Lisbon, Portugal was built in a hilly area on the banks of the Tagus River. It’s a wonderfully cosmopolitan city, vibrant, full of contrasts.

Lisbon street life is renowned for its vibrancy – I much prefer wondering the streets of Lisbon absorbing the vibe rather than spend the day visiting museums.

This street, in the Príncipe Real area of Lisbon, is so incredibly steep. My phone camera does not do justice to its steepness. There are many such steep roads, roller-coastering through the city. Look up into the distance and try to see it.

Another feature of Lisbon I enjoy are the cafes. They are all over the place. Coffee and pastries are delicious. Lunch times bustle with office workers having a bite to eat. We stopped at the sidewalk cafe in the photo below, in Rua Augusta, just off the Rossio in the centre of Lisbon.

Lisbon in summer is a magical place to visit. There are festivals, music in the streets, and it’s hot. There’s movement and flow and a constant buzz. Just walking from street corner to street corner uncovers a panoramic vista of the Castelo de São Jorge, or a view down to the Tagus River, or…a band playing jazz. This is what we found in the Chiado, a very popular shopping district. In 1988 the Chiado area was burned to the ground. I remember walking through the burned out buildings a year after the fire, before the renovations started. It took 10 years to renovate the area. No visit to Lisbon is complete without a visit to this area.