These are great suggestions! Will start planning as I now feel much more comfortable making decisions

Lisbon can be done in 3 days. Be sure to go to Pasteis de Belem for the custards! Then hop over to Sintra or Caiscais. They are gorgeous places and the food is yummy.

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest a side trip to Sintra, and then you can stay at this magical place for a night or two:

https://www.tivolihotels.com/en/tivoli-palacio-de-seteais

There's a lot to see in Sintra and it's a very charming town. And you can pretend that you are some 18th century lord or lady at your country palace at that hotel. Did you say you were going in December? That's when we went and we got a great deal on the hotel because it was off season. Fairly good weather and not too crowded either.

Agreed. My boss used to stay there for a month every summer for his vacation and I went with my family in 2019 and it was magical.

Altis Avenida Hotel, Lisbon. We thought the location was ideal and would stay there again. Hotel concierge did a great job of arranging private car tours for us and restaurant recommendations and reservations.

We stayed at the Santiago de Alfama and it was one of my favorite hotels ever. Great access to the Alfama area and gorgeous views. Great base for sight seeing and less big city feel than some of the areas that we looked at. Did a day trip to Sintra and then spent a night at Cascais and both were great. Have a great time!

I'd suggest a side trip to Sintra, and then you can stay at this magical place for a night or two:

https://www.tivolihotels.com/en/tivoli-palacio-de-seteais

There's a lot to see in Sintra and it's a very charming town. And you can pretend that you are some 18th century lord or lady at your country palace at that hotel. Did you say you were going in December? That's when we went and we got a great deal on the hotel because it was off season. Fairly good weather and not too crowded either.

We stayed in the Alfama and loved it. Great views of city and water.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in an apartment in Cascais which was great. Small beach “city” @30 mins from Lisbon but quaint and easy to navigate. Don’t miss a day in Sintra!!

+1
We were fortunate enough to live there and that’s exactly what I would recommend. Lovely place, about 30 minutes by train to Lisbon. December weather may not be consistently sunny though... could be cool and rainy.

I love Cascais. I would actually recommend splitting the trip into half the time in Lisbon proper, then a getaway to Cascais.

As for where to stay in Lisbon - I don't know the city well enough to say more than we stayed in the Castle district and it was very central and easy to get around from there. Great views, too.

You can poke around here. Boutique hotels and pousadas in Lisbon.

https://joandso.com/boutique-hotels-portugal-watchlist/?gclid=CjwKCAjwtdeFBhBAEiwAKOIy51Nn52QX3arzfqSB_rwV80M26y_g3XID0sfQtmJt-ezqjje-b3HDCBoCRCwQAvD_BwE#watchlist-lisbon

We rented an apt from "Lisbon Best Apartments" and were happy.

Thanks everyone!

I loved Cascais, but would probably stay closer in for easier sight seeing. We stayed in Santa Catarina and it was close to public transport and walking distance to many sights. Definitely do make at least a day trip to Cascais and Sintra!

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in an apartment in Cascais which was great. Small beach “city” @30 mins from Lisbon but quaint and easy to navigate. Don’t miss a day in Sintra!!

+1
We were fortunate enough to live there and that’s exactly what I would recommend. Lovely place, about 30 minutes by train to Lisbon. December weather may not be consistently sunny though... could be cool and rainy.

We stayed in an apartment in Cascais which was great. Small beach “city” @30 mins from Lisbon but quaint and easy to navigate. Don’t miss a day in Sintra!!

I will do a bit of research but curious if anyone on here has experience vacationing in Lisbon? Our DC will be at uni in UK and so we are planning to meet in Portugal in December as she will only have a short break and may want a bit of sunshine. A friend suggested Porto but as not summer and will be cool we are thinking Lisbon may have more to offer for a week-long trip.

Suggestions on neighborhoods, things to do, restaurants….would love. Right now thinking air B and B unless there is a good hotel someone highly recommends! Thank you.