Lisbon

INTRODUCTION

For me no flowers can match the endlessly varied colours of Lisbon in the sunlight.
Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet (1933).

Lisbon (Lisboa), Europe’s most westerly capital, is fast becoming one of the continent’s most vibrant cities. Set on a series of hills overlooking the broad estuary of the Rio Tejo (River Tagus), most visitors are struck by its stunning location and effortless beauty. But its historic significance and faded charm also embrace a modern and forward-thinking lifestyle. Old men still grill sardines on cobbled streets in front of crumbling mansions, but alongside you’ll find cosmopolitan bars and restaurants, many of them influenced by the tastes of African and Brazilian immigrants from Portugal’s former colonies. It’s an immediately likeable place, perhaps gentler than any capital should be; a big city that remains human in pace and scale.

Lisbon is officially the European Union’s least expensive capital city, with a cost of living half that of London’s. Once, however, it was one of Europe’s wealthiest cities, controlling a maritime empire that stretched from Brazil in the west to Macau in the east. Many of its grandest buildings were destroyed in the Great Earthquake of 1755, and much of today’s city dates from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. At its heart is the eighteenth-century grid of the lower town, the Baixa (Chapter 1), enclosed by a switchback of hills and linked to surrounding districts by a network of cobbled streets. Its elegant, mosaic-studded squares – filled with cafés, buskers, businesspeople and streetwise dealers – form the hub of central Lisbon’s daily activity, while to the west is Chiado, Lisbon’s most elegant shopping area. East of the Baixa, the leafy shell of the Castelo de São Jorge commands superb views from a craggy hill, with the Alfama district (Chapter 2) sprawling below. This is the oldest, most traditional part of Lisbon, a village within a city, whose steep, whitewashed streets are so narrow that vehicles fear to enter.

At night the focus shifts to the Bairro Alto (Chapter 3), the upper town, west of Chiado, and best reached by one of the city’s unique elevadores (funicular railways), which – along with the city’s trams – crank their way up outrageous gradients. The Bairro Alto shelters some of the city’s best restaurants, bars and clubs, while to the west of here (Chapter 4) lie the wealthy districts of Estrela and Lapa, the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, effectively Portugal’s national art gallery, and the Alcântara docks, a former industrial port area now given over to cafés and nightlife.

Heading further west, out along the Tejo, brings you to the historical suburb of Belém (Chapter 5), 6km from the centre, from where many of Portugal’s great maritime explorers set sail to explore the new world. The extraordinary Mosteiro dos Jerónimos is the most impressive of Belém’s maritime monuments, while the turreted Torre de Belém is perhaps Lisbon’s most recognizable landmark. Heading north instead from the Baixa, the tree-lined Avenida da Liberdade (Chapter 6) runs to the city’s central park, Parque Eduardo VII, just beyond which is the outstanding Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian – a museum and cultural complex with an extraordinary rich collection of ancient and modern art. The suburbs of outer Lisbon (Chapter 7) stretch to the north and west, containing – among other sights – the city’s zoo and perhaps its finest palace, the Palácio dos Marquêses de Fronteira.

It’s to the east, however, where Lisbon is fast developing its contemporary credentials. Five kilometres east of the capital, the futuristic Parque das Nações (Chapter 8) occupies the former Expo 98 site, and has developed into a hugely popular theme park, with a whole host of restaurants, bars and attractions, including Europe’s largest oceanarium.

The individual sights aside, Lisbon’s big attraction is its daily street life, and nothing beats watching the city’s comings and goings from a pavement café over a powerful bica coffee or Portuguese beer. Getting around is half the fun, whether taking one of its ancient trams, riding a ferry across the breezy Rio Tejo, or speeding across town on the metro, whose stations are decorated with adventurous contemporary art. And if you’re fit enough to negotiate its hills, Lisbon is a great place to explore on foot: get off the beaten track and you’ll find atmospheric neighbourhoods sheltering aromatic pastelarias (patisseries), traditional shops, and shuttered houses faced with beautiful azulejo tiles. There’s a buoyant nightlife – some say the most hip in Europe at present – which ranges from the traditional fado clubs of Alfama to the glitzy clubs in Lisbon’s redeveloped docklands. You’re just as likely to hear music from Brazil and Africa as the latest club sounds, while Lisbon’s bars and restaurants stand comparison with the best in any European city.

If you want to escape from the city for a while, the beautiful hilltop town of Sintra (Chapter 21), northwest of the city, is a must. Easily reached by train, its lush wooded heights and royal palaces formed Byron’s "glorious Eden" and remain a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you’re interested in Portuguese architecture, there are also the Rococo delights of the Palácio de Queluz or the extraordinary convent at Mafra to the north to visit. The sea is also close at hand, with the lively beach towns of Estoril and Cascais (Chapter 22) just half an hour’s journey away. The best nearby beaches, however, are south of the Tejo (Chapter 23), along the Costa da Caparica, where Atlantic breakers crash on miles of superb dune-backed sands. Further south still lie the more sheltered waters off Sesimbra, a popular summer resort which sits at the edge of the craggy Parque Natural da Arrábida.

Matthew Hancock is a freelance journalist writing regularly for national newspapers, mostly on Portugal, including The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, and High Life (British Airways' in-flight magazine). Hancock is also the author of Rough Guide Directions: Madeira, Lisbon, and the Algarve. He is the coauthor of The Rough Guide to Portugal.