Solar do Castelo
From its high vantage point overlooking the Tagus River, the Castelo do Sao Jorge has dominated the Lisbon skyline for over eight hundred years. The Solar do Castelo is embedded in the ramparts of this impressive 12th century fortification. The building itself was once part of the Alcacova Palace – the former home of Portugal’s first royal dynasty – and it’s our first recommendation if you’re looking for a romantic refuge in the Portuguese capital.
Our drivers can take you close to, but not quite up to the hotel’s front door – pedestrian-only access is part of the hotel’s quiet charm. The hotel staff will take you the last three hundred metres, along the cobbled medieval street to where a small sign hangs above an unassuming blue door. Heading inside, you’ll enter a beautifully restored grand hallway of decorative archways and exposed, roughly hewn stone. Medieval design is carefullly balanced with contemporary comfort, from the bespoke furniture in the shared lounges to the heavy linens, oak floors and decorative ceilings in the twenty guest bedrooms.
Outside, this district of Lisbon was once the Roman city of Olisipo, and the jumbled footprint of narrow streets and alleyways these early occupiers created is still very much the character of the Alfama and Graca neighbourhoods which surround the hotel. It’s a downhill walk into the Baixa, also known as Downtown, where the wide 18th century boulevards and grand riverfront squares are a pleasant contrast to cosy claustrophobia of old Lisbon, and the Castelo and the Baixa elevators make return uphill journey a less-tiring prospect. However, the steep gradient of Alfama’s streets aren’t to everyone’s tastes – if you have mobility issues, we recommend staying downtown.
