Where to stay in Lisbon: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

After the 1755 earthquake, Lisbon rebuilt its centre as an elegant grid of straight streets running from Rossio Square down to the riverside Praça do Comércio. The Baixa is still the hub: flat (a rare luxury here), lined with shops and cafés, with the Santa Justa lift hauling people up to Chiado and the trams and Metro fanning out in every direction.

Hotels make the most of the location: a 1940s-glamour hotel near Rossio with a rooftop gastrobar, a grand old hotel right on Rossio with views of the castle and Alfama, a five-star pousada on Praça do Comércio, and a stylish newcomer a five-minute walk from Rossio. It's busy and touristy in places, but nowhere is more convenient.

Up the hill from the Baixa, Chiado is Lisbon's elegant quarter of old cafés, theatres, bookshops and fashionable shopping. Next door, Bairro Alto is a grid of narrow streets that sleeps all day and becomes one big open-air bar at night, and beyond it, Príncipe Real has leafy gardens, concept stores and excellent restaurants.

The hotels have plenty of personality: a five-star at the top of the Glória funicular, a boutique hotel on the edge of Bairro Alto with a spa, family suites in Chiado with a kids' café, and a design hotel in Príncipe Real. If you want to be in the middle of things, this is it, but light sleepers should choose carefully.

Alfama is the oldest and most atmospheric part of Lisbon, a maze of lanes, stairways and tiny squares spilling down from São Jorge Castle to the river. Washing hangs between balconies, the 28 tram squeezes through, and in the evening fado singers perform in small restaurants where you'll want to stay for one more song.

Hotels are mostly small and characterful: a boutique hotel in the heart of the quarter, a sleek five-star inside the historic Santa Apolónia railway station, and an elegant riverside hotel in a centuries-old building on the banks of the Tagus. The hills are steep and taxis can't always reach your door, but the views make up for every step.

Avenida da Liberdade is Lisbon's answer to the Champs-Élysées, a tree-shaded boulevard running uphill from Restauradores to the roundabout at Marquês de Pombal, lined with mosaic pavements, café kiosks and luxury boutiques. Parque Eduardo VII rises behind it, with long views back down to the river.

This is where most of the city's five-stars are: the original Tivoli, open since 1933, a Sofitel, a manor house conversion by PortoBay, and a 16th-century palace a few metres from the Avenida. Up around Marquês de Pombal and Amoreiras, newer towers add rooftop infinity pools with panoramic views. It's polished and quieter at night than the old quarters, and the Baixa is a downhill stroll away.

Belém is where Portugal's Age of Discovery is written in stone. The Jerónimos Monastery, the Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries line the riverfront, the gardens are wide and green, and the famous custard tarts have been baked here since the 19th century.

Hotels here are calmer and more spacious: a design hotel right on the river between the monument and the tower, a hotel built on the site of the governor's house of Belém Tower, a 19th-century palace with lush gardens, and a newer five-star with a pool a few minutes' drive from Jerónimos. Trams and suburban trains run along the river into the centre.

Built for the 1998 World Exposition, Parque das Nações is Lisbon's modern face: a long, flat riverside promenade, the Oceanarium, the cable car and the soaring Vasco da Gama Bridge. It's spacious and easy-going, the airport is a few kilometres away, and the Metro takes you into town.

Hotels are contemporary and roomy: a designer hotel inspired by the compass rose, a hotel near the Vasco da Gama Bridge three kilometres from the airport, and luxury riverside apartments with hotel service. Great for families and short stays, less so for old-world charm.

About 30 km south of Lisbon, across the Tagus, Sesimbra is a fishing village wrapped around a sheltered bay below a Moorish castle, with the green hills of the Arrábida Natural Park behind. The beach is right in town, and the grilled fish is the stuff of legend.

Hotels face the sea: a five-star with a spa and pools for adults and children, a hotel above the town beach pitched at romantic breaks, a hillside hotel where every room has a sea view, and smart apartments in the village centre. Combine it with a few days in Lisbon for a city-and-sea break.