The Solar do Vinho do Porto (Port Wine Institute) may sound a bit fusty and the guidebooks say that it's a bit staid, but if you want to try a myriad of different ports that bear no resemblance to the ones your gran used to wheel out each Christmas, this is the place for you.

It's comparatively cheap too, although the staff aren't the friendliest! The place is still pretty relaxing and it's handy for kicking off a night in Bairro Alto. Try the white ports, they're generally all pretty good.

Rua de São Pedro de Alcântara, at the top of the Elevador de Gloria, opposite the Miradouro Alcantara

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A great bar in Bairro Alto. Very chilled, wonderful wine expertly served and the staff will recommend good ones by the glass or bottle. Music is billed as electro-pop, but my experience is that it's relaxed bordering on ambient. Beautiful staff, great decor and just the perfect place to unwind after a day pounding the streets.

Rua da Atalaia, Bairro Alto

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Whilst many other bars in the Bairro Alto are more authentic and great fun for younger souls, we loved Jurgens bar. Small but with room to breathe, lively but not too loud, it felt just right. Plus they serve great caipirinhas and mojitos!

Rua Diario de Noticias, 68

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Terrace cafe/bar is on the terrace of the Chão do Loureiro market. It's a great place to sit and relax with sofas, armchairs, etc and the most amazing view over Lisbon. Not the cheapest bar, but definitely one of the coolest!

You can get there from Rua da Costa do Castelo.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This is the best place to go for cocktails at night in Lisbon. Since it is not in the centre of all of the night time action in the Bairro Alto neighbourhood, it's easy to be overlooked. But it is within walking distance from Bairro Alto and worth finding it. It has a variety of excellent cocktails and the overall atmosphere is cool and relaxed.

See the www.golisbon.com for more details about it.

It is located at Rua Ruben A. Leitão, 17-A

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Restaurant Nilo, located in the charmer Baixa of Lisbon (downtown), near the beautiful Rossio and Praça da Figueira, in a street with more than 20 restaurants, differs from the others for having delicious Portuguese typical food, with fresh and quality products with an honest and effective service.

Our favourite dishes included the delicious rice with seafood and the codfish or one of the typical dishes of the day like cozido à Portuguesa or feijoada à transmontana. And last, but not least, to drink the delicious Portuguese beer, Sagres.

Adress:
Rua dos correeiros 217-219 1100-Lisboa-Portugal

Phone:
213427810

Site: www.geocities.com/nilo217219/restaurantebar

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Public terrace and suntrap with a spectacular view across the River Tejo to the 25 de Abril bridge and the Rio imitation Cristo-Rei.

The little kiosk does good, cheap bica's of coffee and imperial glasses of beer. If you take exception with young bohemian types playing percussion stay away. Otherwise, take a book, people watch and easily while away a few hours.

Rua de Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina/Bairro Alto; Metro: Baixa-Chiado

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This place is wonderful - the staff can be snotty, and it's not cheap, but fascinating all the same. And it's just a couple of hundred yards up the hill from the Port Institute (also can be snotty) but cheap tasting of some great port wines.

Rua Dom Pedro V, 89;tel 21 342-47-29;Metro: Restauradores, then take the Elevador da Gloria and turn right;Open til 2am

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This bar and tea room is great for just hanging for hours. You can play pool in the back room. The place is overstuffed with huge cases full of toys and old collectables. Great feeling of faded grandeur.

Rua Dom Pedro V 89, Bairro Alto;
tel: 21 342 4729

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Go bar hopping in the Bairro Alto (high district). Wall-to-wall bars stay open until at least 3 am, but none of the drunken rowdiness you see in British towns.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The best time to enjoy a whole lot of caipirinhas and mojitos on the bar-lined hills of the Bairro Alto is when Lisbon turns out on June 13 (or the nearest weekend) for the Feast of Saint Anthony of Lisbon - the patron saint of Portugal who was born in the capital.

Every bar and club in the district shuts its doors and moves its drinks to the windows, or on to tables outside and the streets become one huge party. A bit like the Notting Hill carnival should be: drink- and music-filled and unbelievably friendly.

www.golisbon.com/practical-lisbon/festas.html

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This restaurant/bar at the top of the Sheraton Hotel offers an excellent view of the city by night and the cocktails are fairly inexpensive (in comparison to other European capital cities).

Rua Latino Coelho, 1;
tel: 21 312 0000;
www.sheratonlisboa.com/eng/restaurante/bar_panorama/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Posssibly one of the best spots in Europe for a night out. Take the elevator up the hill to the Bairro Alto and wander through the lanes of bars, fado houses and clubs - fantastic on a weekend night when hundreds of people congregate on the streets drinking mojitos and cheap beer out of plastic cups, listening to music from samba to African rhythms. Don't expect to get home before four, or sober!

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Around the Rossio are the last few richly-decorated old hole-in-the-wall bars selling Ginjinha, a thick, sweet and lethally potent brew of cherries, sugar and brandy. You can have it with or without the 'fruta' (cherries) - if you have it 'com', eat the cherry afterwards. But be warned: it's quite a hit.

Rossio, Rua das Portas de S. Antão

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A dizzying jewel-box of a bar, the walls lined with shelf after shelf of toys, models, statues, paintings, knick-knacks and junk. There's a warren of rooms, with pool played in the back. A good cocktail list to help you try and maintain focus. If you're into minimalism, give it a very wide berth.

Rua Dom Pedro V, 89;
tel 21 342-47-29;
Metro: Restauradores, then take the Elevador da Gloria and turn right;
Open til 2am

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The best place in Lisbon for live Cape Verdian music - an atmospheric, crumbling old 16th-century mansion with a courtyard that's almost as busy as the main hall on summer nights. Fantastic.

Largo Conde Barão 50, Santos;
tel: 396 3735;
metro: Cais do Sodre

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Between the Baixa and Castelo is the sloping maze of Mouraria - the Alfama without the tourists and the chi-chi boutiques. Mainly African, it hums with life day and night. Walk up through the narrow streets and wind up in Graca - Lisbon's highest hill - then head for the rooftop bar of the Albergaria Senhora do Monte. It has the finest view over the Castelo and the city.

Metro: Martim Moniz, then head uphill. Albergaria Senhora do Monte is at Calçada do Monte, 39.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Relaxed but funky cocktail bar. Blow your holiday budget on the cognac and champagne-based Black Amex – a snip at £160 a glass – or stick with the more down-to-earth Basildon Sue.

Rua Ruben A Leitao 17, Principe Real;
tel: 351 21 342 4033; www.cincolounge.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends