Lisbon - Local Tips on Sightseeing, Dining and Partying

The size of its market and its standard of living make Lisbon the second largest financial and economic center on the Iberian Peninsula after Madrid. The Greater Lisbon area is the most affluent part of the country and has a standard of living well above that of the European Union as a whole, producing 45% of the GDP of Portugal. As the capital city, it is also the political center of the nation.

Two of the European Union's agencies are headquartered in Lisbon - the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Also headquartered he is the CPLP: the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Lisbon is situated on the Atlantic coat, in the far west of the country where the Tagus river flows into the ocean.

The west side of the city is dominated by the Monsanto Forest Park, which is one of Europe's largest urban parks with an area of nearly 10 square kilometers. The city has long been an important center of shipping, since the Romans arrived and introduced their culture to the tribes of the Tagus river region.

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Arte Lisboa

19 - 24 Nov (annual) Arte Lisboa, Portugal's premier contemporary art show bringing 60 galleries to the capital from around the world.Modern art enthusiasts are offered a glimpse into the world-renowned galleries and the artists they represent. Collectors, critics and other professionals are also attracted to the fair to network and view the latest up-and-coming talent.

Estoril Music Festival

2 Jul - 3 Aug (annual) Situated just 15km west of Lisbon, with some of the larger concerts taking place in the capital, it is easy to get to even if you're just visiting for a city break.The festival includes large orchestral and choral concerts in Lisbon, outdoor band concerts and chamber and song recitals. Highlights is National Classical Orchestra of Andorra, among others. There are also courses, a competition and an exhibition.

Festival Musidanças

Nov - Dec (annual) Music, dance, food, traditional crafts and painting from Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) countries draw crowds from all over the capital.Highlights in 2008 included performances by Guto Pires, Terranaçom, Braima Galissa and FernandoTerra, among many others.

Great Orchestras of the World

2 Nov - 25 Apr (annual) The Grandes Orquestras Mundiais (Great Orchestras of the World) series in Lisbon's Coliseu dos Recreios, which features various internationally renowned conductors and soloists.In the series includes performances by: BBC Symphony Orchestra ,Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra from St Petersburg ,Philadelphia Orchestra , Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra , and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra

Indie Lisboa

Apr - May (annual) Lisboa is Portugal's premier festival of independent film, presenting the latest and most interesting works from all over the world. More than 300 films are screened at cinemas around Lisbon.While the festival maintains its focus on the author's creativity and independence, it also aims to discover new films and new directors.

Lisbon Village Festival

May - Jun (annual) Sporting Lisbon (officially Sporting Club de Portugal) welcome Superliga teams to the Estádio José de Alvalade for the any season. Please visit and watching the match for full enjoying of all fixtures.SL Benfica welcome Superliga teams to the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon for every season.

Gulbenkian Choir

16 Oct - 29 May (annual) In a tradition dating back to the 16th century, a statue of a bleeding Jesus is carried.Held in the area of Graça, a hill-top area of Lisbon with a real village feel and fantastic views.This solemn procession is very popular with the people of Lisbon always falls on Good Friday.

Sporting Lisbon Superliga Football Season

Aug - May (annual) The Feira Internacional de Lisboa hosts the International Interior Design Exhibition (Intercasa), showcasing the latest trends in decorating, home textiles, furniture and lighting.The exhibition is divided into various sections focusing on the commercial and industrial sectors, digital exhibits, household appliances, kitchen and bathroom designs, and audio and video in the home.

Senhor dos Passos Procession

Apr (annual) The Lisbon Village Festival (LVF) showcases music, arts and film for the digital generation. Held at venues around the city, it is divided into three main areas: the VIDCF film competition, Village Art and Village Lounge.VIDCF awards prizes in various categories and showcases films from Poland and Japan, among other special screenings. Village Art features contemporary art exhibits, primarily in digital art and new media.Village Lounge is where the party's at. DJs and VJs entertain directors, actors, press and visitors.

International Interior Design Exhibition

4 - 12 Oct (annual) The Gulbenkian Choir presents its season in the Large Auditorium at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's headquarters in Lisbon. The Gulbenkian Orchestra accompanies them and many concerts feature internationally renowned conductors and soloists.The choir was founded in 1964 and today boasts around 100 members.Concerts usually take place on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

A Travessa

Cuisine Portugece Loaded with business workers at lunch, and with chattering friends and romantic couples at night, it seems to celebrate the Portuguese knack for survival, good food, and strong wines. At least part of your meal might arrive unannounced from a communal platter wielded by the restaurant

Bachus

Cuisine International, Portuguese A brass staircase winds around a column of illuminated glass to the dining room. Menu specialties change frequently, depending on what ingredients are available. Full meals might include mixed grill Bachus, chateaubriand with béarnaise, mountain goat, beef Stroganoff, shrimp Bachus, or other daily specials.

