LISBON - Portugal - page 108

library overlooks the river (Sb/Db-€160-300, check website for specials, buffet breakfast,
air-con, elevator, free Wi-Fi, Rua das Janeles Verdes 7, bus #714 stops nearby, tel.
213-968-143, fax [phone], www.asjanelasverdes.com , [e-mail] ) .
$$ Ibis Hotels: Three Ibis hotels offer no-stress, no-character rooms for a good price
in soulless areas away from the center—but near handy Metro stations. Each has non-
smoking floors, air-conditioning, and €5 breakfasts. One child under 12 stays for free and
a third adult is €10 ( www.ibishotel.com ). IbisLiberdade has the best location (70 rooms,
Sb/Db-€75, 2 blocks uphill from Avenida da Liberdade's Hotel Tivoli, Metro: Avenida,
Barata Salgueiro 53, tel. [phone], fax [phone]). The others are Ibis Saldanha
(116 rooms, Sb/Db-€70, 2-minute walk from Metro: Saldanha, Avenida Casal Ribeiro 23,
tel. [phone], fax [phone]) and Ibis José Malhoa (211 rooms, Sb/Db-€61, next
to Metro: Praça de Espanha, Avenida José Malhoa, tel. [phone], fax [phone]).
Apartments
Cross-Pollinate is an online booking agency representing B&Bs and apartments in
a handful of European cities, including Lisbon. Unlike huge aggregator websites like
HomeAway or VRBO, Cross-Pollinate handpicks its listings, selectively presenting each
one as if recommending it to a friend. Search their website for a listing you like, then sub-
mit your reservation online. If the place is available, you'll be charged a small deposit and
emailed the location and check-in details. Policies vary from owner to owner, but in most
cases you'll pay the balance on arrival in cash. Lisbon listings range from a Rossio gues-
thouse room for two for €70 per night to a two-bedroom Alfama apartment sleeping four
for €100 per night. Minimum stays vary from one to three nights (US tel. [phone],
www.cross-pollinate.com , [e-mail] ) .
Eating in Lisbon
Each district of the city comes with fun and characteristic restaurants. (Good eateries in
Belém are described on here .) Ideally, have one dinner with a fado performance—several
good options for music with your meal are listed in this section, with more fado options
described earlier, under “Entertainment in Lisbon.”
Snack Bars
Lisbon seems enthusiastic about serving quick, light meals at characteristic bars. On just
about any street, you can belly up to a bar, observe, and order what looks good for a tasty,
memorable, and extremely cheap meal. You'll see lots of pastel de bacalhau (€1), Lis-
bon's ubiquitous and delicious cod cake. Strangely, this national dish of Portugal comes
from Norway—salted cod. It's never fresh, always salty, and goes well with Portuguese