Where to stay in Portugal?

Rua de São Nicolau, in the Baixa. You sleep in the middle of the Pombaline grid, with the Alfama and the Mercado da Ribeira within walking distance.

The dinners cooked by the owner's mother, known as Mamma, made the hostel's reputation.

Rua de São Julião, in the Baixa. A budget hostel in Lisbon's flat centre, from where you walk up to the Alfama and its miradouros.

Praça Luís de Camões, between Chiado and Bairro Alto. You are on the square where tram 28 passes, on foot from the Mercado da Ribeira and the Tagus.

An 18th-century building renovated in 2019 by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Eduardo Souto de Moura.

Rua 1º de Dezembro, in Santa Justa, between Restauradores and Rossio. You sleep where the Baixa meets the avenue, within walking distance of everything.

Opened in 1892, a Belle Époque palace hotel built next to Rossio station.

Rua do Pau de Bandeira, in the residential Lapa district, 2.7 km from the centre of Lisbon. A 19th-century mansion for those who prefer the embassy streets to the bustle of the Baixa.

The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, on rua das Janelas Verdes, is within walking distance as you head down towards the Tagus.

In Estefânia, the Sintra district around the station, Rua Capitão Mário Alberto Soares Pimentel. A hostel for arriving by train from Lisbon, then heading up to the old town and its palaces.

Rua Doutor Alfredo da Costa, in Estefânia, very close to Sintra station. A guesthouse for arriving by train without dragging a suitcase far, then reaching the old town and the palace buses.

Urbanização Village do Alto, in the Serra de Sintra, 4.2 km from the centre. An estate with a golf course in the middle of the forest, for driving out to Sintra, Cascais and Cabo da Roca.

The estate is laid out around a 14th-century monastery, preserved in the middle of the golf course.

Avenida Rei Humberto II de Itália, on the Cascais seafront, 12 km from Sintra. You choose the ocean and the beaches of Cascais, with the Boca do Inferno on foot and Sintra by train.

Rua do Raimundo, 300 m from the centre of Évora, inside the walls. A simple hotel in the streets of the centre, for those spending one night between Lisbon and the Algarve without looking for more.

Herdade do Perdiganito, in Nossa Senhora de Machede, 14 km from Évora, in an olive grove. You choose the Alentejo countryside and silence; Évora is visited by car during the day.

Rua Cândido dos Reis, at the foot of the aqueduct, 400 m from the centre of Évora. A palace turned hotel with a spa, for ending days spent between the Temple of Diana and the lanes in peace.

A surfers' hostel for the Lagos stop, with a group atmosphere. You sleep on a small budget between kayaking to the Benagil caves, Ponta da Piedade and evenings in the old town.

Beco do Paiol, in the lanes of the historic centre, 200 m from the centre of Lagos. You walk out to the old town, Praia Dona Ana and the catamaran departures from the harbour.

A hostel for the Lagos stop, on the western coast of the Algarve. A budget base for walking to Ponta da Piedade, going down to Dona Ana beach and setting off on the Seven Hanging Valleys trail.

Rua das Violetas, on the Porto de Mós cliff, 2.1 km from the centre of Lagos. You sleep above the ocean, in peace, with Ponta da Piedade and Dona Ana on foot along the path.

Estrada da Meia Praia, 2.6 km from the centre of Lagos, on the long Meia Praia beach. For those who want sand at the hotel's doorstep rather than coves, with the town by car.