Lisbon is a city that makes you want to go exploring, to discover whatever might appear in every neighbourhood, on every street.
It’s a safe and friendly city, relatively small, but with so much to see and an ideal place to spend a few days or as a starting point for touring the country.
It’s old. It’s modern. It is, without doubt, always surprising.
You can choose a topic or a theme to explore it. The range is wide: Roman Lisbon, Manueline, Baroque or Romantic Lisbon, literary Lisbon, the Lisbon of Bohemian nightlife, the city of Fado.
On the opposite side of the Largo do Município, in the former Bishop’s Palace, is the Museum of Sacred Art, the core of whose collection is Flemish art of the 15th and 16th centuries, evidence of the trade contacts with Flanders, to which sugar cane grown on the island was sold. Tasting this and other local flavours at the Farmers’ Market provides plenty to occupy the senses: from exotic fruits to traditional delights such as bolo de mel (honey cake), you mustn’t forget also the craft shops, the flower sellers wearing traditional costumes and the lively fishmongers’ stalls.
There are also very different ways of exploring: by foot, by tram, by segway, by hop-on-hop-off bus, in a tuk tuk, seen from the river on a boat trip or from the other side, after crossing the Tagus on a cacilheiro ferry… the suggestions are endless.
However, there are some essential sites that simply cannot be missed, and are always on the list. Like the historic Alfama and Castelo districts, with one of the most fabulous views over the city and the river.
You must go from downtown towards Belém, the neighbourhood of the Discoveries, with the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, both World Heritage, the original Coach Museum and the modern Belém Cultural Centre.
Leave Chiado and Bairro Alto for the late afternoon and the evening. These are guaranteed nightlife spots, as is Cais do Sodré, nearer the river.
The new part of the city cannot be forgotten either. Be it to visit some key museums such as the Calouste Gulbenkian, in the north, or continuing along the river, the National Tile Museum. Carry on to the Parque das Nações (Park of Nations), the port area which was completely rebuilt for Expo ’98, the 1998 World’s Fair. It is now an important recreational space with a new urban landscape.
One thing is sure, Lisbon is an unforgettable city!
