Footprint's Ten of the best: Lisbon

Lisbon is the city where medieval wonders meet modern architectural fantasies: a city where the brave meets the new and casts a spell on all those that visit. Caroline Lascom recommends the sites to see and things to do on a trip to Lisbon.

1. Mosteiro dos Jerónimos The most beautiful example of the Manueline style, the embodiment of Portuguese maritime glory.

2. Alfama Where Lisbon began, a medieval medina of serpentine streets lined with pastel-clad Moorish houses rolled out like a tapestry onto Lisbon's highest hill.

3. Sintra Romantic, blissful Eden of lush mountains, ravines nestled with Moorish castles, fairy-tale palaces and eerie monasteries.

4. Museu Calouste Gulbenkian Dizzying collection of Lalique jewellery, Oriental art, Egyptian antiquities and 20th Century European masterpieces.

5. Antiga Pastelaria de Belém Pay homage at the temple of the greatest purveyor of pastéis de nata in Portugal; 10,000 people a day can't be wrong.

6. Convento e Museu Arqueológico do Carmo Destroyed by the earthquake, this surreal convent with skeletal arches and a nave overgrown with grass exudes ethereal mystique.

7. Lux Saunter through the sleek bar, cruise out onto the breezy terrace, order a cocktail and lap up the stunning sea views and beautiful people.

8. Design Museum A fantastic collection of 20th Century design icons, from French art nouveau furniture to Arnie Jacobsen chairs and Philippe Starck cheese graters.

9. Tram 28 A hair-raising tram ride through the backstreets and vertiginous alleyways of Old Europe.

10. Bairro Alto bar hop A bacchanalian kernel of the stylish, salacious, eccentric and jazzy, seared with feisty cocktails and coated in sticky rough wine.


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