Lisbon’s biggest New Year’s Eve party usually takes place in Praça do Comércio, the large square that opens to the river. That’s where most go to see the fireworks at midnight, and stay for the music concerts. This year however, the party must be moved elsewhere, as that square is undergoing renovation until at least next April. So the chosen location was Jardim Vieira Portuense, the lawns by Jerónimos Monastery in the Belém district. Before the fireworks at midnight there will be a Beatles tribute concert (don’t ask), while in the first minutes of 2010 there will be a concert by Xutos & Pontapés which is one of Portugal’s biggest rock bands.
On the opposite side of the city, in the Eastern district of Parque das Nações there will also be a fireworks show, this time cascading down Vasco da Gama Tower. As GoLisbon previously told you about, that tower is being turned into a hotel, but despite all the works around it, it will still be able to continue its annual fireworks tradition for the sixth consecutive year.
If you’re not recovering from a champagne hangover on January 1st, head to the city’s cathedral in the afternoon. A free concert by the New Zealand Choir & Orchestra will take place at 5PM, with 50 performers who have offered concerts at most of the great cathedrals of the world since their first international tour in 1990 (check out their website at www.cathedral.org.nz).

Lisbon’s Metro has expanded. Its four lines are now all connected, allowing better access to the city’s eastern districts. Until last week you often had to hop off and on at a couple of stations in order to connect to the red line that leads to Parque das Nações, but now that red line also connects with the yellow and blue lines at stations uptown. It is therefore much faster and easier to go from the Gulbenkian Museum to the Oceanarium for example, by getting on the train at the São Sebastião station around the corner from the museum, and ending at Oriente Station without having to reconnect to another line anywhere. We’ve updated the metro diagram on our Transport section, and it is a good idea to become familiar with it before you arrive in Lisbon, as it saves you some time in between sightseeing, allowing you to know exactly how you can reach your favorite attractions.

Of the many striking structures built for Lisbon’s World Fair in 1998, the Portugal Pavillion is perhaps the one that remains the most talked about today. It was designed by Pritzker Award-winning architect Siza Vieira, and has a huge undulating roof that instantly catches the eye of everyone passing by. Yet it remains surprisingly empty inside, although there have been numerous ideas about what to do with it over the past decade. Many of those ideas were for museums, but they have never gone beyond the planning stages. That is until now, with the government announcing it is turning it into a contemporary museum relating to the world discoveries. The tentative name is the Museum of Voyages, and it is hoped to be able to open its doors in 2011.
The idea is for it to mix culture and science, showcasing pieces that are currently found in different museums around the country, while also incorporating multimedia displays. It won’t therefore be a traditional museum, but essentially a cultural center that will also include temporary attractions. A restaurant is also being planned, although everything that has been reported is still in the pre-planning stage, and the official project will only be revealed later this year.  Of course GoLisbon.com will tell you about it as soon as that happens.

Lisbon has a couple of marinas along its riverfront, with the most central found under 25 de Abril Bridge in Docas de Santo Amaro, and the other next to the Discoveries Monument. Now there is a new one in the Parque das Nações district, opened last Saturday after a 14 million-euro investment. This is not exactly a new marina, since there had been one on this spot during Expo 98, but it closed soon after that and had been boat-free for eight years. It now has space for 602 boats, allowing visitors to do some sailing, jet-skiing, or some recreational fishing on the Tagus, and a special nautical club is being planned for water and boat fans to get together.
Overlooking the marina is an apartment building shaped like a ship, which also includes space for businesses. That is where you’ll find a couple of cafes where you can get a refreshing drink as you look out to the river and the boats.
If you have a boat and think this is a marina to check out, note that it is closed between 8:30PM and 8:30AM, and any activity between those hours requires a special permission from the staff a day before.

There are still a couple of good beach months left in Lisbon, but you don’t necessarily need to leave the city in order to catch some sun and escape to a more tranquil setting. By the riverfront, on top of one of the city’s hills, or in a green oasis, here is where to go when you want to enjoy the warm, sunny weather in the center of Lisbon.

Meninos do Rio
This riverfront café is found right in the center of the city, but you can easily imagine yourself standing in a non-urban resort. Behind you are tall palm trees, the water is right in front, and you can sit or lie back on a long chair enjoying fresh juices or nibbling on some excellent snacks and light meals. It is open throughout the year, but it is an essential stop in the summer.

O Terraço
There are many terraces overlooking Lisbon, but this is “the” terrace. It’s found right below the Castle of St. George, and serves sandwiches, salads, and fruit juices as you overlook the city and the river. It’s open after the sun sets too, so you may also admire the city when the moon is shining on the Tagus.

