Thank you - great advice. I'm going to renegotiate the car lease so we can return the car before we arrive in Lisbon - we will be coming from Evora, and will head directly to the airport to turn in the car - and then on to Lisbon. We will have four nights in Lisbon before heading back to the airport for the fifth night to be there for our very early flight out the next morning.

It sounds as if Sintra may be too much for us to try to fit in. I do understand that an overnight there is the better way to visit, but with the limited time in Lisbon, we might just have to skip Sintra.

Any suggestions for a good neighborhood/area to stay in Lisbon? Central to or near public transportation to the places we should plan to see? Thanks!

The car rental return, coming from Evora, is easy at the airport.
Now I understand: 4 nights in the city and the final night at an airport hotel,

You may be so busy seeing the sights of Lisbon and visiting all the wonderful museums, that you find that you won’t have time to fit Sintra in, but everyone is different.

Museums that I don’t want to miss:
Gulbenkian, one of the finest (former) private art collections of Europe, the Tile Museum, the Museu de Arte Antiga (Portugal’s National Gallery with paintings by the masters, ceramics, furniture and silver), and so many others that you may find of interest, such as the Carmo ruins in the Chiado, the National Pantheon, Sāo Vicente de Fora (for its tiles and views from the rooftop), Museu Medeiros e Almeida (another small gem of a private collection off the Avenida da Liberdade), and strolling through beautiful Eduardo VII park at the top of Avenida da Liberdade is always nice on a sunny day.

For me the sights in Belém can take up two thirds to three fourths of a day——National Coach Museum, spectacular Manueline architecture of the Jerónimos Monastery plus Church with tombs of Vasco de Gama and Luis de Camőes, the vast Naval Museum that traces the Age of Discoveries and Portugal´s maritime past, the Monument to the Discoveries and Tower of Belém. Modern art aficionados will appreciate the Berardo Museum and walking atop the MAAT is always fun. Lots to see on a Belém day!

A central neighborhood close to trams, metro, commuter train to Belém, Rossio station for Sintra would be the flat BAIXA, but just a big caveat——it can also be extremely crowded.

Maitaitom stayed across from Rossio station at the Altis Liberdade (we both loved their rooftop Rossio Gastro Bar), melnq8 stayed at The Visionaire serviced apartments on the very busy Praça da Figueira, the square next to Rossio to the west,(but the apartments themselves have good sound proofing).

The trade off to handiness to transportation hubs like Rossio is that once you step out of your lodging, you face the crowds, as is the case in any lodging next to a transportation hub.
But the Baixa is flat. However, in Lisbon, the city of the 7 hills, you will find yourself constantly climbing, as there is no way to avoid it. This is why taxis, Ubers and the ubiquitous tuk tuks go a good business.

I would avoid any lodging on the pedestrian Via Augusta, which is the street leading from Rossio down to the enormous square next to the Tagus River, the Praça do Comércio, also known as Terreiro do Paço. It can be a tsunami of pedestrians. It´s lined with restaurants of mediocre quality with sidewalk terraces and buskers enticing you to have a seat and dine. No!

I don’t know if you are looking for a hotel or an airbnb. Most airbnbs are in the Baixa. The Chiado, the elegant shopping and dining district above the Baixa, and the hotels off and on the posh Avenida da Liberdade will be pricier.

Hope this helps!

Thank you again, Maribel! More useful information, and I so appreciate your generosity in taking the time to share it with me.

I'm looking at hotels and airbnb rentals in the Baixa. I think our budget as probably a bit below some others who are here, but there appear to be plenty of options within our range. I like the airbnb option for the kitchen - coffee and breakfast in my jammies is always my first choice. But for local directions, dining suggestions and a taxi from the door to the airport at the end, a hotel staff person is definitely a plus.