Download a city guide of some of Europe's most beautiful cities onto your iPod, mp3 player or phone. As we guide you through the streets, along the route we've planned for you, our city guides will tell you what you're looking at and how to make the most of your city break.

Florence
We only had a long weekend to do the city and so your tour really helped us get our bearings. There's just so much to see there! I know we only scraped the surface but it worked really well for us.
Tanya Ellison - (27/08/06)

Venice
This was a great tour that took you everywhere you needed to go. Particularly liked the walk through of the mosaic frescoes on the front of the Basilica. We had a great time in Venice, made all the more special by this evocative guide. Like the speaker's voice too - one of the best I've listened to.
Andrea How - (19/02/06)

LISBON CITY GUIDE: This is the small, friendly capital city from which sailors and merchants colonised vast territories in South Africa and the Far East. Portugal's great empire has left a profound impression its capital city. Lisbon's architecture ranges from the elegant Avenida de la Liberdade to the Moorish whimsy of Rossio station.
Romantic, twisting streets in the Alfama and the Chiado, elegant squares for coffee or an apératif in the Baixa - and breathtaking views across the river Tagus, Lisbon is perfect for a weekend city break - as our guide reveals.

LISBON CITY INFORMATION: From Portela airport:

By taxi This is the quickest option, although, if you’re staying in the main Baixa district, the bus isn’t much slower. There is a taxi office just outside terminals one and two. The journey takes about 20 minutes to the Baixa district and costs about €10 and about 30 minutes to the Chiado and the Bairro Alto with a cost of about €15.
Check that the fare on the taxi meter reads €2.50 during the daytime. There is usually an additional cost of €1,60 for luggage. An additional 20% is charged for services on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and for night service from 9pm to 6am.
One option is to buy a Taxi Voucher at the Tourism Information Office in the Arrivals Hall. This prepaid card allows you pay as you go for taxi trips by debiting the fair for each journey.

By Bus The number 91 (the Aerobus) goes from to the city centre, through the Marques de Pombal roundabout and down the Avenue da Liberdade, every 20 minutes daily from 7.45am - 8.15pm.

The ticket may be purchased from the driver as you board the bus.

Ticket for all-day travel: €3.35

The following buses serve the airport.
5 to Areeiro
22 to Marquês de Pombal (the big roundabout at the top of the Avenue da Liberdade)
44 to Cais do Sodré (near the river, to the West of the Baixa district)
45 to Cais do Sodré
83 to Amoreiras (to the West of the Baixa district, near the Monsanto park)

Tickets are available from the driver as you board the bus for €1.35.

By Metro Lisbon’s Metro system does not yet serve the airport.

Getting around Lisbon:

Most of Lisbon is easily walkable. To get from the central Baixa area up to the Chiado and the Bairro Alto, use the the funicular and elevator and the number 28 tram will take you up to the Alfama.

Metro Lisbon’s Metro is reasonably efficient, cheap and safe. The Metro system run from about 6am until about 11.30pm or midnight seven days a week.
The easiest option is the Lisbon Card – see below. A single ticket in the central zone costs 80 cents. A bilhete diario lasts 24 hours, gives unlimited travel on bus and metro and costs €3.70. Both are available from metro stations.
www.metrolisboa.pt (only in Portuguese)

Bus and tram Most buses and trams run from early in the morning until around 10pm. You can buy a ticket on board the bus or tram at a cost of €1.40 for one journey inside the central zone. The 7 Colinas card allows you to load credit on a swipe card with a single bus journey in the central zone costing 81 cents. It can be bought and credited at Metro stations and various hotels, shops and tourist offices. The Lisbon Card (see below) is another easy option.
www.carris.pt (in English as well as Portuguese)

Top tip: No visit to Lisbon is complete without a journey on the famous number 28 tram which runs between the castle and the Alfama, through the Baixa district up to the Chiado. The castle and the Alfama section is the most fun!

The Lisboa Card Available from the Tourist Information Office in the airport, the Lisbon Welcome Centre in the Praça do Comerçio, the Palacio Foz in the Praça dos Restauradores and the Monastery of St Jerome in Belém.
This allows you to travel free on buses, trams, elevadors (lifts) and trains to the Royal country Palace of Sintra the seaside resort of Cascais. You also get free admission to many museums and attractions and half price tickets to others.
Prices: One day: adult €15, children €8. Two days: adult €26, children €13. Three days: adult €32, children €16.

Taxi: Lisbon’s taxis are reasonably inexpensive. They all have a light on when available for hire. Most can be hailed in the street or ordered from your hotel reception or there are taxi ranks at Rossio (Praça dom Pedro IV), Largo do Chiado, Praça do Comercio and Largo do Trindade Coelho (Largo da Misericordia).
Prices start at €2.50 per kilometre during the day. As always, check that the meter is running when you set off.