Sunny Lisbon

In my last post, written some weeks ago, I’ve talked about starting a topic on Lisbon hotels. And here it is the first one. For this first one, I’ll start with one I see everyday from my office window, the VIP Zurique.

You can check this hotel prices here.

Location

VIP Zurique is a big hotel located in the Entrecampos area. This area is one of the most active parts of the city during the daytime, being the close-by Avenida da Républica and Avenida 5 de Outubro two of most lively streets in town, filled with office and government buildings. This is Lisbon “second downtown” area, providing it with a lot of transportation and a nice sense of safety.

You can check it’s location on Google Maps.

From and To The Airport

The AeroBus bus stops at Av. Da Républica, which is close to the hotel.

Transportation

This is one great location in terms of public transportation. The hotel is close to the Entrecampos train station (too close?), that provides direct trains to Sintra, the south margin of the Tagus river or Oriente, from where you can take long course trains to the North of the country.

There are two main subway stations, Entrecampos (entrance on the train station) and Campo Pequeno. Avenida da Républica is well served with Carris buses.

Getting To…

• Downtown – You can get to downtown using the subway. Take the yellow line to Marques de Pombal and there change to the blue line, taking the Baixa-Chiado direction and exiting the subway in the station with the same name. If you share my opinion and prefer to avoid subways (sorry but dirty underground walls are not my scene), you can take the 745 bus (Est. Sta. Apolonia direction)  and exit on the Rossio square.
• Belém Area – The quickest way should be to take the train to Alcantara-Terra, and from there take another train to Belém. Using the same line you can also reach Cascais and Estoril. If you are a bus guy, take the 727 bus (Restelo direction) and exit on the Belém area.
• Sintra – You have direct trains from the Entrecampos train station.

Surroundings

Being a busy area means that you can find a lot of commerce in this surroundings. Still don’t expect to find here souvenirs or postcards, since this is not a tourist district.

On a short walking distance you can find the Campo Pequeno building, Lisbon bullfighting area and now also a shopping center where you can find shops and fast food restaurants. Close by you also have the Nossa de Senhora de Fátima church and the Caloust Gulbenkian museum, one of Lisbon finest art collections.

As stated before this is a safe neighborhood, so security shouldn’t be a problem.

Would I Stay There?

Yes. The only downside of this location is that it is not on the downtown area, which is more touristic and has a more lively nightlife, specially after dinner time. Still, using the bus, subway or even a taxi can take you from a place to the other in less than 20 minutes.