They call Lisbon the City of Seven Hills for good reason: When we've gone for walks we're almost always going up somewhere or coming down from somewhere.
The inclines may be steep or slight, but two things are sure: Each offers dramatic views and is filled with vibrant life. Maybe a demonstration is getting underway, maybe there's a wedding at an old stone church, maybe a tiny cafe crowd is spilling onto the alleyway. That's what makes Lisbon a lively, even sensual city, one you feel embraced by an hour after arriving.
There's another less known aspect of Lisbon: Its past always lives in its present. Even terrible events -- like Nov. 1, 1755, when 30,000 or more residents perished in what is called The Great Earthquake -- are still there.
"Portuguese speak of it constantly as if it just occurred," says writer Marion Kaplan, who has lived in Lisbon for many years. "They speak of it as a personal experience. In some ways it is."
That is Lisbon's life. It's part of "saudade," the longing for the past, which is never truly past. As you stroll its passageways in the evening, this nostalgic pining is evident in the melancholy songs of fado that float from tiny tavernas.
This time in Lisbon, my wife and I -- joined by our son, his wife and small son -- chose Hotel Tivoli on the main promenade, Avenida da Liberdade. The avenue is 100 metres wide, lined with huge palms and sweeps north for about 1.5 km, in places resembling the grand boulevards of London or Paris.
Hotel Tivoli, opened in 1933, is the dream of a young businessman and a lawyer friend. It's a slightly formal place with a gleaming lobby and courteous staff.
The location is ideal for those who, like us, prefer to be close to what we want to see. It's easy to explore on foot using the three funiculars -- or elevadores -- that take you up the inclines. The main old neighbourhoods with names that are part of the city's vocabulary -- Bairro Alta, the Baixia and the most historic, the Alfama -- are perfect for walking.
It's probably true that of all Lisbon's neighbourhoods, the Alfama is the most enduring. It wasn't destroyed by the Great Earthquake and has some of the city's oldest buildings.
It's worth spending part of a day wandering its streets (called becos) which are the narrowest you may ever walk -- sometimes only 2 metres across. No map can help -- it's a maze atop a maze.
You'll see small artifacts of very old Lisbon, when Alfama was the most stylish of neighbourhoods, and signs of past opulence in the small white and blue azulejos (glazed tiles) created by Arabic Moors or those whose came after them. When the Moors left, Alfama became a neighbourhood of working people, often fishermen and stevedores.
Walk to the grounds of ancient St. George's Castle, where you're at the top of Lisbon's highest hills. A stroll through the castle grounds' olive groves and cork trees is pleasurable.
Make time to stop awhile at Alfama's historic Se, or cathedral, Lisbon's oldest building, contructed in the 12th century. Despite its sombre exterior, it's worth entering to see the historic treasures, including the font where the revered Anthony of Padua, Portugal's patron saint, was baptized soon after it was created so very long ago.
And do return for one last view over the castle wall: The scene below of Lisbon's Alfama is almost beyond spectacular.
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In early 1955, Calouste Gulbenkian lay on his death bed in Lisbon. Born in Turkey of Armenian parents and a Portugal resident since 1942, Gulbenkian was said to be the wealthiest man in the world back then, mainly through oil investment.
But he was also renowned as perhaps the world's foremost art collector. He began collecting as a young man and is said to have spoken one line about his standard as a collector: "Nothing but the best is good enough."
Gulbenkian's acquisitions reveal a man of superb taste as well as great gifts of negotiation. In time he owned 5,000 pieces in every artist's medium, from every period and every culture. His will establishing a charitable foundation, made his treasure available for public viewing.
As someone said of him: "For Portugal he was a treasure of pure gold."
No visit to Lisbon, makes sense without a visit to The Gulbenkian Museum housed in a low building, shaded by park-like landscape on Avenue de Berna and still walkable from our hotel. You could spend days here, seeing so many fine objects of every kind and age. I filled several pages of my notebook with reminders like these: Superb prehistoric funerary statue; a 16th-century painting of a Moorish chimney; incredible etched Greek coins; and European masters by Monet, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck and more . It was not our first visit to the Gulbenkian, I truly hope it won't be our last.
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Lisbon, being a place of vibrant life is thereby a place of cafes. Most remain unpretentious family places on narrow alleys, where mother, father, often sons and daughters, have tended to kitchen and table for years, which suits us well.
I walked to one -- Restaurante O Forninho Saloio -- repeatedly with Barbara, our son, daughter-in-law and grandson. The cafe was along a narrow alleyway -- Travessa Das Parreiras -- and had panels of azulejos on its walls, about a dozen tables and customers who were obviously regulars. One told us it was a bakery long ago, until a family bought it about 20 years ago.
Sometimes we had codfish -- a staple the Portuguese call bacalau and claim they can cook 365 ways -- and a couple of times I had a tasty shish kebab. We always had a bottle of wine, deliberately choosing the house offering, which in Portugal is invariably pleasant, gull and smooth, usually from Alentejo, the country's best wine producing region.
One day on the last walk, we came upon a restaurant of such striking decor, we returned later for dinner. It was The Trindade, a cafe on the site of a monastery built eight centuries ago. (In the 1830s, it became a brewery.) Its rooms are large and warm with colour and its artistic wall panels speak of profound history.
"In these rooms," says its official record, "we can safely say there has not been a single day over the past seven centuries, when it has not received visitors ..."
Naturally, in an atmosphere filled with such echoes of Portugual's yesterdays, you'll be reminded one more time of how deeply the past is, indeed, part of the present in Lisbon.
BOTTOM LINE
WHAT'S ON
In June, Lisbon celebrates its saints. At nighttime, festivities take over the historic centre. Neighbourhoods such as Castelo, Mouraria, Graca, Alfama, Ajuda and Bairro Alto are festooned with garlands and the streets are filled with dancing and folk music. The main celebration is dedicated to St. Anthony, the city's patron saint and matchmaker. Festivities peak with a collective wedding ceremony, a folk parade on June 12 and a public holiday -- St. Anthony's Day -- on June 13. Other saints celebrated are St. John (June 23-24) and St. Peter (June 28-29).
PENNY-PINCHER TIP
Lisbon is Western Europe's least expensive capital. Visitors can save even more with a Lisbon Card, which is good for public transporation and free or discounted admission to top attractions. Prices run about $27-$54 for cards good for 24 to 72 hours.
MORE INFORMATION
For details on travelling in Portugal, visit the country's official tourism website, visitportugal.com or call 1-800-767-8842.
See our slideshow of Travel Taboos, Do's and Don'ts.