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LISBON
Left: Low-key rooftop restaurant Lumi at The Lumiares Hotel & Spa
Senhora do Monte Gr aça
Miradouro São Pedro de Alcântara
B airr o Alt o
Elevador de Santa Justa
B aix a
Campo de Santa Clara
Largo das Portas do Sol
Alf ama
Miradouro da
Maria Limão
PORTUGAL LISBON
500 yards
GETTING THERE & AROUND British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair and TAP Air Portugal are among the airlines flying frequently and nonstop from the UK to Lisbon.
ba.com
easyjet.com
ryanair.com
flytap.com Average flight time: 2h30m. Lisbon is well connected to European destinations by rail. London to Lisbon takes two days, via Paris, Barcelona and Madrid.
seat61.com Many neighbourhoods in the historic centre, including Castelo, Alfama and Bairro Alto, are largely pedestrian- only. The 24-hour Carris pass covers trams, buses, funiculars and the metro.
carris.pt
SEEN BEST FOR: DATE NIGHT Headed up by Portuguese star chef Olivier da Costa, hotel Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisboa’s glamorous restaurant is a sultry, glass-walled beauty. Lisbon glitters seductively below, a tree grows right through the bar, emerald- velvet sofas curve around marble-topped tables and DJs spin lounge beats to people nursing pre-dinner cocktails on the roof terrace. The menu dips into Portuguese, Brazilian and Japanese waters, with excellent sushi and sharing plates like ceviche tacos with guacamole, and Wagyu with leek, mushrooms and green curry.
seenlx.com
CURA BEST FOR: LOCAL INGREDIENTS The head chef at this Michelin-starred restaurant at the Four Seasons Ritz Pedro Pena Bastos combs Portugal for exquisite farmed, fished and foraged ingredients, which he cooks with precision and flair to yield unusual flavours. Watch chefs prepare mini masterpieces for tasting menus — the likes of bluefin tuna with horseradish, turnip and smoked broth; turbot with barnacles and wild garlic; and parsnip with pine, heather honey and toasted milk.
fourseasons.com
164
NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
TAPISCO BEST FOR: LIGHT BITES Spanish tapas and Portuguese petiscos are the stars of the menu at this coolly understated space, with a menu overseen by Henrique Sá Pessoa. Banquette seating, cheek-by-jowl tables and a bar and open kitchen running the length of the restaurant create a buzzy vibe redolent of Barcelona’s tapas bars. Carefully chosen vermouths pair nicely with clean, bright flavours like octopus salad with paprika, marinated fish with lime, seaweed and Aljezur sweet potato, and cuttlefish tempura with lime mayo.
tapisco.pt
LUMI BEST FOR: LOW-KEY CHIC Sunlit days ease gently into mellow nights at this rooftop restaurant at The Lumiares Hotel & Spa, with widescreen views of Lisbon, low, cushioned seating for casual al fresco dining and a boho, low-key feel. It’s a cracking spot for brunch (try the Lumi omelette with cheese, spinach and chilli or a fruit-topped açaí bowl). Return as Lisbon lights up for negronis and sharing plates such as oxtail croquettes with fava bean pesto, roasted octopus with padrón peppers and spicy pica-pau beef strips.
thelumiares.com
WHEN TO GO Lisbon is ripe for exploring in spring, with comfortable average daytime temperatures of 18C to 24C and the parks in full bloom. Avoid summer, when temperatures can leap above 30C and the big-hitting sights are crowded. Autumn can be golden and glorious, with highs of up to 23C in October. Winter is quieter, cooler and wetter, with lows of around 9C.
WHERE TO STAY The Lumiares Hotel & Spa, Bairro Alto. From £218, B&B.
thelumiares.com The Vintage, Avenida da Liberdade. From £160, B&B.
thevintagelisbon.com
MORE INFO
visitlisboa.com
visitportugal.com Pocket Lisbon (Lonely Planet). RRP: £7.99
HOW TO DO IT Responsible Travel offers an eight- day, tailormade trip to Lisbon and its surrounds from £1,021 per person, including some meals, a guided tour of the historic centre and a day trip to Sintra. Excludes flights.
responsibletravel.com
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
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