Palacete Chafariz d'El Rei

João António Santos went to Brazil, made a great deal of money, and came home to Lisbon in 1909 wanting everyone to know about it. What he built on the edge of Alfama is the result: a neo-Moorish mansion decorated inside in the Brazilian Art Nouveau style then fashionable among Portuguese who had returned rich from across the Atlantic. It was talked about at the time, and not always kindly. More than a century later, that showmanship is the entire appeal.

There are not many buildings like this anywhere, and almost none you can sleep in. The three-year restoration kept the original stained glass, the stucco ceilings, the moldings, the parquet, and a run of tiles that predate the building by centuries—salvaged from the Pombaline rebuilding of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake.

The present owners have furnished it with a lighter hand than the architecture might suggest. Under a chandelier and an ornate plaster ceiling, you will find a tulip table and mushroom chairs. Modern circular mirrors hang in bathrooms that are entirely contemporary. It could have been done as a rigid period reconstruction and it wasn't, which is why it feels like a home rather than a museum.

There are just six suites, all different, and all generous by Lisbon standards. Two look over the Tagus River, while others look across the alleys of Alfama. The largest, the Grand Torreão (or Tower Suite), occupies three floors of the tower and comes with a private terrace, panoramic views, and a telescope.

Breakfast is served in a restored dining room looking onto terraced gardens, and there is a study set up for a drink in the evening. A tea house also operates on the property. Beyond that, there is no restaurant, which matters less than it might: you are a short walk from some of the best eating in the city, and the staff will book for you.

The location is lower Alfama, near the Chafariz d'El Rei itself—the old royal fountain that gave the street its name. That puts you close to the river and closer to flat ground than most of the neighborhood, though Alfama being Alfama, the steps start again the moment you head uphill.