Chiado 16

Our aging cab stained with layers of cigarette smoke rattles along what should be a short journey into the Portuguese capital's old town. The taxi jams forward and around corners until it ascends a steep cobbled hill, the tires skirting the tram tracks. Our driver speaks to us in Portuguese in disbelief that there's a hotel at the location we’ve given and we begin to fret a little. But as we wrap up around a steep bend above the city, it’s as if we’re entering a cloud where the only mood is one of calm. On the hill above Lisbon, we are no longer part of the hustle and bustle of the streets below – we are suddenly dropped into a more gentle time. A few locals loiter outside the Chiado Museum’s entrance. An old guy with a stick dodders up the sidewalk. The driver locates the address and a small plaque shines a welcome to Chiado 16.

Before us is a tall, handsome, contemporary building in a subtle but striking amber shade. Entering this chic city retreat, we still wonder if we’re at the right place. It doesn’t feel like a hotel: a beautiful and purple-tiled anteroom with dramatic art looking down at us from the walls makes us imagine that we are standing in a well-to-do Lisbon family home. All that changes when the cheery Hélène brings an air of professionalism to our welcome; she asks, her hand outstretched, how our flight from New York was, in an accent that lies somewhere between London, Cape Town and Wellington.

It would seem there are no distinct lines between office, hotel and home at Chiado 16. Hélène lives with her family somewhere upstairs, close enough to care about everything that happens in their hotel, but far enough that once we take the winding mountain of stairs to our room, we are in a private sanctuary.

Built on a steep hillside, the building overlooks the cobbled street we ascended minutes earlier and each spacious apartment is situated privately on the floors beneath the mosaic-tiled lobby. They look out across the tops of an unspoiled city – with few highrises or jarring modern anomalies amid its skyline. Not too far in the distance, on the other side of the valley, are the ruins of ancient St George’s Castle, and to our right is the broad Tagus River. 

The original 17th-century shell was completely gutted and rebuilt inside the traditional walls by award-winning architect Luis Rebelo de Andrade. The new incarnation means that the apartments are laid out in a modern and simple way, and everything feels spotless and discreet. The luxury taps and trinkets of the bathroom make it the kind you wish you had at home. In-built technology and amenities around the apartment (WiFi, washing machine, stove) seem masked from view and we’re left sat on the plush purple couch in peace wishing that every hotel room could be this relaxing.

Chiado 16 and Lisbon are a reminder of why it’s great to travel: that heady combination of relaxation and stimulation. After refuelling with the generous in-room breakfast of fresh fruit and pastries, we feel as though we can springboard into a city of many angles. Based on the edge of Baixa-Chiado, every direction you take from the weighty door of the hotel might lead you to an adventure. The area, once a cultural magnet for artists, poets and other intellectual, goateed types, is known for its fantastic shopping. Walk down Rua do Alecrim, past its antique shops and old beer halls, and you’ll be navigated to a train station where you can travel to the coast. A stroll up Rua Serpa Pinto takes you to a plaza where you can sit at a preserved-in-time café and watch the world go by. Or seek out the route to another praça and find a sidestreet with restaurants where locals lunch on pork ribs or seafood, then meander to Rua Garrett to browse the fashionable boutiques and jewellery stores.

Wanting to see more of the city, we contemplate the rattle-y charm of the antique trams that climb the hills, but decide to take advantage of a station of a very modern metro minutes away. We visited Lisbon during the energy-filled OFFF festival: Iberia's media arts event when the young of Spain and Portugal flood Oerias, joined by flocks of other Europeans and North Americans. It’s situated a short train ride from the central station. With the leading creatives of the world gathered, this is a modern rave of learning and experimentation in darkened halls. In some ways its modernism is the opposite of the historic city but the vibrancy was finely attuned to the life of the capital.

At night we have all the options we could want – particularly as just beyond us are the narrow lanes of Bairro Alto. A hubbub of small bars and restaurants ever popular with tourists, this old neighbourhood always retains its local charm and customers. We take Hélène’s recommendation of a beautiful open-air restaurant near the castle, its views of the lit ships on the river and a hearty meaty offering.

At the end of our few days in this ancient city with many modern flavours, we pack our bags feeling contented. There is no reason to leave feeling sad – we know we’ll return soon to see Hélène’s welcoming smile with so much more to see in this interesting city we could never grow tired of.