We will be spending five nights in Lisbon as part of our Portugal trip in September. Will want to do a couple of day trips such as Sintra and Evora and ? Appreciate recommendations on other good day trips. I am looking at apartments in the Alfama and Principe Real neighborhoods. I like the 2 in Alfama because they are close to the water and the airport, but the 2 in Principe Real are really cute and look like they are in a quiet residential neighborhood and better prices. Which neighborhood would be closer or have better access to the train station? Appreciate your help.
Posted by
Parma, Italy
85 posts
The Alfama is on a hill, so you may want to take that into consideration.
I stayed in an apartment there for 3 nights and I loved it. Great atmosphere, cute cafes and restaurants, gorgeous mirador outside your door, high chance to see the tram 28 go by and you're walking distance to almost every main sight. It was also close to the train station (I took a train to Porto on the last day), I think it was about 10 minutes from where I was staying.
I can't help with infos about the Principe Real though. Personally I would stay again in the Alfama neighborhood. It was easy to get there from the airport too.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
We were in Portugal several years ago and enjoyed a tour of Sintra & Cascais prior to our RS Tour. We hired Lisbon Riders. There were six of us on the tour and I would highly recommend this company. The guide was knowledgeable and personable. It was a wonderful introduction to Portugal. We also enjoyed Evora on our tour. We spent one night.
I see you will be there in September. We were there the 1st of September and it was very warm, but tolerable. https://lisbonriders.com/
Posted by
Canada
5 posts
Principe Real will have better access to Rossio station, which is where you will need to go for a trip to Sintra. I think this is the better option for you. There will be lots of restaurants and things to do in the evenings in nearby Bairro Alto. Lisbon is a fairly small city, so I would not worry about being closer to the water as it is easy to walk there from nearly any tourist area.
The best and easiest way to get into town is by using the metro. Alfama may be slightly closer to the airport geographically, but on the metro it will be just as easy to get to Principe Real.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1680 posts
FYI - there are a number of train stations in Lisbon so it really depends on where you are doing as to which train station you would use. You would use Rossio for Sintra and Oriente for Evora. By metro, it’s easy to get to all of them.
Alfama is very hilly and doesn’t have good metro access - so be aware of that. But, it’s very charming with great views when you are close to the river. Príncipe Real is very trendy right now with easier access to Chiado and Bairro Alto. Both areas are good for different reasons. I would chose the apartment you like the best. And, no neighborhood in Lisbon is far from the airport
I like the recommendation you received about taking a tour to Sintra. Public transport in Sintra very crowded. Doing a tour means they take you the places around town without having to worry about transport from place to place.