It’s

It’s
hard not to be charmed by Lisbon. Sprinkled over seven
hills on the bank of the River Tagus, the city is one of Europe’s
oldest and most beautiful. It vibrates to the echoes of history
while thrusting into the future with infectious optimism.

Its hills, trams, thriving gay scene and Irving Morrow-designed
bridge earn comparisons with San Francisco, yet Lisbon’s soul is
uniquely Portuguese. A stroll will take you from medieval ramparts
through cobbled alleyways lined with family-run restaurants and
drinking dens, and past crumbling buildings adorned with street art
three storeys high. You’ll find the Praça do Comércio, the size of
five football pitches, ringed with monumental architecture.
Finally, you’ll reach the riverside clubs where revellers dance all
night, energised by the prospect of a prosperous future.

The undulating mosaic streets that weave through Lisbon have
never been so popular. Portugal’s battered economy has bounced back
from the Eurozone crisis, and foreign investors are flocking here,
transforming neighbourhoods such as Intendente, Mouraria, Alfama
and Marvila into the city’s hottest quarters.

Yet among all this impending change, the luminosity of old
Lisbon still flickers. Look up from those pretty pavements and
you’ll see the last abandoned floors crowning some of the shabbier
Pombaline buildings. Wake early and you’ll ride the canary-yellow
Tram 28 without much of a queue. Wander long enough through the
labyrinthine streets and you’ll find serene squares and benches
lined with Lisboetas of all generations.

Exploration is a pleasure as the sun shines more often than not
here on the edge of Europe (a Lisboeta would say the centre),
illuminating vistas from rooftop bars and miradouros (public
viewpoints), encouraging dining, drinking and dancing outside, and
warmly nudging you to peek around just one more corner.

What you find in Lisbon may reveal the sense of the Portuguese
word “saudade”. There is no direct translation but its essence is
of a bittersweet longing, like that of a woman who marries a man
who goes to sea. Whatever you’re yearning for, Lisbon is a good
place to come and find it – or have so much fun that you’ll forget
you ever wanted it.