Lisbon effortlessly blends contemporary culture with history, particularly in the narrow streets of the Alfama district. Spend your days visiting museums or seeing the sights, and in the evening try some traditional Portuguese food or a fado show. Getting around the city is easy – the only difficulty will be choosing what to see!
Lisbon is bursting with museums, galleries, great shopping, churches, gardens and much more. While you may not be able to pack everything into one city break in Lisbon, with some careful planning, you'll get a good taste of the city.
The most visited area in Lisbon is picturesque Alfama, a tangle of narrow streets and whitewashed buildings. By day, this is the ideal place for sightseeing or shopping for souvenirs, and by night, some of Lisbon's best fado bars welcome audiences here. While in the area, be sure to take a break for a Portuguese coffee and a delicious egg custard tart.
One of the oldest buildings in Lisbon, the castle towers over the city centre. Whereas you'll find an interesting museum about Lisbon's military past inside, the reason most people visit is for the superb views over the city from the castle walls.
The personal collection of Calouste Gulbenkian offers the chance to see objects as diverse as 6,000-year-old Egyptian statues, French glass and textiles from Persia. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions with items from other major museums.
One of the city's modern attractions is its aquarium. The tanks contain marine species from around the planet, and the exhibits focus on conservation and environmental responsibility. If visiting with children, combine an aquarium visit with a trip to Lisbon's science centre, which is close by.