Getting to Know Lisbon's Neighborhoods

I've been discovering the neighborhoods and talking with the realtors of Lisbon. Capital city means capital prices. But I think this place would appeal to anybody looking for a base in one of Europe's liveliest seaport cities. And the weather's great too (for October). Blue skies with fluffy white clouds and still warm enough not to need a jacket.

Foreigners with romantic ideas have started buying in the Alfama and Bairro Alto, Lisbon's oldest, most picturesque (and it has to be said, shabbiest) districts. These are the cheapest downtown neighborhoods and you'll pay between $69,000 and $83,000 for a 540-square-foot one-bedroom apartment here.

Lisboites who can afford to do so look elsewhere. They don't see much magic in medieval apartment houses with no central heating, air conditioning, or elevators. One of the largest residential areas, Benfica, is well to the north of downtown, and much of this area is 1960s and 70s housing stock. Not too attractive to look at, but to locals, far more desirable. A one-bedroom apartment here averages $115,000.

Going back towards downtown, the area of wide avenues and boulevards between the Saldanha and Marques de Pombal Metro stations is a mix of residential and commercial (and a good area for tracking down realtors.) The massive King Eduard VII park provides a nice area of greenery and here a typical one-bedroom apartment in a well-constructed building easily fetches $200,000. (By the way, proximity to a Metro station boosts prices.)

Although the property market has generally been fairly static over the past year, realtor Joao Gago of Lammi agency told me that hasn't stopped Lisboites sinking their money into property...and prices do rise in certain areas. Lapa, a district to the west of the Bairro Alto, has long been in favor with the middle and upper class.

I walked out here this afternoon, through the shabbily picturesque neighborhoods of Bica and Santa Caterina. Switchback streets abound, but there are great views over red pantiled roofs to the river Tagus and the wide Atlantic.

There are no sights to see in Lapa which is probably why guidebooks don't mention it. However it's a pleasant neighborhood with a really safe feel--notices in tobacconists advertise guitar and cello lessons and the cafés are full of ladies in hats munching pastries.

I found another realtor here, Jose Pedro Nunes of the Libris Agency; tel. (351) 21-393-3030. He told me that a one-bedroom Lapa apartment (say 650 square feet) would probably fetch between $160,000 and $180,000. A four-bedroom apartment would go for somewhere around $500,000. With so many people wanting to live in Lapa, perhaps it's worth considering for the investment potential, but if you simply want a home, Sen. Nunes advises looking to Campo Ourique, the neighborhood where he lives. Here a four-bedroom apartment would fetch $330,000 to $370,000.

Not that Lapa is the most expensive part of the city. For really crazy prices, look to Parque Nacoes, site of the 1998 Expo, about 5 miles east of the city's heart. I was out here at the weekend and was really taken by an apartment building designed like the prow of a ship. These just happen to be the most expensive in Lisbon--a four-bedroom apartment recently sold for $900,000 though I'm told each apartment does have its own swimming pool.

Both Sens. Gago and Nunes speak English, although you don't have to buy to experience the Lisbon lifestyle--a three-bedroom apartment below Sao Jorge's castle rents for $1,380 per month.