Lisbon rose nine places to 26th in the World’s Best Cities
category at this year's Telegraph Travel Awards, voted for by more than 70,000
readers. Here's why it's proving so popular...
1. There's fine dining by the bowlful
Last week saw three restaurants in Lisbon awarded their
first Michelin star - LAB by Sergi Arola, Loco, and Alma - reinforcing Lisbon's
growing culinary reputation. There are now six one-star establishments in the
city and one - Belcanto - with two.
2. Your pound goes a long way
The post-Brexit slump hit travellers to Portugal (and the
rest of the Eurozone), but sterling has recovered much of the ground it lost
since then. Even without the pound's resurgence, the cost of living in Portugal
is famously good value compared to its European neighbours. The Post Office
rates it as the fourth cheapest city break in Europe, and the cheapest in
Western Europe, with a basket of 12 typical holiday purchases (including two
nights in a three-star hotel, an evening meal for two, travel cards and entry
into a handful of top attractions) costing just £157.78.
3. And goes even further for beer
A bottle of the amber nectar can cost as little as €2
(£1.69) in restaurants and cafes, according to the Post Office.
4. Port is little dearer, but with good reason
Portugal’s national drink, port or porto, is in abundance in
the city. If you’re not a fan of supping the rich fortified wine, it’s almost
as much fun to nip into one of the plentiful off-licences to simply peruse the
walls and walls of bottles, ranging from the dusty, worn, 100-year-old, €1,000
stock to fresh post-Millennium additions, all labelled in a classic, stencil
style.
5. It has a passion for discovery
Lisbon is as proud as punch of its role in the Age of
Discovery, with the city being the starting place for dozens of exploratory
voyages around the globe, including Vasco da Gama’s expedition to India in
1497. Padrão dos Descobrimento, a large monument on the north bank of the
Tagus, celebrates this: it features statues of early navigators peering out to
sea, led by Henry the Navigator.
6. And hard-working trams
The city still supports century-old wooden trams and iron
funiculars that lurch up and down the narrow streets. Just watching them
trundle along is joy, while the metal tracks cut into winding cobbled streets
is exemplary of Lisbon’s nostalgic character.
7. There's this spooky elevator
Willy Wonka has nothing on this. Set at the end of Rua de
Santa Justa, the Carmo Lift is said to be the only remaining conventional
vertical lift in the city and has been a visitor attraction since it was
completed around 1902.
8. It knows good sausage
If you thought the Spanish did sausage well, wait until
you’ve tried the Portuguese range. Lisbon’s second square, Praca da Figueira,
often plays host to a market, replete with food stalls that fill the air with
the aromas of everything from chorizo and rich black pudding to farinheira, a
smoked flour sausage, and alheira, a chicken equivalent.
9. And loves Brazil
And the city’s miniature Christ the Redeemer, Cristo Rei or
Christ the King to the locals, on the south bank of the Tagus that looks out
over the city is testament to that.
10. You can try the world's finest custard tarts
The custard tarts at Pasteis de Belém are world-famous and
that’s why queues for the sweet, rich, perfectly crisp treats often stretch
along the pavement.
Written by Hugh Morris
