I am interested in renting this apartment on Rua Garrett. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of this area? Is it noisy at night? Is it close to grocery stores? Is it toursity? Is it close to good restaurants?

THANK YOU!!!

http://www.rent4days.com/ficha.asp?c...ament&plazas=2

I think it's a great area, would definitely stay there. My info might be out of date though as it's 10 years since we were there. The only noise I remember is from the Cafe Brazilios ( or whatever) where the music and the people talking outside went on late. There are stores on the Chiado and plenty of restaurants 5 minutes walk away. I thought it was a prefect central location, you can walk everywhere from there.

OK. I can contribute something.
First of all we have rented an apartment on Rua Garrett before. It is a very safe area and what is nice is that it is adjacent to the Baixa/Chiado metro which is a very good line to use for travel around Lisbon.

The part of the street we were on was closer to the Armazens do Chiado mall. The shops located under our apartment closed in the evening and it was quiet. The area closer to the top of the street, as Rua Garrett is a hill but not a steep one, has more cafes which are open later and street seating which could make it more noisy. But most apartments have double glazed windows so you should be able to close them at night and it would be quiet.

You literally have two metro stops at your fingertips, one at the bottom of the hill and one at the top. There is an internet cafe near the middle of the street.

The Chiado Mall has a food court on the sixth floor which has some nice choices for a quick lunch or snack and also you could have dinner there.

There is a Pingo Doce market in Baixa and it really is not that far. You just go down the hill to the edge of Baixa and a couple of blocks. It is small but very adequate. I think the street is Premier Dezembro.

We have also rented from Rent4days this last time in Lisbon(August) and had really a good experience with them. We had to pay them cash for the rental upon arrival and also they took our credit card number as a security deposit. I don't know if those are the conditons of your rental.

I would say that it is very touristy, but in a nice way. Up the hill begins the Bairro Alto section and there are very nice shops and restaurants and Fado. The shops on Rua Garrett as nice also but mostly designer shops and I don't usually shop at those high end shops but enjoyed the ones further up.

There is even an extension of Florence's Santa Maria Novella in Bairro Alto with lovely soaps, etc. Oh well, maybe you aren't into shopping but it is there if you are.

Have a great time in Lisbon.

Sher, thank you that was a lot of wonderful information! The area that you stayed in near the mall, was it more modern or historic? Would you say this area on Rua Garrett was better than say, taking an apartment on the tree lined avenida del liberdade leading up to the big park? WHen you say, you "enjoyed the ones futher up" in regard to the shops, which direction did you mean?

This area is upscale. The buildings are historic on the ourside. But like the apartment we stayed in, very modern on the inside.
The tree lined area of Liberdade is very nice, but I have never stayed in this area.

All of historic Lisbon is really not that large an area. A flat map does not give you an accurate feel because of the hills which do not show up. Of course, we are not talking a great distance between one to the other.
For the time you will be there, it will be a breeze for you to travel around Lisbon with the metro at your fingertips.
From my limited experience, if you are looking for a neighborhood feel, then Chisdo is not that. It is touristy, but in a sort of upscale way. You will not get the feeling you are staying in a real Portuguese neighborhood. I don't say this iin a bad way.
We loved it there as it was always safe, was close to the Metro and atmospheric. I myself would not condider it modern as the buildings have lots of detail.

(CROSSPOST)
The Chiado neighborhood turned out to be a FABULOUS location, thank you for everyone who recommended it!!! I am so madly in love with Lisbon I can't even tell you!! The apartment we chose was nothing short of stunning luxury, I wish I could buy it! It's a corner unit, 1500 square feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath with so much gorgeous natural light due to 8, YES count them 8, floor to ceiling double french door windows with little terraces! We had some bad weather (rain) while we were here (we're still here!) and it was really wonderful to be able to lounge in this gorgeous apartment as we waited for it to pass. The apartment is right on the lively pedestrian shopping street of Rua Garrett, filled with great boutiques, cafe's etc. Being on the second floor, we could open the 4 french door windows in the living room and just listen to life go by down below. There was one night in particular, it was midnight, all the terrace windows were open, there was a guy playing guitar and singing Portuguese folk songs in the street below and I could hear people's voices as they strolled by and the clinking of little plates and laughter from the Cafe A Brasileira on the corner. That moment was so perfect, I can't even begin to describe it, it was poetically delightful! So I give an A+++++ to this Rent4Days apartment. There were a few VERY minor things that I will give them a few recommendations on after we leave, but nothing that could possibly detract from all of the positives of this place.

And Lisbon? Forget about it, I can't even describe how much I love it. My husband and I both love it. We've been here 5 days we're leaving on the 7th day. We both agreed we could have easily stayed much longer and would have not run out of things to enjoy in this enjoyable city. We've been to many different cities in over a dozen countries and I have to say, I think this has been one of our favorite places.

Lisbon has...

Delicious inexpesnive food. How about a delicious steak dinner for less than 5 euros?

Delicious pastries, we like them more than those we had in France and Italy combined.

Lodging is way less expensive than other cities we've toured, we got a luxury apartment that would have cost double the price in say Paris as it did here. More quality for less money.

Gorgeous architecture and city character, one doesn't need a lot of monuments or attractions when the city is this much of an attraction in and of itself.

The town stays out late, I mean really late, like into the wee hours of the morning, whereas other places, especially say in Italy just close up and die around 11pm.

The people are lovely, warm, and kind!!! AND friendly!!! How many tourist destinations can you say that about?

Oh my goodness I could go on and on, maybe I will try to write a mini trip report with my favorite restaurants.

Anyway thanks again to everyone who commented and gave advice, this has been a stellar trip! It still is, getting ready to go out for a nice long walk and shop a little on Rua Augusta in Baixa!!!

Anyone interested in photos let me know!

Dear Guilia,
I am thinking of renting this apartment for 2 weeks in August as your review was great. Can you tell me if the apartment gets any day time sun? Many thanks, O