In the 13th Century Lisbon became the capital of Portugal. 500,000 residents live in the city. The catchment area of the Lisbon area, however, has almost 3 million inhabitants; nearly 25% of the total population. Lisbon is the largest city in Portugal with many interesting neighbourhoods. Located at the estuary of the River Tagus Lisbon was founded by the Phoenicians. In the 8th Century Lisbon was conquered by the Moors. Even today, the building style in the old town of Lisbon is reminiscent of this period of occupation. Lisbon airport is located a few kilometres from the city centre so that you can quickly reach your holiday destination with your car.

Lisbon airport is the busiest airport in Portugal, even busier than Faro and Porto. It is served by most airlines, so that tourists from the U.K. can usually reach the city with a direct flight to Lisbon. Lisbon is now not only the cultural and political but also the economic centre of Portugal. Destroyed in 1755, by a severe earthquake and tsunami, Lisbon of today is a cosmopolitan city with a historical background.

Lisbon offers a host of attractive sights. Not only interesting neighbourhoods like Alfama, which is still very original and influenced by the Moorish style, or Bairro Alto, which is calm and comfortable during the day and wakes up in the late afternoon, when designer and other shops open. But the Orient railway station with its fancy design is also worth visiting by car hire Lisbon.