Who Santos suits
Couples and remote workers who want cafés, galleries and the river rather than tourist crowds, and anyone planning day trips to Belém, Cascais or Sintra. It is less picturesque than Alfama but far easier to live in for a week.
Getting there and around
- From the airport: metro to Cais do Sodré (one change), then a 10-minute walk or two stops on tram 25/15; about 40 minutes. Taxi 20–25 minutes.
- Train: Santos station is on the Cascais line: Belém 6 minutes, Cascais 35 minutes.
- Trams: 25 and 15 along the riverfront; the 28 is a 10-minute walk up to Calçada do Combro.
Within 10 minutes
- Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga and the Jardim 9 de Abril viewpoint above it.
- Time Out Market and the Ribeira das Naus riverside promenade.
- Fauna & Flora and Le Chat for brunch and sunset drinks over the river.
- The Santos Design District showrooms around Largo de Santos and Rua das Janelas Verdes.
- Cais do Sodré, the Time Out Market and Pink Street, 10 minutes east along the river.
Cais do Sodré: Time Out Market and Pink Street
Ten minutes east along Avenida 24 de Julho, or one stop on the train, Cais do Sodré is where Santos goes out. The Time Out Market fills the old Mercado da Ribeira hall with around 40 counters from Lisbon's better-known kitchens; go for a sampling lunch rather than a Friday-night dinner, and look into the traditional market in the other half of the building in the morning. Around the corner, Rua Nova do Carvalho, the Pink Street, is a photograph by day and the loudest street in central Lisbon after midnight. Both are close enough to use and far enough that the apartment stays quiet.
Eating
Santos is Lisbon's best brunch neighbourhood. Start at Mila, a few minutes from the apartment: eggs benedict with a beetroot hollandaise, açaí and chia bowls, carrot cake and pink lemonade, on a sunny corner that fills by 11:00 at weekends, so go early or book. Fauna & Flora is the other local favourite. Lunch menus in the neighbourhood's tascas run €10–16; Pink Street and Cais do Sodré cover late-night drinks.
Practical notes
- Noise: residential and calm after 22:00; the party streets are a 10-minute walk away.
- Groceries: supermarkets along Avenida 24 de Julho and small markets around Largo de Santos and Rua da Esperança.
- Tourist tax: Lisbon charges a municipal tax per adult per night, capped per stay; shown separately at checkout.