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The view of Lisbon’s Alfama neighbourhood and Tagus river from the Miradouro das Portas do Sol observation deck. Photo: Alamy

Lisbon, Portugal: the good, bad and ugly sides to one of Europe’s hottest, hippest cities

  • Clean air, stunning city views, value for money and those egg tarts are just some of the reasons the city won big at the World Travel Awards
  • The accolades will doubtless boost the number of visitors to a city whose residents are already exasperated by the volume of tourists

The Good

Portugal won an impressive 39 prizes at the 2019 World Travel Awards. Lisbon led the way in the European category, winning Best Cruise Port, Leading Business Hotel and Leading City Tourist Board. But perhaps the most impressive feat of all was being named Europe’s Leading City Break Destination for the third year running. That’s some achievement when you consider the competition.

The Portuguese capital sits on seven hills, which is handy if you’re trying to get your bearings. Miradouro means “viewpoint” and there are lots of landscaped lookouts around the city, usually with a cafe or restaurant, chairs and tables positioned to take advantage of the lofty location.

The postcard photographer’s favourite, Miradouro das Portas do Sol, overlooks the terracotta rooftops of Alfama, the ancient Moorish quarter, which tumbles down to the Tagus river. And far above, the honey-hued ramparts of Castelo Sao Jorge provide views that extend into the heat-hazed hinterland.

After a pastry and coffee pick-me-up, hop on a tram. Part public transport, part fairground ride and part national treasure, the clanking canary-yellow electricos snake their way up and down the steep, narrow streets. The number 28 carries passengers past many of Lisbon’s best-known sights as well as plenty of fascinating nooks and crannies that don’t rate a mention in any guidebook. The trams lurch within centimetres of parked cars, pedestrians and laundry billowing on balconies. Lean out of the window to get a better view and you might never lean back in again.

The number 28 tram, which takes tourists to some of the cities best-known sites.

Lisbon’s clean, unpolluted air and benign climate encourage people to live life outdoors for most of the year, and the City of Light is pleasantly affordable compared with other western European capitals. You can order a coffee for €1 (HK$9) and enjoy a creamy pastel de nata for even less. The Pastéis de Belém bakery draws a steady stream of sweet-toothed sightseers eager to sample its signature egg tarts, which have been made on the premises since 1837. Don’t bother asking for the recipe – only three of the owners and three chefs are in on the secret.

Another tram runs to Praça do Comércio, Lisbon’s magnificent maritime gateway, where royalty and heads of state were welcomed for business and banquets.

Talking of culinary blowouts, alfresco restaurants in the area serve up fresh seafood dishes such as camarao com alho (garlic prawns) polvo à lagareiro (octopus and potatoes in herbed olive oil) and salmão grelhado (grilled salmon), washed down with a glass or two of refreshingly crisp vinho verde.

Belly full, it’s perhaps time to buy yourself a holiday home. Only joking, although if you did, you would be in good company. High-profile property purchases by the likes of Madonna and film stars Monica Bellucci and Michael Fassbender have helped make the city hip and led to a surge in tourists. Ten minutes from Praça do Comércio, Lisbon’s award-winning cruise port is welcoming record numbers of passengers; as is the airport, which was voted Airport of the Year at the 2019 Air Transport Awards.

The Bad

A cruise liner dwarfs Alfama. Photo: Alamy

Soon after the champagne corks stopped popping, however, another poll, this one by passenger rights company Airhelp, ranked Lisbon’s airport the worst of 132 worldwide, which says a lot about the inconsistency of surveys. As one TripAdvisor reviewer laments: “It’s dirty, rowdy and stuffy. The toilets are dirty, customer care is pathetic, the staff are generally unprofessional.”

Conditions are even worse for those living nearby. Noise levels far exceed legal limits; there are few night-flight restric­tions and air pollution from planes and related traffic is worsening. Lisbon’s aforementioned clean, unpolluted air doesn’t extend to the cruise port, either. Each year, about 300 vessels call in at a facility that has been ranked the sixth most-polluting in Europe (assuming we’re back to trusting surveys).

Tram 28 certainly shouldn’t be missed, although you might want to avoid actually boarding the rickety roller coaster. Passengers, most of whom are tourists, are packed in like sardines and the windows are too low for those standing up (nearly everyone) to see anything. They’re also an easy target for pickpockets.

So grab a map and walk the 7km route instead. That way, you choose how long to spend admiring churches and lapping up those miradouro views rather than hurtling past them. And since you won’t be hemmed in by sweating strangers, the odds of having your pockets picked diminishes significantly. On foot, you get a feel for the bairros (neighbour­hoods) and can decide which one has just the right ambience for lunch – the city is built over seven hills, remember.

The queue outside the Pastéis de Belém. Photo: Alamy

Winning a suitcase full of travel awards is ringing endorsement for Lisbon. Unfortu­nately, the publicity is sure to draw yet more visitors to a city already reeling from the onslaught. Terramo­tourism (tourism earthquake) is the Portuguese term to describe the over­tourism phenomenon. To experience it first hand, head to Pastéis de Belém and join the long, snail-paced queue of hungry holidaymakers.

The celebrated bakery holds the distinction of being the most reviewed eatery on the TripAdvisor website, with more than 48,000 comments. Not all are complimentary, however: “ … the service is unbelievably slow and extremely rude. Clearly not enough staff … two coffees, two orange juice and three tarts was 15! You can have all of that in small, local and authentic cafes throughout Lisbon for 5!”

Lisbon may be the cheapest capital city in western Europe, but its low cost of living is skyrocketing as developers, foreign investors and tourists snap up property. Locals are being priced out of the central locations their families have lived in for centuries. The Madonna Effect, let’s call it. This in turn breeds resentment towards outsiders – gradually to begin with, as the Portuguese are too good-natured to get really angry, but irritability levels are rising, particularly among residents who are suffer­ing the effects of terramotourism without enjoying any of the benefits.

The Ugly

Lisbon’s lovely tiles can be rather hazardous after is has rained.

Walking the No 28 tram route isn’t such a good idea after it’s been raining. Lisbon’s cobblestoned mosaic paving, known as calçada Portuguesa, becomes dangerously slippery when wet and the wheels of prams, wheelchairs and suitcases get caught in the cracks when it’s not.

You don’t see many women wearing high heels in Lisbon.

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