Museums and buildings that tell our History from the early beginnings as pioneers of the Discoveries until now. If you go along the river, you come across the Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery, the CCB – Belém Cultural Center, the MAAT Museum, Terreiro do Paço and on the other end of the city, in Parque das Nações, you find the Oceanarium and the biggest concert venue in Lisbon, Altice Arena.

Lisbon has been reinventing itself and adapting its patrimony to the XXI century. An example is the transformation of old factories into cultural hubs like Lx Factory. A cosy environment, with restaurants, all sorts of trendy shops, art galleries and a quirky bookstore, where you can relax at the end of the day with friends, overviewing 25 de Abril Bridge or learn a new craft in one of its regular workshops. A small proof of the diversity that has made Lisbon the welcoming city where everyone feels at home.

Picturesque and traditional neighbourhoods like Alfama or Mouraria where you can get lost and enjoy a nice glass of wine or artisanal beer while listening to some Fado. Or eat a nice fresh sardine during the Santos Populares Festivities in June. The typical and best way to get to know the ancient parts of the city is by taking the old yellow trams and just go for a ride.

The music scene grew considerably since the early 2000s in Portugal. While you’re here, you can attend concerts and music festivals of all kinds. To name a few, you have NOS Alive, Rock in Rio every two years, Primavera Sound, EDP Cool Jazz and Super Bock Super Rock. 

And if you are into the nightlife, Bairro Alto and Príncipe Real are the perfect neighbourhoods. You can have a drink, find bars with live music and end the night watching the sunrise in one of the city’s lookout points. If you prefer dancing until your feet hurt, Lux or Urban Beach are the clubs to go. 

Soccer is the main sport in Portugal, and you have several clubs and stadiums in the city where you can go to a match.

Right next to the CATÓLICA-LISBON Campus, there’s the University Stadium (Estádio Universitário) where you can practice all kind of sports like soccer, basketball, tennis, swimming, fitness, yoga and even golf.

Water sports are just a small train or bus ride away. If you like surf, scuba diving or just walking around with your feet in the sand, you can go to the several beaches in the Lisbon Metropolitan area. Costa da Caparica, Carcavelos, Ericeira and Cascais are just a few.

Portuguese food is very rich and diversified. But being a country with a vast coast we eat a lot of fish. You can’t have Christmas without codfish and cabbages, and June without sardines and bread. And we also have great seafood. 

For the meat lovers out there, we have Carne de Porco à Alentejana (pork with fried potatoes and pickles), smoked sausages different from the ones you are used to and a nice bifana (which basically is a very tasty steak inside a Portuguese bun). 

Healthy cuisine has been growing around Lisbon, so there are lots of tasty options to all vegetarians, vegans, sushi lovers, besides the amazing Portuguese salads drizzled with delicious olive oil. 

And of course, you can’t come to Portugal without having a go at the famous Pastel de Nata (a small and delicious custard tart) together with a bica, the Portuguese espresso. If you get homesick, there are a lot of international food restaurants spread across the city. 

If you hop on the train in the beautiful Rossio Train Station, you will end up in Sintra. Place of amazing castles and sumptuous palaces filled with histories of kings and queens, myths and legends, film and book sets (Peter O’Toole, John Malkovich, Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage, among many others, filmed there, and all Portuguese students remember Sintra from Os Maias).

And, of course, you just cannot skip Travesseiros and Queijadas (other pastries that will ruin your diet). A visit to Palácio da Pena, Castelo dos Mouros or Quinta da Regaleira is like entering in Alice’s Wonderland, filled with mysteries, love stories, murders and a foggy microclimate to boot.

One of the things that makes Lisbon such a special city is its proximity to so many truly amazing beaches. This is something no other European capital can offer and in fact very few cities worldwide come close to.

Surrounding Lisbon are some of Portugal’s finest beaches that range from wild surfing beaches and sheltered little coves to calm and more family-oriented beaches and charming resort towns. Lisbon’s beaches can be easily reached by car or public transport and are really worth a visit.

Once you are here, you will quickly learn that Lisbon people go to the beach every chance they get, on holidays, weekends, or even for an hour or two after work, including in the winter months, if only to gaze out at the sea.

Along the railway line linking Lisbon to Cascais are several broad beaches that attract locals and tourists, and are usually packed in the summer (especially Carcavelos which is popular among local youngsters who play beach soccer, and Tamariz in Estoril). In the center of Cascais are Praia da Conceição and Praia da Rainha. These are within 20 to 30 minutes from the capital, ending at Guincho, a beautiful beach known world-wide for surfing.

But for the longest stretches of sand, head south of the city, to Costa da Caparica, or better yet, to refreshing Meco, sandy Troia, or secluded Adraga, ranked as one of the best beaches in Europe.