A grand 18th-century building with a striking yellow façade, the winsome Bairro Alto Hotel sits squarely between two of Lisbon’s most creative neighbourhoods. Chiado is a destination for fashion-forward travellers, while the bohemian Bairro Alto’s steeply cobbled streets are lined with boutiques, bookstores and countless restaurants and bars that come to life at night. Smart but not formal, the hotel’s five floors of bright, modern rooms – many with views of the capital’s action playing out below – exhibit sleek Portuguese flair.
These are topped by a spectacular rooftop terrace that looks out as far as the edge of the Tagus river. Downstairs, the hotel’s own cake shop bakes cinnamon-sprinkled pasteis de nata that simply cannot be missed.
