Hi(again),

After giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to spend a week in Lisbon and day trip from there.

Any hotel recommendations and places not to be missed while there?

I've read about Cascais, Evora, Sintra and Obidos as daytrips, any comments on which one I shouldn't miss?

Thanks (again).

Out of those you mentioned, I would skip Cascais. I can´t help on the hotels as I usually go priceline.com and end up with the Marriott (4 or 5 star) on a consistent basis. It is good but a business chain hotel, not a charming boutique-y place.

What about Evora, Obidos and Sintra?

Well. We have only been to Portugal once.
We did not visit Evora the first time and were sorry.
We enjoyed Sintra more than Obidos.
We also did not go to Cascais but we had a car and did a lot of driving on the Lisbon coast so it was easy for us to visit other towns.

If you do a search for hotels and Portugal you will find a lot of information.

We stayed at the Metropole only because our reserved apartment did not work out and we did a walk up for the Metropole and the rate was fnatastic.

We liked it very much but usually do not spend the rack rate normally charged for this hotel.

I noticed the Florescent receives good reviews here.

I think that, since I'm staying for a whole week, I'll visit both Evora and Sintra as daytrips. I've read that Obidos is a bit too "perfect" to be considered a real place.

In Lisbon, I'd recommend the Lapa Palace Hotel. (Avoid the Marriott at all costs--out of the way, non-descript, some rooms don't have internet connections, conference hotel, etc.).

I'd skip the daytrip to Cascais, but hit Sinta.

We took our first trip to Portugal in September and stayed in Lisbon (Marriott and Lapa Palace) and then near Cascais. All in all, I was disappointed in Portugal with the exception of the Lapa Palace and our visit to Sintra.

I can't speak highly enough about the Lapa Palace--it was the only redeeming part of the trip.

Hope you have a better trip!

I think you will LOVE Portugal. Most people do. It's a fantastic, beautiful, and VERY interesting country. ....lots of nice, happy, smiling people who are willing to help you.
We lived in Portugal for 2 years, (back in the mid 70's, Americans, with 3 children), and it was a fabulous experience. There is so much to see and do, and the cities you mentioned are all quite nice.'A good way to see Lisbon(and become oriented) is to take a city bus tour,,,all inclusive.....for a day or half day, to learn about the area.
IF you have a car you can truly venture to the outlying area with ease .
Be sure and READ UP on Lisbon, (OR internet research)....and you'll find there is a lot to see. (One being this Fodors' search above).
There are several nice hotels downtown on Ave.Liberdad (good locations)and others near the city center.
We returned to Lisbon 4 years ago (for a few days) and of course it was fun seeing where we had lived. Three nights of this visit were spent downtown Lisbon, and the other three out the coast in Cascais. A rental car is valuable for getting around.
Lisbon (and Portugal) is one of the gems of Europe. Many people don't think of traveling there , and those that do often wish they had "discovered" it sooner.
Have a GREAT time...and by reading on the things you can see and do there, I know you will become enthuised.

I disagree with mari5 concerning the tourbus. The half-day ones park in front of the Jeronimos Monastery in Belém: the six or seven attractions they advertise (i.e., Discoveries Monument, Centro Cultural de Belém, Maritime Museum, etc.) may be seen within easy walking distance from there.

Buy MetroLisboa all day passes! You can take a Metro to Oriente, site of Expo98, now an upscale shopping mall (Vasco da Gama).

Reserve a half day for strolling and shopping around Baixa & Centro do Comercio

I've just returned from 4 days in Lisbon and loved it. We stayed at the Mundial and while it is a big tourist hotel, the location is fantastic (around the corner from Rossio), the front desk staff helpful, the breakfast good and our room, while small, was modern and always clean. If you've never been to Lisbon, begin with the Gray Line 1/2 day guided tour. Spend one day out of the city at Sintra (interesting) or Cascais (beautiful). Ride Tram 28 for the fun and the sights---get off at Castelo de Jorge and while in that area, visit the Museum of Decorative Arts and have lunch at a little place called Cozinha Portuguesa on Bartoleoeu. Walk through the Alfama for a view of old Lisbon and then take the metro or a taxi out to Pargue das Nacoes for a look at modern Lisbon and while there, don't miss the new acquarium. Have dinner one night at the docks under the bridge---we loved Doca Peixe

"teambuilder" above appears to be a very good TRAVELER, and had some great ideas. He did research, one can tell, ........and Lisbon has many more interesting sites also.'

We do lots of reading beforehand of a city/country and like to travel on our own(with car mostly,but also taxi or public transportation) ........however when visiting a city for the first time we've almost ALWAYS found it beneficial to take a good city tour to become oriented, and learn facts.
I think maybe "nedsireland" above may have taken the "wrong" tour. That can happen.
Though we have not stayed in the Mundial Hotel, I have heard VERY good reviews of it from many people. .....and it IS a good location, (for downtown Lisbon)
(We lived out the coast in the Estoril area. There are some lovely hotels in that area (Estoril/Cascais), and one can then go INTO Lisbon,20 minutes , and see things THAT way.)
Will you have a car? ...at least for part of the time when taking day trips away from the city? OR if you stay "out" of Lisbon you can branch from there with a car.
Some do,however, prefer to NOT have a car, and that is fine also if staying IN Lisbon.

For a hotel in Lisbon I recommend www.residencialflorescente.com/ It is very centerally located and I thought a good value for the money.

We visited Evora and Obidos but not as day trips, we spent a couple of nights in each. Obidos IS perfect, but you should still see it. I LOVED it, and I had the same reservations you did about it being too touristy. We were there in July (06) during a medieval festival which was great, but even without it, Obidos would still have been a highlight of my trip. I think it's a very easy day trip. Evora was also wonderful but it a bit further, I guess still doable as a day trip if you plan right. Sinta is a very easy day trip on the local train. My photos of that trip are at www.pbase.com/annforcier. There is one gallery for Lisbon and another for the various other towns we visited in Portugal. Be sure to try to get in touch with the Lisbon dining club guys, they are wonderful.

I just came back (yesterday!) from a week in Lisbon and stayed at the Clarion Suites Hotel on Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca, about halfway between Rato and the Marquês de Pombal. It was a clean hotel in a good location, and the suite include a small kitchenette with sink, tableware, and a small refrigerator. While we didn't cook in the room, the refrigerator was invaluable. The hotel is a 5-minute walk to both the Rato and Marquês metro stations. A small neighborhood grocery store - Mini Preço - was across the street. The northern parts of the Bairro Alto are also within a 5-minute walk. The street is a largely residential street except near Rua Braancamp so it's generally quiet at night with only the occasional car or truck driving by.

I found the walk from the hotel to the Rato station to be easier than the walk to Marquês de Pombal because it was flatter and did not cross any major intersections. The downside is that Rato is the end of the yellow line, and most of the main Lisbon sights (Rossio, Baixa, Alfama, etc.) are best accessed from the blue or green lines, so inevitably you will end up changing trains at Marquês de Pombal if you get on at Rato.