Café Nobre

Cuisine Mediterranean, International Set within a 15-minute taxi drive east of Lisbon's commercial core, this restaurant is one of Lisbon's finest. Today it occupies the top floor of a hypermodern slope-sided building, which is occupied by offices and at least one other restaurant. Food is artfully presented, with a minimum of pretentiousness. The best menu items include many different kinds of fish, usually simply grilled in ways that elicit the natural flavor of the very fresh ingredien

Conventual

Cuisine Portuguese For years, this restaurant has been popular with dozens of government ministers who often take foreign visitors here to showcase Portuguese cuisine, even though its prices are 25% less than those at many of its competitors. Inside you'll see a display of old panels from baroque churches, religious statues, and bric-a-brac.

Ribadouro

Cuisine Portugese Menu items are two-fisted and unpretentious, with different preparations of the ubiquitous cod, sea bass, sole, and grouper, as well as simple grilled steaks, chicken or pork cutlets, and shish kabobs. A chilled stuffed crab appears almost automatically on your table for you to accept or reject. Bear in mind that prices here can go higher than those indicated below if you opt for portions of the exotic shellfish crammed into the glass display case near the bar.

New Wok

Cuisine Asian A large window exposes a view of the busy kitchen. The menu focuses on simple wok dishes, noodle dishes, and dim sum (Chinese dumplings) with assorted stuffings. Salmon teriyaki and pad thai with chicken, shrimp, and tamarind sauce are popular and good-tasting staples.

Restaurante Cipriani

Cuisine International, Portuguese, Italian The dignified, elegant dining room has a view of one of the most lavish gardens in this exclusive neighborhood. This restaurant is a favorite with diplomats from the many embassies and consulates nearby.They might include fresh salmon fried with sage, lamb chops with mint sauce, a succulent version of a traditional Portuguese feijoada (meat stew), and perfectly prepared duck breast baked with pears. This is a perfect spot to retreat to when you want an elegant meal in a refined atmosphere.

Restaurant 33

Cuisine Portuguese, International Restaurant 33 is a treasure. Decorated in a style evocative of an English hunting lodge. It specializes in succulent seafood dishes, including shellfish rice served in a crab shell, smoked salmon, and lobster Tourd'Argent; it also features tender, well-flavored pepper steak.You can enjoy a glass of port in the small bar at the entrance or in the private garden.

Sancho

Cuisine Portuguese, International Sancho is a cozy rustic-style restaurant with classic Iberian decor. In summer it has air-conditioning. Fish gratinée soup is a classic way to begin. Shellfish, always expensive, is the specialty. Main dishes are likely to include the chef's special hake or pan-broiled Portuguese steak. If your palate is fireproof, order churrasco de cabrito ao piri-piri (goat with pepper sauce). For dessert, sample the crêpes suzette or perhaps chocolate mousse. This is a longtime (since 1962) local favorite, and the recipes never change.

Comida de Santo

Cuisine Brazilian Opening in the early 1980s, this was the first all-Brazilian restaurant in Lisbon.it contains only 12 tables. Recorded Brazilian music plays softly from the bar, lending a New World flavor, and a quintet of oversize panels depicts huge, idealized jungle scenes. The appropriate beginning of any meal is a deceptively potent caipirinha (aguardiente cocktail with limes and sugar). Main courses include spicy versions of meat-and-bean stew, boiled Brazilian beef with salt, peppery shrimp, and several versions of succulent grilled fish. The place is incredibly popular; reservations are very important.

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

The National Museum of Ancient Art houses the country's greatest collection of paintings. It occupies two connected buildings -- a 17th-century palace and an added edifice that was built on the site of the old Carmelite Convent of Santo Alberto. The convent's chapel was preserved and is a good example of the integration of ornamental arts, with gilded carved wood, glazed tiles, and sculpture of the 17th and 18th centuries.The museum has many notable paintings.

