Does anyone know how is Campo pequeno for staying? Are there restaurants and shops?

Leo, Campo Pequeno is pretty far out from the heart of Lisbon. It is about halfway between the airport and the northern edges of Baixa. Consider it a suburb.
How long will you be in Lisbon? Are you planning to rent an apartment? If so, I can recommend a fantastic place on Praca de Luis Camoes where we stayed last year.
Praca de Luis Camoes sits as the dividing line between the night club area of the Bairro Alto and the shopping haven of the Chiado district.
It has great access to transportation - both tram and train.
Rue Garrett, the main shopping street of the Chiado turns into the famous Largo do Chiado and runs right into the southeast end of Praca Luis de Camoes.
Here is a picture from the living room window.

Deborah:

I would be very interested in finding out where you stayed in Lisbon. My wife and I will be visiting there in July.

You can email me at:

skategoatTWENTYFIVE@yahoo.ca

Replace the TWENTYFIVE with the numbers.

Hi HHK
Welcome to SlowTrav

I'd be happy to post the info on the apartment right here.

It is owned by a man named Paulo.
He uses the management services of Alexandra who owns the agency:
Travelling To Lisbon
Paulo's apartment is #4 in Alexandra's listings. We found it to be perfect, but you should take the time to study all of her listings. You may want a different neighborhood.
I can promise you that she has very high standards.

Thank you for the referral. I am also looking at a B&B in the area - www.zuzabed.com. Unbelievably good reviews on TripAdvisor.

At this point, I'm undecided as to itinerary. I'm thinking 3 nights in Lisbon to start. Then we rent a car, spend a day in Sintra before heading north.

I'd like to spend time in the Porto area and the north. My wife wants to see the Algarve but I am leery about all the tourists and bus tours.

Any comments? We just want to soak in the Old World lifestyle, not necessarily see all the "sights". I know Sintra is on everyone's must-see list but anything else?

I know EXACTLY where that B&B is. If you look at the Metro stop directly south on Rua Garrett and then move your eye to the empty orange area west (just at the bottom of the map) that is Praca Luis de Camoes. So, if you would prefer the services of a B&B to your own kitchen facilities, you've chosen a GREAT location!
The only caution I would have is to make sure the noise level is acceptable. The train terminal is right behind you.

We didn't visit Sintra. Infidels that we are.
We were very content to stay in the heart of Old Lisbon to "soak in the Old World lifestyle" as you put it.
The Tram (which stops right on the Praca) and Metro were our modes of transportation to sight-see within Lisbon. We walked up the street to the butcher and green grocer for our dinner ingredients every night.

You are doing our trip in reverse. After we left Galicia, we spent a week in the Alto Minho at Ponte da Barca before heading south to Lisbon.

Zuzabed has been unresponsive to my emails and phone calls so I am going to take your suggestion and look at the apartments on the travelingtolisbon site. We are only a couple so Apt. 4 looks like overkill for us. What do you think of staying in the Alfama area? There are a number of smaller apts. there.

hhk, I'm so sorry. I lost track of this thread and didn't see your question until today.
I hope it isn't too late.
Alfama is actually a very interesting district. It's warren of streets below the Castelo are facinating to explore.
Think of it as the funky part of a big city at the beginning of its revitalization.
Some cool things in Alfama are the Feira da ladra(thieves market) and the gothic cloister of the Se.
Alfama also claims to have the best and most authentic Fado in the city. I'm not a Fado fan, so I can't really speak to that.
I'm not familiar with accomodations. In fact, I'm not sure there are any hotels there. But if a reputable apartment rental company has listings there, you should be safe.

Thanks for responding Deborah. I was about to book an apartment but then I spoke to a Portuguese friend and he strongly suggested I find something air-conditioned. We are going in July. So I ended up booking the Hotel Olissippo Castelo which is a boutique hotel near the Castelo.

Thank you for your help.

Hi!

You've chosen a great location but I hope no one in your party has mobility issues because the Castelo is an area with a lot of cobblestones and steep streets. In July you’ll still find a lot of street happenings due to the celebration of the popular saints but you’ll have missed Saint Anthony’s, the biggest street party of them all… Don’t miss the restaurant inside the theatre in front of your hotel (http://cafe-taborda.planetaclix.pt/): the service is nothing to write home about and they don’t accept credit cards (cash only) but the food is good and it is usually cheap (4 of us had dinner there for 50 euros) and you’ll have a magnificent view; being July you’ll might even find a place outside in the terrace.

Hope you’ll enjoy your stay and if you need any info, please ask away!

Bugs

Great to find a thread about Lisbon! My partner and I will be there from May 7 to 11, a first visit en route to Paris.

If there are areas to steer clear of, that would be great to know. We're a male couple in our 50s, living in Asia and exploring the world--pretty intrepid and appreciative of history, music, architecture and the endless fascination of people. No Portugese language...will that present a challenge?

Hi, JJvoyager!

Welcome to ST and to Lisbon. Lisbon is for the most part a very safe city, don’t worry. I would only avoid, at night, the Alameda area, the Martim Moniz area and the Parque Eduardo VII area. The Intendente you should avoid at all costs anytime of the day (we do! ). But those in general are not the areas where the main points of interest to a visitor are. As to the language barrier, again don’t worry, most people know at least a little bit of English.

Bugsy

Thanks for the tips- Lisboa was great! (However, a fellow traveler had his wallet lifted on the number 28 tram - a very useful and popular tram route - so take care!)

Recommended: the cloisters at the Monastery of St. Jorgas - honey coloured stone that is intricately carved and simply a magical space--we sat and watch the reaction of visitors coming into the space for the first time--jaws dropping, wonder in the eyes, over and over again. Nice to see in today's rather jaded world!

Arrived in Paris, teh adventure continues.

Ciao!
John

Hi,
I was in Lisbon last year and stayed at Britania Hotel. It was fantastic. Also, right around the corner on a small street there were a bunch of restaurants that the locals frequent. We got before dinner drinks, appetizers, main course, dessert, coffee and after dinner drinks for about 24E for all 3 of us. All of this was just off the menu, not some tourist deal. It was wonderful food, very fresh.