Lisbon

 Lisbon

 

 

 

  Why go

Lisbon sparkles at Christmas (check out the massive tree in Praça do Comércio), but is more cool than twee. The scent of chestnuts fills the air, and concerts are held in churches, but festivities feel refreshingly uncommercialised.

 

Best buys

  Great independent shops include A Vida Portuguesa for local products from soap to shoes. Of four stores, the Largo do Intendente branch, in a former tile factory, is the biggest and best. There’s a retro feel to shopping here, with lots of old, family-run shops, such as 1930s-era Conserveira de Lisboa – tinned fish may not sound sexy, but the decorative or hand-wrapped cans here are art forms in themselves.