Spirit of Art in the Heart of Lisbon
Video: Spirit of Art in the Heart of Lisbon
A 20-second look at Spirit of Art in the Heart of Lisbon (3-star, Lisbon), made from the hotel's own photos.
Looking for a straightforward base in Lisbon? Spirit of Art in the Heart of Lisbon in Alfama covers the essentials and sits near Monserrate Palace.
From here, Lisbon’s main attractions — including Monserrate Palace — are an easy walk or short ride away, so you spend less time in transit and more time exploring.
Rates shift with the season and with demand, so the live price on the booking page is always the one to trust — tap through for tonight’s or your dates' real availability.
Key facts
What’s included
Around Alfama
Getting around Lisbon: metro, trams, trains and whether you need a car
You do not need a car in Lisbon, and in Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto it is a liability — streets narrower than a car door, resident-only parking, and hotel garages charging €18–25 a night. Get a rechargeable Navegante card for €0.50 and load single rides at about €1.80, or take the 24-hour Carris/Metro pass at roughly €7 if you are doing the funiculars. The metro’s four lines cover the airport, Baixa (Baixa-Chiado, Rossio), Avenida, Parque das Nações and Alcântara’s edge; trams 28E (Martim Moniz–Graça–Alfama–Baixa–Estrela–Campo de Ourique) and 15E (Praça da Figueira–Alcântara–Belém, about 25 minutes) do the rest. Buy tickets before boarding — the onboard fare on the 28E is around €3.20 against €1.80 with a card. The ferry from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas in Almada takes 10 minutes and costs about €1.55.
For day trips, trains beat driving. Rossio station to Sintra is roughly 40 minutes and about €2.40 each way; Cais do Sodré to Cascais is 33–40 minutes for a similar fare, stopping at Belém, Oeiras, Carcavelos and Estoril along the seafront. Queluz-Belas on the Sintra line puts you 10 minutes' walk from the Palácio Nacional de Queluz. Mafra, Ericeira and Óbidos are bus territory — Mafrense and Rodoviária do Oeste coaches from Campo Grande and Campo Grande/Sete Rios, an hour to Mafra, about an hour and a quarter to Óbidos. A hire car only earns its keep if you are combining Arrábida, Setúbal and the Costa da Caparica beaches, where public transport gets thin.
How many nights in Lisbon, and what to do with them
Four nights is the honest minimum if you want the city and one palace day; five to six if you want Sintra properly. Day one belongs to Baixa and Chiado on foot — Praça do Comércio, Rua Augusta, the Elevador de Santa Justa, then up to Castelo de São Jorge (about €15) and down through Alfama at sunset. Day two is Belém: the 15E tram, Jerónimos and the Torre de Belém, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, and the MAAT on the riverfront, ending with an early evening at LX Factory in Alcântara. Day three is Sintra, and it needs the whole day: first train out of Rossio before 9am, Pena Palace on a timed ticket, then Quinta da Regaleira or Castelo dos Mouros, not both plus Pena.
With a fifth and sixth night, add the coast and a second palace. Cais do Sodré to Cascais takes under 40 minutes, and Estoril’s Tamariz beach or the walk to Boca do Inferno fills an afternoon; Queluz slots into a half day on the way back from Sintra. Mafra’s Palácio Nacional, with its basilica, library and six carillons, is the quietest big monument in the region and rarely queued. Keep one evening free for Príncipe Real and Bairro Alto without a plan, and one for a fado house in Alfama or Mouraria — book the fado, as the rooms hold 30–40 people. Anything under three nights and you will spend your time on the 28E rather than in the places it passes.
What hotels actually cost in Lisbon
In shoulder season, budget the following per double room per night: hostel bed €22–35, simple two- or three-star or a guesthouse in Mouraria, Graça or Alfama €80–140, four-star in Baixa, Chiado or Cais do Sodré €150–230, and five-star on Avenida da Liberdade or in Lapa from €300, commonly €380–500. January and February knock 30–40% off all of those; June and mid-September add roughly the same on top. A budget room here usually means a small interior room in a converted apartment block with a shared stairwell and no lift — normal in Alfama, worth checking if you have a heavy case. Mid-range buys you air conditioning, a lift and breakfast for €12–18 a head; the top end buys space and quiet, which are the two scarcest things in the centre.
Three things move rates sharply. Web Summit week in November can turn a €150 four-star into €400 across Parque das Nações, Avenida and Baixa alike. The nights of 12 and 13 June around Santo António, plus New Year at Terreiro do Paço, do something similar on a smaller scale. Coastal pricing runs on a different calendar: Cascais, Estoril and Ericeira peak from mid-July to late August at €200–300 for a four-star, then halve in November. Add €4 per person per night in municipal tourist tax inside Lisbon, capped at seven nights, usually charged at the property and not included in the rate you see.
