Lisbon, Lisboa. the Portuguese capital stands for colourful tiles and architectural contrasts, the most sunshine hours in Europe and a very special light, for stockfish tascas and cafés, for traditional shops next to postmodern shopping centres. Lisbon is in fact the oldest city in western Europe: even the ancient Phoenicians knew they would always find safe harbour here. Today the city is booming again like no other time since the days of the great voyages of discovery. Foreign investors are buying into it, facades are being surrounded by scaffolding. The goldmine of tourism has created a new international flair, brought jobs and attracted film teams, scrubbing away at the morbid charm of urban decay. Lisbon's lively cultural life now includes a young blossoming street art scene; it is a city with rather reserved, friendly people and an unflustered multicultural identity. With the help of this book, track down the Portuguese soul - and the famous saudade!

Kathleen Becker, born in 1970 to German-Irish parents in Marburg, studied English and Romance in Marburg, Cologne, Toulouse and London, and is now a freelance author and translator. She works as a tour guide in Lisbon, her adopted home since 2006, in Alentejo, on the Azores, in Ireland and the former Portuguese colony of São Tomé & Príncipe.