23 reasons why Lisbon should be your next city break

Lisbon, which tonight hosts the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, rose 10 places to 16th in the World’s Best Cities category at last year's Telegraph Travel Awards, voted for by more than 90,000 readers. Here's why it's been proving so popular.

1. There's fine dining by the bowlful

In 2015, Lisbon had one Michelin star and by 2016, three more restaurants had been awarded their first - LAB by Sergi Arola, Loco, and Alma - reinforcing Lisbon's ever-growing culinary reputation. There are currently four one-star establishments in the city, and one - Belcanto - with two.   

2. It's one of the world's oldest cities

...predating the likes of London, Rome and Paris by hundreds of years. You can feel its antiquity clinging to every corner, especially in the district of Alfama. This makes Lisbon a veritable banquet for history-hungry visitors. It was very nearly destroyed entirely by a massive earthquake in 1755, but was (thankfully) patched together and revived.

3. 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. This year, the Post Office rated it as the ninth cheapest city break in 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 £208. 

4. And goes even further for beer

A bottle of the amber nectar can cost as little as €2 (£1.81) in restaurants and cafes, according to the Post Office's survey last year. Fun fact about beer: Lisbon was the first place in the world to import Guinness from the UK. Today it exports to 120 countries.

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5. Port is little dearer, but it's nice to look at

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-a-bottle stock, to fresh post-millennium additions, all labelled in a classic, stencil style.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. You can sleep in a palace

Hidden behind an inconspicuous set of red doors, perched atop a hill within the fortress walls of the medieval São Jorge castle, unfolds a remarkable palace dating back to 1449. Palacio Belmonte was once a noble residence, and now it's a living museum of sorts, accessible only to guests in one of the 10 luxury suites it hosts, looking out onto what is arguably the best views in the city.

9. It has quaint bookshops

Make sure to stop by Bertrand, which holds the Guinness World Record as being the world's oldest. Lisbon is also home to one of the world's smallest bookshops: Livraria do Simão, at just under four square metres in size. As if by magic, the tiny store still manages to squeeze in around 4,000 books.

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10. And bars with sacred tables

Martinho da Arcada, one of Lisbon's oldest cafes (we're seeing a pattern here), was once the favourite afternoon tea spot of famed poet Fernando Pessoa. He died in 1935, but the table he always sat at has been reserved and kept empty for him ever since - no matter how busy the cafe gets.

11. 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. 

12. 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.

13. And loves Brazil

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.

14. 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. Only four men know the secret recipe, and it's never been written down. These men, as is customary for royal sibling heirs, never travel in the same vehicle together just in case there's an accident resulting in multiple fatalities.

15. Or visit a fine Gothic monastery built with maritime riches

The Jerónimos Monastery, along with the nearby Tower of Belém, is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and includes a delicate Gothic chapel, in which some of Portugal’s greatest historical figures are entombed. 

16. The city is a big fan of street art

At some point over the years, graffiti that was once considered an eyesore graduated to into intricate citywide murals that continue to inspire street art tours. One of the best spots to see it is Calçada da Glória, one of Lisbon’s steepest streets, but you'll spot examples nearly everywhere you go.

17. There's this amazing bridge

Named after Vasco da Gama, of course. Finished in 1998, it holds the title of longest bridge in Europe (including viaducts) at 10.7 miles.

18. A city of seven hills means vistas galore

That Lisbon, like Rome, was built across seven hills means nearly every street’s brow affords immensely satisfying views over the city as it slips down towards the river. None more so than from the Castelo São Jorge, reached by a climb through winding ancient streets of Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood.

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19. And bars with views

Including one on a car park roof: Park, in Bairro Alto.

20. It gets more sun than anywhere else in Europe

We probably should've mentioned this earlier. Perched on the western edge of Europe, Lisbon is the continent’s sunniest capital city, boasting an average of 2,799 hours of sunshine a year, pipping Athens, which has 2,771 hours of sun a year, to the post.

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21. So head to the beach

“Just 30 minutes drive from the city centre, wild stretches such as Guincho, Adraga and Grande curl out around the surrounding coast,” writes our destination expert Guyan Mitra of Lisbon’s Atlantic-battered beaches.

22. There's an excellent day trip

Sintra, the aristocratic hill town to the west of the city, is a Neverland of fairytale palaces, manicured floral gardens and wild woodlands. The train to Sintra departs from Rossio station every 20 minutes and takes about 40 minutes.

23. And a convenient airport

Small mercies include an airport just 6.2km from the city centre, or a 20-minute metro ride.