Guides - Pocket Rough Guide Lisbon

Set across a series of hills overlooking the broad estuary of the Rio Tejo (River Tagus), Lisbons stunning location and effortless beauty immediately strike most first-time visitors. Its an instantly likeable place, a big city, with a population of around two million, but one that remains human enough in pace and scale to be easily taken in over a long weekend. That said, many visitors visit again and again, smitten by a combination of old-world charm and cosmopolitan vibrancy that makes it one of Europes most exciting cities.

View of Lisbon from Cristo Rei

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Lisbons popularity continues to surge, as do its attractions. , which offers a fascinating insight into the harsh dictatorship of the Salazar regime up until the 1974 revolution.

Although one of the EUs least expensive capitals, Lisbon was once one of the continents wealthiest, controlling a maritime empire that stretched from Brazil to Macau. The iconic Torre de Belm, Mosteiro dos Jernimos and dramatic Moorish castle survive from these times, though many other buildings were destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1755. Today, much of the historic centre the Baixa, Chiado and Bairro Alto dates from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The biggest attraction in these quarters is the street life: nothing beats watching the citys comings and goings from a pavement caf over a powerful bica coffee or Portuguese beer.

If youre fit enough to negotiate its hills, Lisbon is a great place to explore on foot: get off the beaten track and youll find atmospheric neighbourhoods sheltering aromatic pastelarias (patisseries), traditional shops, and shuttered houses faced with beautiful azulejo tiles. Getting around by public transport can be fun in itself, whether youre cranking uphill on one of the citys ancient trams, riding a ferry across the Rio Tejo, or speeding across town on the metro, whose stations are decorated with adventurous contemporary art.

Lisbon also boasts excellent museums from the Gulbenkian, with its amazing collection of arts through the ages, to the Berardo, whose modern paintings are the envy of Europe, via the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, the national gallery, with top Portuguese and European masterpieces.

Lisbons eclectic nightlife scene ranges from the traditional fado clubs of the Alfama district to glitzy venues in the Bairro Alto and along the riverfront, many of them playing African and Brazilian beats influenced by immigrants from Portugals former colonies.

Elsewhere, the city offers a fascinating mishmash of the traditional and cutting edge: chequered-tiled bars full of old-timers supping brandies adjacent to boutiquey clubs pumping out the latest sounds; tiny tascas with bargain menus scrawled on boards rubbing shoulders with designer restaurants eyeing the latest Michelin awards, and tiny stores that wrap handmade products in paper and string overlooking gleaming shopping malls.

Should city life begin to pall, take the train out to the beautiful hilltop town of Sintra, whose lush wooded heights and royal palaces comprise a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Alternatively, the lively resorts of Estoril and Cascais are just half an hour away, with the best beaches lying south of the city, along the Costa da Caparica, where Atlantic breakers crash on kilometre after kilometre of superb dune-backed sands.

Portas do Sol restaurant

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Best places for alfresco dining

The best way to soak up Lisbons atmosphere is to grab an outdoor table and sit back with a coffee or something more substantial. Sample tapas at .

When to visit

Lisbon is comfortably warm from April to October (average daily temperature 2028C), with cooling Atlantic breezes making it less hot than Mediterranean cities on the same latitude. Most Lisbon residents take their holidays in July and August (2728C), which means that some shops, bars and restaurants close for the period and the local beaches are heaving. Lower temperatures of 2226C mean September and October are good times to visit, as is June, when the city enjoys its main festivals. Even in midwinter it is rarely cold and, as one of Europes sunniest capitals, the sun usually appears at some stage to light up the city.