Lisboa is stage for J. Crew catalogue
Lisboa is the chosen city for the famous US clothing brand J. Crew to act as backdrop for its new Spring collection catalogue. The photo shoot by one of the favourite brands of the First Lady of America, Michelle Obama, is available on the company’s site, accompanied by a tourism tour of the Portuguese capital.
At www.jcrew.com, viewers can access a dynamic and fun presentation on Lisboa, that shows some local curiosities and explains the meaning of the city’s cultural brands such as Fado or Portuguese paving, as well as the traditional “bica” expresso and “Pastéis de Belém” custard pastries. The site also shows some photos of the new catalogue, with texts inspired during the photo shoot such as the terrace at Príncipe Real, kindly “loaned” by the local residents.
Photo location sites include Baixa, Bairro Alto, Alfama and Príncipe Real, the n.º 28 tramcar, as well as the town of Óbidos and Adraga beach, in Sintra. The first J. Crew catalogue was published in 1983 and since then the brand has grown to become one of America’s icons. The J. Crew advertising campaigns are internationally renown for their charm and good taste.

Lisboa Hostels are the best
Five hostel members of Lisboa Tourism, three of which rated in the first three, lead the Top Ten 2010 Hoscars Awards, the hostel “Oscars” awarded by the website Hostelworld.com.
For the second consecutive year, the Lisboa hostels not only dominate the Top Ten of the best hostels in the world, but also reinforce their leadership by taking the podium, occupied by the Portuguese hostels Travellers House (1st place); Rossio Hostel (2nd place) and Living Lounge Hostel (3rd place). Lisbon Lounge Hostel and Lisboa Central Hostel, in 7th and 8th places respectively, take the number of Lisboa award winning hostels to five this year, or rather one more than in 2009. Hostelworld is an online booking site that features thousands of hostels eligible for an award around the world. The winners are voted on by the 900 thousand clients across the world that book their lodging online and classify the hostels according to six criteria: character, security, location, staff, fun and cleanliness. This award not only recognises but also reinforces the attraction of this type of accomodation, aimed at the youth market, and promoting the Portuguese capital as an attractive destination for the youth tourism market.


New Coach Museum, where tradition meets avantgarde
The founding brick of the Coach Museum in Belem was laid on February 1, marking the start of the construction of one of Lisboa’s most important museums, that will revitalise the riverside area’s tourism and cultural appeal.
Designed by the leading Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the project combines avantgarde architecture with historic tradition in the first transport museum in the world. One of the most valuable coach collections in the world will be housed in a single space, aimed to give more importance and prestige to this museum, Portugal’s most visited museum and the most famous of its kind.
Housed in a covered area of 15,000m2, the museum features an exhibit area, café and food court, educational area, library and archives, as well as restauration and conservation workshop, as part of the museum’s traditional artisinal maintenance of its heritage. The Coach Museum project forms part of the Riverside Area renovation plan, from Ajuda to Belém. It will be situated at the end of Rua da Junqueira opposite the Vieira Lusitano gardens, in front of the current museum, the former Royal Stables. This will continue to function as an integral part of the new museum’s tour, with a permanent exhibit of barroque coaches of the 18th century in the great hall. It will remain open for events and dressage shows by the Portuguese Equestrian School. Some of these coaches are regarded as the most impressive of their era, for the great craftsmanship of their ornamental detail.

Lisboa charms tourists with its image and value
Lisboa’s seductive appeal and competitive prices are two of the main factors that attract tourists to the Portuguese capital, according to a study on International Tourist Satisfaction Levels carried out by the Lisboa Tourism Observatory in October 2009.
The study shows that the choice of Lisboa is influenced by the pre-established image tourists have of the destination at the time of decision, in 57.2% of replies and for value for money in 52.5% of responses. Both factors outweigh recommendation by friends and family (37.9 %), which according to this same source, has been one of the main factors in choosing Lisboa. Another salient factor arising from this study is the fact that the majority of those interviewed are visiting Lisboa for the first time (76,3% in the city), contradicting the trend outside the summer months, when visitors are not usually “first timers”. However, similar to previous studies, visitors to Lisboa are almost unanimous (more than 99% of respondents) in recommending a visit to this destination, either city or region. Regarding the most frequent activities during their stay, these tourists answered visiting monuments, tourism attractions and museums (95.8%), food and wine (83,3%) and eating out (81,6%). The most popular monuments are Belém Tower (68,8%), Discoveries Monument (64,6%), Jerónimos Monastery (60,4%) and S. Jorge Castle (57%). Still with regard to the city, the most popular areas visited by tourists are Baixa (86,6%), Chiado (83,5%), Bairro Alto (78%) and Belém (73,3%). Nations’ Park (61,9%) has progressively gained greater numbers of visitors.


