Lisbon (Portugal)

Lisbon or Lisboa is the capital of Portugal and enjoys a marvellous position. To the northeast of the city the River Tagus opens out to form the shining Mar de Palha (sea of straw). The city stands on the northwest bank of this lake just before it narrows and flows out into the Atlantic Ocean. For miles and miles, homes, factories, warehouses and port installations carpet the steep hills and valleys along the estuary. Lisbon is sometimes called the Cidade Branca, the White City but actually its colour is really a matt pastel shade. The best view of the city can be enjoyed from one of the many ... more

I’ve been to Portugal before, both the more popular Algarve in the south and some quieter regions in the far north on the border with Galicia in Spain. I’ve even been to Oporto, its other major city, but somehow, the capital, Lisbon, had always eluded me. Up until the weekend of the ‘Glasgow Airport Security Alert’ that is – can I pick a great time to be dependant on planes or what? If there’s one thing more uncertain than how it will affect getting there, it’s wondering how it will affect getting home! Courtesy of some creative accounting at my wife’s school they ended up with a four day ... more

A City with a Rich History A few months ago I was lucky enough to visit Lisbon, and my short stay in the city represented my first trip to the Portuguese capitol. As far as capitol cities go, Lisbon is actually quite small in terms of its population, with around two-and-a-half million people in the metropolitan area - compare that to London's estimated 12 - 13 million, and you'll get an idea of the scale. I arrived in Lisbon via the sea, and the city is quite stunning from the water. The huge and bright red '25 de Abril Bridge' looks just like San Francisco's Golden Gate - and passing ... more

Why Lisbon at all? Why a second time after twenty-odd years? The first time it was curiosity that made us choose this destination: what is that capital like at the edge of Europe? Not many details stayed in mind after such a long time but the ones that did were positive ones and we remembered a general sense of well-being, so when my husband and I discussed where to spend a week around Easter this year, Lisbon came to mind. Easter was very early this year, at the end of March, this means that we saw the first signs of spring, most trees had already green leaves, the grass was green with ... more

We visited Lisbon this September having decided to go there instead of Rome. It has to be said that we were initially motivated by the fact that an equivalent holiday- same number of days, same rating of accommodation- was about HALF the price of Rome. Lisbon is a fascinating place, the overall impression being of a city of great style and architecture, the ancient (colossal old buildings, grubby but striking statues and monuments) rubbing shoulders with the modern (great trains and tube, some flashy restaurants). It may be because of this that it took a little getting used to. We arrived on ... more