Astelo de São Jorge

Locals speak of Saint George's Castle as the cradle of their city, and it might have been where the Portuguese capital began. Its occupation is believed to have predated the Romans -- the hilltop was used as a fortress to guard the Tagus and its settlement below. Beginning in the 5th century A.D., the site was a Visigothic fortification; it fell to the Saracens in the early 8th century. Many of the existing walls were erected during the centuries of Moorish domination. The Moors held power until 1147, the year Afonso Henríques chased them out and extended his kingdom south. Even before Lisbon became the capital of the newly emerging nation, the site was used as a royal palace.For the finest view of the Tagus and the Alfama.

Centro de Arte Moderna

Around the corner from the entrance to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, the Center of Modern Art is Lisbon's first major permanent exhibition center of modern Portuguese art. The center shares parklike grounds with the Gulbenkian Foundation and was, like the Gulbenkian Museum, a legacy of the late Armenian oil magnate.It's housed in a British-designed complex of clean lines and dramatically proportioned geometric forms with a Henry Moore sculpture in front. The museum owns some 10,000 items, including the works of such modern Portuguese artists as Souza-Cardoso, Almada, Paula Rego, João Cutileiro, Costa Pinheiro, and Vieira da Silva.

Museu de Marinha (Maritime Museum)

The Maritime Museum, one of the best in Europe, evokes the glory that characterized Portugal's domination of the high seas. Appropriately, it's installed in the west wing of the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. These royal galleys re-create an age of opulence that never shied away from excess. Dragons' heads drip with gilt; sea monsters coil with abandon. Assembling a large crew was no problem for kings and queens in those days. Queen Maria I ordered a magnificent galley built for the 1785 marriage of her son and successor, Crown Prince João, to the Spanish Princess Carlota Joaquina Bourbon. Eighty dummy oarsmen, elaborately attired in scarlet-and-mustard-colored waistcoats, represent the crew.

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Like the prow of a caravel from the Age of Discovery, the Memorial to the Discoveries stands on the Tagus, looking ready to strike out across the Sea of Darkness. Notable explorers, chiefly Vasco da Gama, are immortalized in stone along the ramps.At the point where the two ramps meet is a representation of Henry the Navigator, whose genius opened up new worlds. The memorial was unveiled in 1960, and one of the stone figures is that of a kneeling Philippa of Lancaster, Henry's English mother. Other figures in the frieze symbolize the crusaders.

Oceanario de Lisboa

This world-class aquarium is the most enduring and impressive achievement of EXPO '98. Marketed as the second-biggest aquarium in the world (the largest is in Osaka, Japan), it's in a stone-and-glass building whose centerpiece is a 5-million-liter (1.3-million-gal.) holding tank. Its waters consist of four distinct ecosystems that replicate the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Antarctic oceans. Look for otters in the Pacific waters, penguins in the Antarctic section, trees and flowers that might remind you of Polynesia in the Indian Ocean division, and puffins, terns, and seagulls in the Atlantic subdivision.

Panteão Nacional

Construction on this Portuguese baroque church, Igreja de Santa Engrácia, began in 1682; it resisted the 1755 earthquake but wasn't completed until 1966. The building, with its four square towers, is pristine and cold, and the state has fittingly turned it into a neoclassical National Pantheon containing memorial tombs to heads of state.Memorials honor Henry the Navigator Igreja de Santo António St. Anthony of Padua, an itinerant Franciscan monk who became the patron saint of Portugal, was born in 1195 in a house that once stood here. The 1755 earthquake destroyed the original church, and Mateus Vicente designed the present building in 1812.In the crypt, a guide will show you the spot where the saint was reputedly born. (He's buried in Padua, Italy.) The devout come to this little church to light candles under his picture.

Torre de Belém

The quadrangular Tower of Belém is a monument to Portugal's Age of Discovery. Erected between 1515 and 150, the Manueline-style tower is Portugal's classic landmark and often serves as a symbol of the country. A monument to Portugal's great military and naval past, the tower stands on or near the spot where the caravels once set out across the sea.Its architect, Francisco de Arruda, blended Gothic and Moorish elements, using such architectural details as twisting ropes carved of stone. The coat of arms of Manuel I rests above the loggia, and balconies grace three sides of the monument. Along the balustrade of the loggias, stone crosses represent the Portuguese crusaders.

Aquário Vasco da Gama

The Vasco da Gama Aquarium, on N6, near Algés on the Cascais railway line, has been in operation since 1898. Live exhibits include the eared seals pavilion and a vast number of tanks that hold fish and other sea creatures from all over the world. A large portion of the exhibits consist of zoological material brought back from oceanographic expeditions by Carlos I. They include preserved marine invertebrates, water birds, fish, mammals, and some of the king's laboratory equipment.