Baixa acts as catwalk for ModaLisboa
Lisboa dresses up to host the 34th ModaLisboa. From March 11 to 14, the area from Baixa to Terreiro do Paçowill be turned inside out, in the best sense of the word, turning it into most fashionable public promenade, for the most exciting Portuguese fashion show. This event is jointly organised by the ModaLisboa Association and Lisboa City Council.
During this long awaited first year of ModaLisboa, with the theme “CheckPoint”, the city will show off its most competitive, fashionable and international qualities. For this creative and energetic show, the Portuguese designers and fashion brands will show their collection for Winter 2011 live from Páteo da Galé, in Terreiro do Paço, whilst just a few metres away, MUDE- Fashion and Design Museum will be the catwalk for the LAB section of ModaLisboa. In addition to promoting creativity and Portuguese fashion with the public, media and buyers, ModaLisboa also helps promote the city international image, attracting thousands of spectators and being covered by hundreds of foreign journalists at every event.


Britania in Top Hotels of 2010     
Hotel Britania, in Lisboa, is the only Portuguese hotel to feature both in the top 10 luxury hotels in the world and the top 25 in Europe in the 2010 edition of “Traveler’s Choice”, from the Tripadvisor website.
Britania was voted 2nd best in the category of “Luxury Hotels in the world”, and 20th amongst the best in Europe, in a ranking led by the Four Seasons Hotel George V, in Paris. The hotel also features in 7th place of hotels with “Best Service” worldwide, and 6th in Europe, according to Tripadvisor. The Portuguese hotel chain Heritage is recommended by 99% of visitors and described as being “very friendly and discretely elegant” in one of the surveys. The winners of TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice are “selected” by millions of tourists from  all over the world who give their comments based on real life experiences.

Adlib present at gourmet festival
Restaurant AdLib, of Sofitel Lisbon Liberdade, a member of Lisboa Tourism, took part in the Gourmet Festival “Wine and Dine Experience”, with chef Isabelle Alexandre, Portugal’s representative at the “Montreal High Light Festival”, in Canada.
For this gourmet event at the Montreal Festival, the Adlib chef presented a taster menu comprising traditional Portuguese dishes – Portugal being one of the theme countries - including Caldo Verde (Kale & Potato soup), Salada de Polvo (Octopus Salad), Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato (Mussels), Bacalhau à Lagareiro (Cod) and Lombo de Porco à Portuguesa (Pork Loin), accompanied by Quinta do Vallado wines. The Adlib cuisine has been inspired by Isabelle Alexandre since 2008, having created the restaurant’s menu with her signature dishes, combining traditional Portuguese cuisine with French style sophistication.


Museu da Cidade gardens inhabited by giant creatures
Lizards, swallows, cats, lobsters, monkeys and snails inhabit the recently inaugurated Bordallo Pinheiro gardens, of Museu da Cidade.
This renovated gardened area in Lisboa features larger than life size ceramic replicas of the animal kingdom inspired by Portuguese caricaturist and ceramist Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro, whose museum is located on the opposite side of Campo Grande. The 1200 works, including animals and other natural elements that decorate the branches, fountains and walls of Pimenta Palace, where Museu da Cidade is housed, were created at the Caldas da Rainha Factory and displayed by Portuguese fine artist Joana Vasconcelos. This renovation project by Lisboa City Council has a twofold purpose: the promotion of the Museu da Cidade, now more attractive than ever for visitors, and the work of Rafael Bordallo Pinheiro, awaiting discovery by the general public at this leisure and exhibit garden.


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