With the Euro in place on the consumer level (and pleasantly priced as dollar-lite), traveling in the European Union grows ever simpler. Like a business school template for a successful company, EU countries are broadly similar. Focusing on the details makes the company profitable--or the country fascinating. Lisbon is a mid-sized city in a smallish EU country but with a character all its own.
ART
Gulbenkian Foundation: Modern and Contemporary Portugese Art Collection
The late Armenian magnate Calouste Gulbenkian is known to Americans for his fine collection of 19th century and modern masters. But, in 1956 he also founded the first cultural center in Lisbon devoted to promoting contemporary art in his adopted country. In 1983, the Modern Art Center opened on the grounds of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The support and systematic acquisition of works by artists from Portugal--many trained in Oporto or in Lisbon--makes this a valuable art resource. It functions as a regional museum chronicling how Portuguese artists assimilate predominate trends while still retaining their own special identities.
Wines:
Wines in Portugal are becoming ever more sophisticated with possibilities far beyond vinho verde and Mateus. In the price range of Euros 20 and higher, very good wines appear. In the reds, '96 vintages were generally available and drinking nicely. Click here for an explanation of Portugals wine regions and characteristics. All regions are represented on Lisbon wine lists, but restaurant staffs tended to lean to the Alentejos--from the region just south and east of Lisbon. After dinner, both the portos and madeiras (a semi-sweet malvasia or a dry--but leggy--terrantez) are excellent and represent incredible value--the Europeans having sense enough to tax fossil fuels rather than grapes.
An Off-the Run Wine Bar:
A wine-tasting destination serving small, tapas-like foods, Enoteca Chafariz do Vinho has many selections available as wines-by-the-glass. Listings include whites & reds from all major regions as well as madeiras and portos. However, there is no "bar" per se--it's all table service and set-up for groups of 4 to 6. A reservation is generally required and you must buzz at the front door to be admitted. The building is the slickly re-designed former public water reservoir. Address: Rua de Mae d'Água a Praça da Alegria. Tel. 213 422 079.
Day Trips:
Sintra--Trains run every twenty or thirty minutes to the storybook-beautiful hilltop fortification town of Sintra. In addition to the fanciful architecture and ceramics shops, Sintra boasts a 20th century art museum and a bit of a local art scene. (Openings for group shows appear to vary little the world over.)
Cascais--At the end of the train line along the Estoril coast (only 50 minutes from Lisbon), this simple fishing village long ago morphed into a British ex-pat mecca. Enticements include sun, appealing outdoor restaurants, attractive shops and a nicely-paved esplanade for strolling the two miles back to the casino town of Estoril. (The new casino bears no resemblance to the elegant one immortalized in I. Fleming's Casino Royale--no need to pack the dinner jacket.) Tchau!