Book the cheapest air flight to Lisbon (LIS) on CheapOair and visit the new twenty-first century Lisbon, which is a vibrant, cosmopolitan and creative city that has managed to successfully marry the historic with the modern, the traditional with the cutting edge. Lisbon is at its best on languorous summer evenings, when the pavement cafés and riverside restaurants bustle with steamy life. Even in winter, when rain sweeps in off the Atlantic, any brief patch of sunshine brings the tables back outside, in a city where enjoying life and taking time to appreciate it is still paramount. Getting around Lisbon is all part of the fun, with a city center that is easily navigable on foot. When the gradients become too much, the rapidly improving metro system is available and there is also the bus network, as well as the enjoyable array of clanking trams, bobbing ferries, crawling funiculars and lofty elevators. The elevators and funiculars are good places for visitors to start exploring the city, as they offer expansive views. Alternatively, São Jorge Castelo also commands impressive vistas, with the rambling Alfama old town rumbling away below the ramparts and the grid-like order of the Baixa visible just to the west. The Baixa is the business and shopping centre of the city, boasting its grandest square, Praça do Comercio, which lies right on the banks of the River Tagus. Baixa borders the Biarro Alto, a hilly coil of narrow streets that buzzes with shoppers by day and partygoers at night. Heading further west, the once neglected docklands have been revamped over the last decade, with new shops, bars, and restaurants spicing up the old warehouses. Even further west, towards the Atlantic, is the suburb of Belém, on the city’s western extremities, which is the heart of the old Portuguese Empire, with a string of attractions that include the Torre de Belém, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos and the Centro Cultural de Belém. Expo 98 left the impressive legacy of the Parque das Nações, to the east of the city centre, which is at the opposite end of the time scale from Belém – an ultra modern playground that is home to Europe’s second largest Aquarium, a huge shopping centre, river walkways, and concert venues. Meanwhile, outside the city boundaries, the twin resorts of Estoril and Cascais offer a beach escape in the summer months, while the mountain retreat of Sintra is a perennially popular day trip and place to cool off when the mercury gets up in the city. Lisbon is a city that takes its nightlife seriously. Traditionally, the nightlife center has been Bairro Alto, with its fado clubs, traditional, canteen-style bars, and upscale discos. The simplest thing is to walk in and out of a number of them, ordering an imperial (half pint), or a caneca (pint) if the place looks especially inviting. Check out the action on to the Docas (Docks) district, situated just to the east. One bar after another occupies a row of converted warehouses at the Doca de Santo Amaro, with a crowded promenade and tables out front. Back toward the city, the Doca de Alcântara is another favorite with Lisbon’s moneyed professionals and the ‘in’ crowd. Another en vogue spot is around raffish Santa Apolonia, although things are a bit more hit and miss than they are at Biarro Alto, despite the presence of Lux, Lisbon’s most renowned nightclub. | 
