Lisbon Trip Essentials

Pack Like a Local

Lisbonites are almost unfailingly elegant. So wear your walking shoes by day, but bear in mind that Converse sneakers and the like might not make the cut at some of the city’s finer nightclubs. Also, though the afternoons are warm, evenings can occasionally turn quite cool; be sure to bring several layers.

Load Your iPod

Fado star Mariza’s latest album, Terra (4Q/World Connection, $16.98), was released stateside in February. Pair it with some classic songs from the late icon Amália Rodrigues (known as the Voice of Portugal) off Art of Amália (Blue Note, $15.98).

Read Up

Portugal lays claim to two world-class and wildly different contemporary writers: the Nobel laureate José Saramago and his more earthy counterpart, António Lobo Antunes. Saramago’s Blindness (Harvest Books, $15) is a good introduction to his experimental style, while Lobo Antunes’s newly translated The Fat Man and Infinity (Norton, $26.95), a collection of essays and stories, grapples with Portugal’s sometimes tormented history.

Check the Calendar

Lisbon hosts events year-round, including saints’ days, feiras (fairs), and music, dance, and film festivals. For information visit atl-turismolisboa.pt.