"ZZZZzzzzzzzzz...in Lisbon" Personal Page by Fiel

The standard pensão here is a single floor of a building with rooms equipped with a sink, a bidet, and maybe a small stall shower. There are (very clean) toilets and larger showers in the shared bathrooms. When you start to spend more money, there are bathrooms in the rooms and no curfews. Plan to pay with cash, 'cause credit cards are rarely accepted. Rates are determined by both the room and the number of occupants. Most places raise their rates by 10€ to 20€ for the summer, so watch out. When you first arrive, you may be approached by owners offering to take you to their pensão--they're pretty honest and safe, but use your judgment. As far as cheap central pensions go, your best bet is to stay in the Baixa. It's easy to get anywhere from here, and it's a short walk from the train station. There are some good ones in Alfama, and though it looks closer on the map to the station, the hills make it actually quite a haul. Don't be tempted by the hip Bairro Alto if you're on a budget--rooms ain't cheap, the facilities can be filthy, and you may run into some shady characters. Toward the Avenida da Liberdade are some lux hotels.

Pousada de Juventude de Lisboa (Rua Andrade Corvo 46; tel. 21/353-26-96, Fax 21/353-75-41; Metro to Picoas; 10€/bed, 25€ double; No credit cards) is the main youth hostel. It's near the Parque Eduardo VII, which makes it more central than most. Call ahead (or the tourist info desk at the train station will call for you) to see if there are places available. With more than 200 beds, it's pretty noisy and social. The catch: You need to be a member of the Youth Hostel Association and have a Hostelling International Card to stay here.

Pousada de Juventude de Catalazete (Estrada Marginal, Oeiras; tel. 21/443-06-38; Commuter train to Cascais from Cais do Sodré, get off at Oeiras; 7,50€ in winter, 10€ in summer for a dorm room, 20€ in winter, 25€ in summer for a double w/shower; No credit cards) is an ideal little place to stay, but a bit of a pain to get back to after going out. It's on the Oeiras beach, halfway between Lisbon and Cascais, with a restaurant, bar, and cooking facilities on site. Turn right out of the train station and hike about a kilometer down to the beach, or pay 2€ for a cab.

Pensão Moderna (Rua dos Correeiros 205-4?; tel. 21/346-08-18; Metro to Rossio; 12,50€ per person; No credit cards), in the Baixa, is basic and clean, with shared bathrooms and rooms that sleep one to four people from all over the world. There's no curfew, and you can sit with Dine, the Mozambican owner, in the sitting room to watch Brazilian soap operas with the others staying there.

The centrally located Pensão Galicia (Rua do Crucifixo 50-4?; tel. 21/342-84-30; Metro to Baixa-Chiado; 12,50€-15€ single, 30€ double w/bathroom, 25€ triple w/o bathroom; No credit cards) is cleaned well by a cute little old lady and has sinks in the rooms and bathrooms in some. The owners will go to the train station to pick up travelers and will also take you to two other similar, decent choices: Royal Hostal (tel. 21/347-90-06), in the same building, or Pension Beira-Mar (tel. 21/887-15-28) in Alfama.

Near the Sé Cathedral, Pensão S. João da Praça (Rua S. João da Praça 97 2?-3?; tel. 21/886-25-91, 21/888-13-78; Tram 12, 28, Bus 37 to Alfama; 30€-37,50€ double, 50€ suite, extra bed 10€; MC, V) is run by an English-speaking woman and has rooms that are clean and fully equipped with TV, fridge, and telephone--some have complete shower/toilet facilities, some don't. You get your own key and have no curfew. Frequented by the French.

You enter Pensão Coimbra e Madrid (Praça da Figueira 3-3?; tel. 21/342-17-60, Fax 21/342-32-64; Metro to Rossio; 15€-25€ single, 20€-30€ double, 35€ triple; No credit cards) through a tacky hallway covered in blue and green tiles and feel safe that there's a security camera to the street. Some rooms have bathrooms and a view of the Castelo. There's a TV room and bad machine coffee for 0,25€, but you're better off going down to the nearby Rossio plaza to perk up.

Residencial Santa Catarina (Rua Dr. Luis de Almeida e Albuquerque 6; Metro to Baixa-Chiado; tel. 21/346-61-06, Fax 21/347-72-27; 37,50€ single, 45€-65€ double, 75€ triple, includes breakfast; MC, V) on a lovely street in Chiado, has a nice breakfast room, a TV room, and a little bar you're probably not going to hang in. The basic rooms are clean, and the owner is friendly.

Hotel Borges (Rua Garrett 108; tel. 21/346-19-51/6, Fax 21/342-66-17, 21/343-28-09; Metro to Baixa-Chiado, Tram 28 to Bairro Alto; 45€ single, 50€ double, 60€ triple, includes breakfast; AE, DC, MC, V) is super central, and the front rooms have a perfect perch for watching the action at Cafe A Brasileira. All 100 rooms are spacious and clean, but the best thing about this place is you don't have to walk up any hills to get to the fun in Bairro Alto.

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