Parque das Nações Lawns
Parque das Nações is known for its contemporary and futuristic architecture, as well as a number of attractions left behind after the World Fair of 1998. But this is no concrete jungle, especially when you get closer to the riverfront, which is ideal for joggers, cyclists, and lovers. There are a number of gardens and lawns along the way, and the longest and sunnier green spaces are found past Vasco da Gama Tower towards Europe’s longest bridge. Put on your beachwear, spread your tower, and make that your suntanning area.

Alcântara Riverfront
With the train tracks running along the riverfront from the center of the city to seaside Cascais, it is often forgotten that between those tracks and the river are miles of lawns, restaurants, and bars. It also includes a new cycling path, and on weekends it’s the preferred destination for joggers. By the Alcântara district, right by 25 de Abril Bridge and the Santo Amaro docks is a large green area where you can simply lay down or sit on a bench allowing the sun to hit your face, and where your only concern should be putting on some sunscreen.

Edward VII Park
Unlike Londoners, New Yorkers, or Parisians, Lisboners rarely spend much time in their city’s parks. The beach is just too close by, and an outdoor café is also a better place to watch the world go by. But there are several wonderful green spaces in the city, and the “central park” is Edward VII Park. It separates downtown from uptown, and includes an attractive greenhouse, clipped box hedging, and plenty of space to lay down, catch some sun, and listen to the sounds of nature mixing with those of the city.

GoLisbon.com offers the most Lisbon accommodation choices online, including hotels, hostels, and apartments. Most of those apartments are found in the most central and historical neighborhoods, but now we’ve just added a few in the former Expo site, Parque Das Nações. That district was born in the last decade and that’s where you’ll find the most modern and futuristic architecture in the city. Many of those buildings offer apartments using the latest technology and many have fantastic river views. Some of them are available for tourists to enjoy, and range from 55 to 125 euros on low season. The center of the city is just a metro ride away, and the airport is reached in about 10 minutes. Check our Lisbon apartments page and click on “Near the Expo/Parque das Nações” on the menu you’ll see on the left: Lisbon Apartments

Lisbon’s Parque das Nações district will soon have another daring piece of architecture. That’s the IMOCOM building, an environmentally-friendly project for a real estate company that will have its headquarters in one of the seven floors. The rest of the space will hold other offices, while the ground floor will be for street-level shops. In total this construction will cost 40 million euros and will include a multimedia façade on which those passing by will see audiovisual information.
The design is by Nuno Mateus and José Mateus, two Portuguese architects of ARX Portugal Arquitectos, and will be standing next to the Vasco da Gama mall behind the twin São Gabriel and São Rafael towers as pictured above.

See more projects for Lisbon in the future.

Lisbon’s Vasco da Gama Tower is being turned into a Dubai-like landmark. It was built as a viewing tower for the World Expo that took place in the city in 1998 but is now becoming a luxury hotel. When it was first being planned there was a rather nouveau riche idea of it being marketed as a 6-star service much like Dubai’s famous Burj Al Arab which it somewhat resembles, but the group behind it seems to have settled for a “traditional” 5-star rating. That group is Sana, and the hotel will be called Sana Torre Vasco da Gama Royal Hotel, opening in 2010 with 178 rooms (10 of them being suites) on 20 floors. The original observation deck will be maintained, and it will continue to offer a panoramic restaurant. Its base is being rebuilt and at the moment we can already see some of the floors going up. The final design is pictured on the right and was created by Portuguese architect Nuno Leónidas.  It looks a little less like a sailing ship as it was originally projected, and will be a “green hotel” making as much use of natural lighting and natural materials as possible.

For other projects planned for Lisbon in the future, come back to Go Lisbon Blog throughout the upcoming weeks.

The Financial Times’ monthly “How To Spend It” magazine highlights the most luxurious shopping and places to see in the world, and in its current February issue the city for the “The Long Luxurious Weekend” is Lisbon.

It notes that “Portugal’s capital city is fiercely protective of its heritage and traditions,” but “also embraces glamorous modern, high-concept developments.” The main photo is part of the Parque das Nações skyline, showing the distinctive São Gabriel and São Rafael Towers next to the Atlantic Pavilion.

The recommended places to stay were all boutique hotels (As Janelas Verdes, Bairro Alto Hotel, Solar do Castelo, and York House), in addition to one design hotel (Fontana Park) and one luxury hotel (Lapa Palace).

Eating and drinking suggestions were the Café A Brasileira, Bica do Sapato, Eleven, Tavares, and Terreiro do Paço, together with a night of Fado at Parreirinha de Alfama.

For shopping, two of the highlights were the Fabrico Infinito shop for home accessories and Sant’Anna for quality ceramics.

