While there were beautiful parts of Lisbon, we found it to be grittier than the other cities we visited. More impoverished, dirtier, more graffiti and the people we encountered were less friendly.
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That’s interesting, because I was amazed at how clean and modern, Western European it looked - the attention to detail with the black and white mosaics on sidewalks even in the working class district of Alfama or the 21st century areas, no piles of garbage bags anywhere attesting to garbage pickup every day if not twice a day, the efficient public transportation systems, including how well kept the 1900s “elevadores” and “trolleys” were…
Even more so when the Aljube made it clear Salazar had kept his people and his country in a 19th century state for most of the 20th: in 1950, only 13% houses had running water, only 30% had electricity, only 37% had had access to education&could sign their name, the “8 hour workday” (48h week) was only won in 1962… it was mind-boggling to me. (He also passed a law whereby women’s inferiority and subservience came from god - one of the “we do not discuss” tenets - and as a result if she ran away because he beat her he could get the police to look for her and bring her back, as well as if “in a jealous fit” he killed her it would no longer be tried as a crime but as a misdemeanor.)
I stayed at a MyStory too but didn’t like it much --efforts at design were actual obstacles to comfort–but the location was central, right by the Augusta Arches.
Lots of tourist trap restaurants (okay meals, probably not a good value but the food wasnt bad) and souvenir shops (worth spending a few dozen euros on -€1 magnets or pencils, €8 kid tee shirts, €9 decorated cork wallets…)
The cod snack shouldn’t have cheese in it.
I used RickSteeves’ guide too. Very well-done, clear indications so you don’t get lost.
Anyway, it shows how 2 visitors can have very different experiences in the same city. 
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I’m wondering if there was a trash strike just before or during our visit because there was trash everywhere.
On the flip side, we had an amazing meal at Alma and I did enjoy going up to the castle for the views, and walking around some of the narrow streets in the older parts of town.
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It was the “great location at a great value hotel”… !!!
We are just home from Porto, Lisbon and London. We loved Lisbon and thought it was a great city with so much to see and so much history. We walked an average of 20k steps every day. We stayed at the Dare Lisbon House which was amazing. Everyday they leave a bag of fresh bread and pastries on your door! The kitchen is stocked with eggs, fruit, cereal, milk, coffee and tea. Our first day there we took a walking tour of old Lisbon with a wonderful guide. One of our favorite parts of the walk was the Alfama area.
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For those reminiscing about this delicious pastry, Trader Joe’s has a freezer version that tastes just like the real deal you stand in line for in Belém. Easy to heat it in the air fryer.
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We just recently returned from a 12 day tour of Spain and Portugal.
Sintra and Cascais have been mentioned and I second them. The Estoril Coast reminds me of the south of France (which I love).
Don’t miss the Mosque-Cathedral in Cordova. It was amazing. Also, Montsaraz in Portugal (small town) has ruins of an ancient castle and amazing views.
Segovia Spain is a treasure with the Roman aquaduct and the Alcazar.
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We did a two week road trip in Portugal this past April/May. Weather was perfect, warm and sunny the entire time. We hit Lisbon and Porto (much preferred Lisbon and wish we’d skipped Porto), the Alentejo wine region (loved!), Serra da Estrela, Douro Valley (hands-down fav), and Peneda-Geres NP. Happy to share any info you might need on lodging, wineries, hikes etc in those regions.
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As I get further along I’ll take you up on the offer. Also glad to read that you had good weather.
I’m going to start a notebook and make notes from all the suggestions here. The friend from Portugal who gave us a suggested route loves the sea and mountains and her route clearly shows that. We also have my husband’s oldest friend who lives a bit north of Porto on the coast who we will see.
I’m going to start to also look at air routes and prices.
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I’m beginning to think my route might be too ambitious for three weeks. I really want to visit the French basque region and parts of Portugal. I’m thinking might need to remove the Pyrenees. Also by maybe skipping the Pyrenees I’m more flexible with travel dates.
We have an offer of a car and lodging north of Porto on the coast. We can use the car the entire trip but we would have to return it to our friend in Portugal. I don’t think it makes sense to backtrack. I’m thinking we will use her car for part of the trip and rent for the rest. One friend suggested we fly from Porto to Bilbao to save the drive time. Or we rent in Porto on our way to France. We also will go to Bilbao in Spain and maybe fly home from there and return car there.
For France I’m thinking St Jean de Luz and maybe a smaller village also as places to stay. I have noticed in my research that many just base in one town and do day trips.
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Technically St Jean de Luz is the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are breathtaking! (pic below taken in the Hautes-Pyrenees.)
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Beautiful shot.
We recently returned from a Spain trip. We visited Cordoba, Malaga, Granada, Cartagena, Valencia and Palma. (It doesn’t sound like you’ll be traveling to these cities but I thought I’d share two things from our experience.)
This was our third trip to Spain…but our first one where we had a rental car for a lot of it. The driving was easy except for in the city centers where we stayed. DH wanted a car with an automatic transmission and a cover over our luggage, because we planned on making some sightseeing stops between those cities.
Parking and navigating a car that isn’t large by American standards (about the size of my RAV4) was challenging in the city centers. We did fine but found ourselves making some slight adjustments to our trip. I mention it, because parking in old city centers is something to consider in the planning stage.
Next, I was glad I had my AirPods with me (in my purse), because a lot of the sites we visited had QR codes where you download the app and can listen to an informational recording at different spots…it’s definitely more convenient than holding your phone up to your ear. In fact I also carried a cheap corded earbud in my purse which came in handy at a couple of places where you pay a fee for a recorder on a lanyard.
P.S. I’m going through serious Fanta limon withdrawals.
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That trip is also on my list for another time.
We rented a car on our last trip to Italy and while we loved the flexibility the driving and parking was stressful at times. Finding lodging with parking is an important consideration.
Hadn’t thought of bringing AirPods but that’s a great suggestion.
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For those that have stayed in Barcelona, what area would you consider great for getting around on foot (and metro/bus) for first-timers? We are both active, love architecture, culture (museums, music, theater, etc.), unique experiences (no bullfighting!), are vegan (I can roll with seafood and dairy, my friend cannot). We’re looking at 4 nights of a 3 week trip (this will be the last stop of my Greece/Croatia sail, it will be mid-Sept 2024), and we will hit Milan, Paris, Arles (it was supposed to be Beaucaire, France, but we switched to Arles) and Barcelona. We will travel within Europe by train. Any and all suggestions will be looked into!
We stayed around the corner from Casa Batllo at the Curio Hotel. We were able to walk everywhere. The hotel was great too!
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Yes we stayed there too and liked it. Very central and you can walk to Sagrada Familia without too much difficulty.
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We stayed at the Mirror Hotel in Barcelona when we were there 7 years ago and we were able to walk to may of the sites.
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We prefer an Airbnb but we’re open to other ideas - just for reference, I researched both hotels noted above and both don’t have availability during our stay - it does make me curious to find out if there’s a special event happening.
Recommend the Jazz Hotel in Barcelona. Walkable to many things, great rooftop bar, nice accommodations, felt quiet and safe.