Nice well equipped apartment on a traditional and (during the day) seemingly quiet street with very easy access to cafes and restaurants and all of Lisbon’s main attractions.
The pictures on the listing are accurate.
The communication with Gonçalo and Mike couldn’t have been better and check-in was super easy.
There were only two issues for us and probably we were naive not to have anticipated them given the apartment is in Barrio Alto, i.e. the epicentre of the nightlife scene, and we were there for a week from the end of July i.e. the main summer holiday period.
1. The apartment was incredibly noisy between 10pm and 3am because it is located on the first floor of a road that is full of restaurants and bars which open from early evening onwards and stay open until very late. The hosts kindly provide ear plugs but even wearing these and shutting the balcony door and putting on the AC didn’t disguise the noise for me. The friend I was travelling with is a heavier sleeper than me but I found I wasn’t able to sleep through it and had no choice but to go out from 11am onwards and to stay out until early morning.
The restaurants close from around 2pm and the bars from around 3pm but at weekends people continue drinking on the streets until later. And then the refuse lorries and street cleaners arrive from 8am (to their credit they do an incredible job restoring order)!
This isn’t criticism, just an observation to help others decide whether this is an apartment they would want to rent. I’d say it is the perfect apartment for someone who wants to make the most of the Barrio Alto nightlife (which starts late and doesn’t wind down until 3/4am) but may not be the best choice for someone who wants to go to bed early or is a light sleeper.
2. Also, the apartment is in an old building and the internal sound proofing isn’t as good as it would be in a contemporary build.. The communal stairs are very narrow and as a result one is very aware of the guests in the three apartments above this one, entering and leaving the building and one can clearly hear the people in the apartment immediately above talking and moving about.
So in summary - central location, we’ll equipped, great communication and easy check-in and the ideal place to enjoy the Barrio Alto night life but for anyone who prefers to go to bed early or who is a light sleeper there may be better options.