As sightseeing choices, it points to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, the Ancient Art Museum, the Santa Justa Elevator, and the Fado Museum, along with two off-the-beaten path addresses, the Medeiros e Almeida Museum and the Mãe D’Água Reservoir that’s part of the landmark aqueduct.

It ends with a “Pessoa tour,” following the footsteps of famous 20th century poet Fernando Pessoa, with a visit to his house-museum and with the help of his guidebook “Lisbon: What the Tourist Should See” which the article found to be “an excellent guidebook – despite having been written in 1925.”

You can read the entire article here where you can click on the February 2009 issue.

If you’ve now packed your sandals and the white socks to wear with them during your trip to Lisbon, and are now planning what to see and do in the city, this is the guide for you. After all, GoLisbon.com prides itself in the fact that it’s a guide for everyone, for all kinds of people coming to Lisbon. Here’s a suggested itinerary:

MORNING:
When you arrive at the airport, take a taxi to your hotel. Don’t worry about the language barrier. Just say the name of the hotel and thank the driver with a “gracias.” It’s Spanish, but he’ll understand. After all, Spain is right next door.

It’s now probably past your hotel’s breakfast time, so do the next best thing — go to Starbucks in the Belem district. As GoLisbon has already told you here, that great American franchise is opening in that neighborhood soon.
After your muffin and frappuccino, hop on an open-top tour bus. After all, you’re already in the Belem district and that’s where most of the city’s sights are. You get to see the entire city from a moving vehicle and still get to take pictures! The city looks particularly beautiful by the water. It’s not the Mediterranean, by the way. It’s a river called Tagus or Tejo in Portuguese (the local language which looks like Spanish but sounds like Russian). Across the river is not Morocco or even the island of Madeira as many tourists in the past have guessed. It’s a suburb called Almada. No use going there unless you want to take a look at the Cristo Rei. It’s a replica of that big statue in Rio de Janeiro. It’s kinda cool because it’s big and made out of concrete. Plus, no need to go to Rio after that! It really saves you some money.

AFTERNOON:
You’ve now seen the entire city on that bus tour, and it’s time for lunch. Did you know Lisbon has one of Europe’s biggest shopping malls? When it opened in 1998 it was the largest in Iberia. Iberia is the peninsula that makes up Spain and Portugal. It’s in Southern Europe. In case you arrived on a cruise, that’s where you are right now. Anyway, Colombo is the name of the shopping mall. It’s big. It has such a huge food court! You can choose from McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and so many other fast food places that are familiar to you! Yes, Lisbon’s got them too!
Take the opportunity to shop around the mall. It’s big. So many shops! There are even two Zaras! Try finding that at many other malls across Europe! To recover from all the shopping, it’s time to rest a while. Take the subway and head back to the center of the city. Take advantage of Happy Hour at one of the Irish pubs in Cais do Sodré. There are two of them within walking distance from each other! The drinks are cheap and you can even get Guinness! Yes, Lisbon’s got it too!

EVENING:
OK, back to the subway. You’ve probably read that most restaurants in Lisbon are in Bairro Alto. Don’t bother. That place has so much graffiti, it’s scary. Besides, you heard that Portuguese food is all made with cod and who likes that stinky bacalao? Head to Parque das Nações. It’s so modern! It’s got so many tall buildings. And restaurants too. There’s an entire row of international restaurants, and a couple of them even offer all-you-can-eat buffets! Man, you can really stuff yourself for less than 15 euros! If you don’t go for the buffets, you can still be sure to have a fulfilling meal because many of these are chain restaurants and serve big portions like you get back at home. Obviously you can’t go straight to bed in a full stomach, so walk around the neighborhood. Parque das Nações really has many cool modern buildings! And did we mention they’re tall?! Best of all, there’s a casino! It’s so awesome!  It has the roulette, and you can even play poker or blackjack! Best of all is playing the slot machines. Just like in Vegas! Of course you should not get too carried away and spend all your money there. Once you’ve seen the free acrobatics show at the rotating bar of the casino (it’s amazing, filled with flashing lights during the show, and the music is really pumping), head back to the subway and get off at Restauradores in the center of the city. That’s where you’ll find Lisbon’s very own Hard Rock Café. How cool is that?! There’s a car (a real one!) hanging from the ceiling! Have your drinks as you watch the pop videos on the screens, listen to the loud music, and mingle with other tourists. Who knows? — maybe you’ll even bump into someone from back home. That would be one hell of a coincidence, wouldn’t it? Don’t leave without passing by the gift shop. Get your very own “Hard Rock Café – Lisbon” key chain or shot glass! After all, getting such a cool souvenir is the best way to end your stay in Lisbon. Isn’t it such a cool city?! Tell your friends.