Lisbon

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 excellent fish restaurants in Cacilhas on the south bank of the river. Between ...  Read the complete review

A Day trip to Lisbon We spent a week in the Algarve in June 2009 and during this week we chose to book a trip with 'Follow Me' tours to Lisbon for the day. The trip was 34 Euros per person which we thought was good value as the toll on the A2 is 18 Euros each way for a car and then we would have had to pay to park the car and of course petrol as well as the fact that we were not sure where all the sites were. We had to meet by the Dolphin roundabout in Albufiera for 6.55 and the coach was only 5 minutes late but we were virtually the last people to be picked up before heading for Lisbon. We made a stop about an hour away for coffee and the ...  Read the complete review

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 the Saturday evening- admittedly a little late following ...  Read the complete review

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 – boy, can I pick a great time to be dependent on planes or what? If there’s one thing more uncertain than how something like this will affect getting there, it’s finding out about it whilst you’re away, and wondering how it will affect getting home! Lisbon is a coastal city, about halfway ‘up’ Portugal on the western coast. It ...  Read the complete review

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 daisies, dandelions and clover, the temperature was between 18° and 26° C ...  Read the complete review