This apartment is located right in the middle of *everything* - I kept looking up addresses of things to do and seeing sometimes, less than 1,000 feet away! When I arrived and zoomed into the exact location using Google Maps, I was delighted to see that everything I might need was within walking distance: convenience items, pharmacy, transportation, cultural things (visit Carmo!) and oh goodness, the restaurants. You can actually see the castle in the distance from your bedroom and get glimpses of the water. What a way to wake up.
Having this central location from which to explore Lisbon was amazing. It sits on a corner, so if you crack the windows a glorious cross breeze cools everything off. On the streets below – one pedestrian only, one limited traffic – there are restaurants and cafes galore, so it’s perfect for people watching and getting a feel for the place itself. Lisbon is a city of steps and the pedestrian street the apartment’s entrance is on is no different – depending on the cross street used to get to the apartment, you will either have steps up or down, so be prepared for that with luggage – but they are broad, terraced steps with railings. Extremely do-able. This part of Lisbon is packed with tourists from around the world – that is part of the fun, meeting people from all over – so be prepared for the nearby bars and restaurants staying open into the early hours of the morning, but it’s good natured eating, laughing, talking and drinking – no thumping music or arguments, etc. If you close the windows, 95% of the street noise goes away.
The accommodation itself is just as advertised: very light, bright, with lots of room, a nice king bed, a sectional that can convert, a large table in the living room, little eat in dinette table in the kitchen, and simple to use appliances, and a nice bathroom. There’s an elevator you use to get up to the apartment itself, hugely helpful and one of the reasons I choose to stay at this location. You will find convenient stores steps away to get the bare necessities, with other grocery type stores nearby, so you can take advantage of having a full kitchen and eat in when you want. The wifi in the apartment was reliable and speedy, and let me stay in touch with everything at home.
I very much appreciated getting a run down of the neighborhood from a host representative who met me at check in, the ability to check in early for a small fee, the thoughtful binder of information broken out by neighborhood and what to do and see, and the responsiveness of the hosts. They even arranged cab service with someone they knew to pick me up at 3:00 AM for the return trip. The ability to do everything through the AirBnB app was so convenient and I could not have asked for a better experience!
Many thanks to my hosts!