Lisbon - what is the vibe now?
 

I ve read all the posts which tilt towards indifference/negative about Lisbon but wanted to see people's thoughts more currently -- still a bit run down? would i better off going to seville/spain? i just have four days.

Yap, Seville/Spain is ok for you.

We were in Lisbon/Cascais last July. We loved it! We have nothing negative to say about it at all. Run down? It's an old city with lots of character and flair. Where are you reading these negative comments? Anyway, it's really your choice. How we feel about a place may be totally different from how you may see it.

lobo_mau: I'm surprised at you!

Any time 15 Jun thru 15 Sep I prefer Lisbon. Lisbon's summer weather is very mild. Sevilla is just too darn hot! And if you confine yourself to Lisbon & surroundings (i.e., Sintra) a 4-day visit to Lisbon could be very nice.
BTW
yalie98 writes: " ...still a bit run down?" My first visit to Lisbon was in 1974. It wasn't 'run down' then and it's not 'run down' now! Maybe you consider the barrios altos signs of urban decay: if so, you're looking in the wrong direction. Lisbon may be in a building 'boom' that began before Expo'98. Count the number of Cranes at new construction sites you see!

And MetroLisboa has just about doubled in size since the new Oriente linea was completed.

The last post where you only had "four days" you were trying to decide between Madrid and Barcelona...now it's between Lisbon and Seville??????

lobo_mau. Are you being a bad wolf again?

Dont shoot the question-asked - i simply did a search of this forum and there were plenty of "negative" posts on people being unimpressed with lisbon and the like.

It's my nature. I can't avoid.

Lisbon is lovely. It was the first European city I visited in 1969, and the first Continental European city my husband visited four years ago, and he had the same positive reaction I'd had years earlier. First occasion was early February and second was mid-March. It was wonderfully sunny both times - quite warm the second. In midsummer I imagine it would be much more pleasant than the centre of Spain.
aApart from that we loved the people, the history, the food, the sea...

I was in Lisbon a couple of weeks ago and I agree with NEDSIRELAND: it's a great destination. It's also a tremendous value in comparison to other major cities in western Europe for on-the-ground expenses.

I can see when I am in minority. However I still think that seville/spain would be a great destination for yalie98.

You cannot go wrong if you choose one.

Sevilla - Has flamenco dancing, tapas bars, Moorish architecture, Spanish wines and the Spanish art found in the Bellas Artes de Sevilla museum.

Lisbon – For me is a combination of old and modern city. Its historical buildings, its churches, the trams which are fun to ride, the tiles, postcard views found in various places within the city and excellent food. I have to add the most friendless people I have met.

They are not better than the other, they are different and both should be visited.

Bill

www.WilliamBert.com

I'm really sorry to reply so late to this troll driven thread but I've been suffering from Flu brought on by the unsanitary conditions of this run down city in which I live. We tend to keep this old city in such a degraded state thus to keep undecided tourists out - we'd hate them to return home thinking "Damn, I know I should have gone to Seville instead." You see there is a secret circle initiated by a couple of Lisbon residents to which you have to know the handshake so to enter and once there only then do you discover what Lisbon is really like.

Actually the myth that Salazar is dead still continues when in reality we are still under an oppresive dictatorship which forces us to listen to Fado all day and just eat seafood. All that building work is just like a hollywood set, all just a pretty façade...

Now Lobo, fancy dinner soon in a dingy run down restaurant where the chef drops fag ash into the cooking pots and uses the same knife to cut raw meat <i>and</i> vegetables?

I have a friend.