Photo Review Lisbon, Portugal

Courtesy of a layover with TAP Portugal en-route from Dakar to Marrakech, I visited downtown Lisbon last week. I 'lived' in Lisbon for 5 weeks in 2010 and to my surprise I liked the city very much. The food is very Portuguese - lots of delicious 'pastel de nata' and fresh fish everywhere. I also liked how the city has transformed itself from a European backwater into a modern South European capital. It is now very easy to travel to and within Lisbon. If you ask me, it is the 'better' Paris or Barcelona these days. The views from the many hills are awesome. The old trains are cute and still faster than the San Francisco cable cars. Portugal is also pretty cheap - expect to pay half or less what you'd pay in the US for essentially the same things. The quality of produce is high - often better than in Northern Europe. The city has taken lots of inspiration from San Francisco (or SF has from Lisbon), like the cable cars and the Tejo (25 de Abril) Bridge. Here are my pictures. Consider Lisbon for your next journey to Europe - it is worth it. Hit it before it gets fully discovered - already Germans and Brits have taken the city by storm. If you like this post - subscribe via email or follow us on Twitter.