Lisbon
 

What areas do you recommend in Lisbon that are centrally located for sights and transportation? What about Chiado?

Lobo...answer the lady! You've been on vacation too long.

(Tidy...my choice would be the Rossio/Praca Restauradores area..but listen closely once Lobo arrives...along with all of you other Lisbon aficionados).

Chiado/Baixa

Chiado/Baixa.
Chiado area (towards Bairro Alto) is more busy, younger people, fado clubs and night animation.
Baixa area is more quiet.
Check in the map the intersection of Rua do Carmo with Rua Garret. That's the perfect spot where the best of 2 worlds meet (Sher did a great job securing an appartment in that block).

Take the #28 trolley that loops thru much of Lisbon, a great way to get an introduction to the city.
Take a trolley into the Alfama, get off and wander the twisted, winding cobblestone streets. You'll discover tiny restaurants, a huge castle, sweeping waterfront views, old churches, flea markets, etc.
Ride the Santa Justa elevator in the Baixa for some great views of the city. From there you can stroll thru the quiet, upscale Chiado district.
Catch the train from the downtown to Sintra for a day trip to the Pena Palace, one of the most bizarre palaces anywhere.

tidy. Hi. I always tell people to stay in what I would call downtown, especially if this is your first visit to Lisbon.
It is not that you cannot get quick and inexpensive transportation to all parts of Lisbon. You can.
But usually, aa a tourist, you want to do a whole list of tourist things.
The wonderful thing about central locations in what I would call historic Lisbon is that you can stay very reasonably. You can also stay in luxury. So no matter what your budget it is wonderful to stay where there are people and lively cafes at your fingertips.
Even after three trips to Lisbon, which is very little compared to some, we prefer to stay around Rossio/Baixa and Chiado. Transportation is right there, cafes abound and so do many of the things you may like to visit.
This is just my opinion.
Baixa is flat, unlike a lot of Lisbon. Chaido and Bairro hilly. More so Bairro Alto as Chiado runs up hill towards it.
There are others who prefer to stay in quieter neighborhoods, more residential.
I don't know if you are a hotel person or an apartment person. You will have so many choices.
Enjoy Lisbon.

tidy - you're not giving folks the whole picture when you post. Not everyone has read your other threads.

For instance, is this thread asking for hotel information?

If so, you should say that you're only in Lisbon for 3 days and 1 day will be spent in Sintra and 1 day will be in Belem. That leaves 1 day to explore Lisbon which doesn't give you much time. You should say what sights you want to see during this day. That way if there is a choice of recommending 2 or 3 Lisbon locations folks can recommend what they think is the better choice.

Transportation - do you mean for the train to Sintra or for the tram/bus to Belem or the metro to someplace else?

If you spend a minute or two to give responders some information about your needs you will receive responses that are geared toward your trip.

Is "tidy" the person who was planning to drive from Spain and keep the car in Lisbon? If so then I can recommend Novotel Lisboa. Hotel is not central and neighborhood is mostly business but it has underground secured paid parking, and in walking distance (10 min max) to Praca Espana and Jardim Zoologico metro. The latter station is in the same building as Sete Rios rail station (for Sintra trips) and across from bus station (Sete Rios) to to Evora, Fatima, etc. Although the hotel is just across from the municipal police station nevertheless the some broken window glass was all over the pavement on some mornings we were there.

tidy is driving from Spain and then driving back to Spain. He has a packed itinerary. He's also driving to Evora, not taking the train, as it's on the way back to Spain.

tidy needs to be near transportation to Belem and to the bull fights.

Sher, Thank you for your help. We will have a car but intend to park it for the 3-4 days.

adrienne...my guess is tidy is a she.

adrienne...yep, name is "Marsha"...I've never seen anyone start so many threads in a short period of time....seems like a separate thread for every question. Hard to help.
stu

Stu - you ought to be helping the LA police with their inquiries! I'm gonna start calling you super sleuth stu!

Try Belem. You can get there from just outside Cais de Sodre train station. Take the tram (I forget which number). You can get to Tower of Belem, Monument of Exploration, the Cathedral and Jeronimos Convent (beautiful architecture) and the famous pasties of Belem pastry cafe (umm, very tasty)!! There are other museums along the way (eg coaches museum, etc.). If my memory serves me, you can also catch river boat trips from Cais de Sodre train station as well. Enjoy your trip, but: wear the most comfortable footwear you have. Lisbon is the city of 7 hills, and 7 trillion cobblestones!