Lisboa is a fascinating city of old-fashioned and funky art, architecture and traditions with a relaxed atmosphere, cultural diversity and reasonable prices. is set on seven low hills next to the Tejo river. The city’s atmosphere is rich with wonderful old buildings, euope’s longest suspension bridge, and fascinating museums and monuments.

The city moves to pulsing new rhythms, as African music clubs are all the rage. Contrasting to this modern diversity, Portuguese fado songs continue to be heard, the soulful music (which originated here) is still hitting notes of passionate melancholy.

Despite the city’s muscle-aching hills, Lisboa is compact enough to explore on foot. If your legs get tired, Lisboa has very convenient, bus, tram and subway lines as well as its most charming funiculars to take you up the steeper hills. Lisboa hosts a great number of remarkable museums of ancient and modern art, some of which are Calouste, Gulbenkian Museum, the National Museum of Contemporary Art and Carmo Archaeological Museum.

A good way to orient yourself and enjoy a panoramic view is to climb one of the hills. Like Roma and Istanbul, Lisboa is built on seven hills: Penha de França, Senhora do Monte, Graça, São Jorge, São Pedro Alcantara, Santa Catarina, Estrela. São Jorge is topped by a famous castle, Castelo de São Jorge, and has the most spectacular picturesque view - especially as the sun sets over the river.

Generally speaking, you can spend an unlimited time discovering and re-discovering this charming city; however if you are on a tight schedule, don't miss exploring the Alfama District, Bairro Alto, and Belem Lisboa is really a wonderful place to explore, any time of the year. If you are lucky, the sky is blue and the sun is shining even in February and November.

Content is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.
Texts partly derived from Wikitravel