Best neighbourhoods for American ex-pats in Lisbon

We wrote before about finding the best places in Portugal where you can connect with American ex-pats, but we didn’t go into detail about Lisbon. As a multicultural metropolis, Lisbon has many different neighbourhoods, and some are better for ex-pats than others. So we put together a small overview of the parts of Lisbon most favoured by American ex-pats.

Situated in the very heart of Lisbon, Baixa is one of the best parts of Lisbon for any foreign traveller. Despite being a prime hunting ground for investor real estate driving up the rent prices in this neighbourhood, it is still worth the price. It just needs more luck to find a suitable apartment here, which shouldn’t be a big problem with Flatio.

You can enjoy many historical plazas like Praça do Comércio, Restauradores Square, and Rossio Square, which offer a lot of restaurants, cafés, and bars where you can meet your friends or make new ones. And even though it gets a bit crowded at times (it’s not the calmest of neighbourhoods), it is still a vibrant and widely popular part of the city that you shouldn’t pass on if you have the chance to live there.

Belém is home to some of the best known and most often visited sights in all of Lisbon. The famous Torre de Belém is here, as is the Jerónimos Abbey, and many other sights will make you feel like you are discovering antique mysteries. But the neighbourhood also has many perks for everyday life.

Its parks and the gorgeous estuary of the river Tejo are perfect for short walks and relaxation, making the neighbour incredibly family-friendly. All the more because the neighbourhood is very calm and quiet, especially compared to the city centre. If you want to live somewhere unique but also peaceful, pick Belém.

Noted often for its street grid design, which will be familiar to many American urbanites, Campo de Ourique is a mix of 19th century and modern architecture, which has attracted many successful people and families. It is on the pricier side, but the many local cafés, traditional restaurants, and small, local art shops will more than makeup for it.

It has one minor drawback: the city metro does not operate in the neighbourhood. You will have to do mostly with busses, but it's not an issue once you get used to it. The local life is centred around the café culture and the Jardim da Parada park, situated in the middle of the neighbourhood. It makes for a pleasant walk, a nice outing with the family, or even meeting friends.