Our wedding will be held at Herdade do Perú, a beautiful vineyard 30 minutes outside of Lisbon on the Península de Setúbal.

Festas de Santo António: Our wedding events overlap with Lisbon's premier annual celebration, held throughout June, peaking on the night of June 12–13. It features vibrant street parties (arraiais), the Marchas Populares parade on Avenida da Liberdade, grilled sardines, and traditional music. This means booking accommodation will get more difficult and expensive closer to date, and, the city will be lively and loud throughout the nights, particularly in the historic core.

Transport: Lisbon public transportation is very good and easy to use – there is an extensive subway and bus system in addition to the iconic and cute above-ground trolleys. Taxis and Uber are a lot cheaper in Portugal than in the U.S. and are a very viable option to get around. It costs about 30 Euros to travel from the wedding venue to the center of the city (35-40 min drive), so whether you decide to stay in the city or on the peninsula, you can access both by car. If you stay outside the city, it may make sense to rent a car. We do not recommend renting a car if you are staying in the city because traffic and parking are very challenging. Much of the city is very old and the streets are extremely narrow – better to leave the driving to the local professionals.

On the night of the wedding we will arrange for shuttles between the city and the venue – more details on this to come.

Accommodation: Lisbon hotels can be more expensive in June than we had anticipated, so please try to explore options and book sooner rather than later. Hotels outside the city are more affordable and offer the possibility of more of a beach vacation while still being in taxi range of the city.

Aaron and Garine will be staying with our families at hotel Locke de Santa Joana during the leadup week and will move to the venue accommodations on Friday.

Here are a few neighborhood recommendations:

Alfama / Bairro Alto / Chiado : These are all older central neighborhoods. If you have not visited Lisbon before, you should definitely visit these areas. They are very hilly and cobblestone lined, dense networks of streets with very lively street life. Chiado has a lot of shopping. Alfama is the oldest of the three and while quieter at night is very busy with tourist attractions during the day. Bairro Alto is very busy at night with lots of bars. These neighborhoods will be full of celebrations for the Festas de Santo António (sardine grilling, drinking, music on the streets). Should be fun, but it will be harder to get around by car during the festivals, so be prepared to use Lisbon’s transit system.

Consider: Santhiago de Alfama (Luxury) ; Lisbon Check-In Guesthouse (Budget). Short term rentals (AirBnB etc.) are a better deal in these neighborhoods than hotels.

Principe Real: On top of a hill a little outside of the historic center. Principe Real is pretty, quieter, and has lots of good restaurants and shopping as well as great views of the city. Good choice if you want a fairly central location that is not as busy as the older neighborhoods below. Negative here is the steep and long hill – if you want to get around by foot, be prepared to hike up and down.

Consider: 1869 Principe Real House (Luxury) ; Casa do Principe (Medium) ; Nova Alegria (Budget) ; Casa de Hóspedes (Budget)

Avenida da Liberdade: Lisbon’s very large central avenue that leads towards the botanical gardens. Almost all of the large hotels are either on the avenue or adjacent to it. It is a bit bland, modern, and posh (shopping malls, luxury stores, etc), but it is very centrally located and easy to access by foot, car, or transit. Perfectly convenient, but less charming.

Consider: Locke de Santa Joana (Luxury to Medium – have kitchens) ; Brown’s Avenue or Hotel Algeria (luxury) ; Hotel Fenix (medium) ; easyHotel Lisbon (Budget)

Outside the City:

Azeitão: The venue is located in the center of the peninsula in Azeitão – if you want to stay very close by and enjoy the peninsula’s beaches and vineyards, this is a good choice.

Consider: Turim Club Azeitao Hotel (Medium/Budget)

Sesimbra: If you want more of a beach location, Sesimbra is interesting because you have easy access to both the Western facing Atlantic beaches and the rockier, calmer, Southern facing beaches.

Consider: Sesimbra Oceanfront Hotel (Medium), Sana Sesimbra (Medium), and Sheraton Four Points Sesimbra (Budget).

Costa Caparica: Very nice beach area between the venue and the city. Good option if you want to primarily beach, but also want to come in and out of the city. We will be having the welcome beach party in this region.

Consider: Sublime Comporta (Super Luxury) ; TRYP by Wyndham (Medium) ; Fonte da Telha Beach Hostel (Super Budget, walking distance to beach party)