Lisbon Travel Guide, Lisbon, Portugal (B)

Once the brightest flower in the European garden, Lisbon was an integral port during the Age of Discovery, and the seat of the vast Portuguese empire for nearly six centuries. It is in fact the oldest city in Western Europe, predating London, Paris and Rome by centuries, and is one of the oldest cities in the world. Portugal’s customary capital and largest city continues to be the cultural and economic centre of the country, and a major influence in Europe today.

Lisbon had been a long-time bucket list item for me. The city radiates style and charm with an ease that only tradition can convey. It is intrinsically cool and I’ve long suspected that I would find a lot to love about the food, music, culture and people of this great city.

We spent five nights eating and drinking our way around Lisbon and the surrounding area and I’ve got to say, my suspicions were right.

We arrived in Lisbon on the bus from Seville courtesy of Eurolines and EVA. There’s a main highway that runs across the Spanish border from Seville almost directly to Lisbon, so you can get direct buses, but if you are particular about travel times you might need to change buses in Faro as we did and continue to Lisbon from there. The Seville to Faro Eurolines bus took just over two hours and cost €16 each, and the Faro to Lisbon EVA bus took 3.5 hours and cost €20 each. All up our bus journey from Seville to Lisbon took six hours and cost €36 each, not too bad and both bus services offer WiFi on board to dull the pain. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).