Portugal may be on the edge of Western Europe and its economy may at times be struggling, but for tourism it is a hot spot especially for beach or history.

 

Lisbon

Lisbon is a hilly and historic city with steep and mazy streets of polished cobbles that resound to the clank of antique trams. The trams are a great way of getting around though the city is quite walkable too, though I'd advise some hiking shoes with ankle support to negotiate the cobbled streets. Lisbon was once the nerve centre of an empire spanning as far as South East Asia, Africa and South America. An empire testament of the Portuguese seafaring explorers. Nowadays, Lisbon is skulduggery central. When walking around Avenida da Liberdade, people were selling weed, and when you refuse they'll try to sell you cocaine instead. Watch out for the taxi drivers too, they have plenty of things on their mind but work is not one of them. We gave a taxi driver a 50 euros note, he tried to make us believe we only gave him 5 euros. Meanwhile in Bairro Alto, the nightlife area that gets packed with people after midnight, many pickpockets operate.

 

Fado

Portuguese Fado (ie fate in Portuguese) is a music genre that originates in urban Lisbon. It's a type of mournful folk music sung by the common people. The music genre was recently added to the World's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.