"Lisbon" a Lisbon Travel Page by leffe3

Laid back but enough bustle to please the city lover, in spite of Expo 98, Lisbon still manages to retain a certain innocence. Set on the wide estuary, the city is dominated by the sea and its many low-lying hills, creating atmospheric alleyways as the city climbs away from the port. The grid of 17th century downtown Lisbon is flanked, to the East, by the Medieval quarter with the heavy-set, plain-facaded Romanesque Cathedral, and, perched above, the Castelo San Jorge: to the west is the is the upper town, Bairro Alto and its warren of alleys, fado bars, gay and straight bars and fashionable shops.

There are only a few 'notable' architectural buildings (unless you are a Manuelian architectural lover) in Lisbon (Jeronimos Monastry is a must - the cloisters are stupendous: the ruined Convento do Carmo: the Belem Cultural Centre for modern-architecture lovers). The main delights of Lisbon is to walk the narrow streets and just experience the slow-paced life. Even the Castelo San Jorge is limited as a castle - it is mainly a walled garden where local families hang out, picnicing, promenading, strutting with the local peacocks. Find yourself a vantage point anywhere overlooking the city, put your feet up and watch the world go by.

If you get tired of that, you can always wander off to some of the best museums and galleries in the world - the Calouste Gulbenkian is magnificent, as is The Museu Nacional Arte Antiga, the Belem Centre has great contemporary exhibitions.

Night-life is centred round the delights of the Bairro Alto and the newly developing river front, although there are atmospheric bars and restaurants all round downtown Lisbon.