Back then, things were very different. Lisbon was the same, but at the same time very different from today. In the early 1980s, when I was ten years old, the country was experiencing a more fragile economic situation. We were not part of the European Union and had just emerged from a revolution that ended a 40-year dictatorship.
Little by little, Lisbon, which is already an old city with its narrow streets, became increasingly degraded. I remember giving a guided tour around 1995 to some Brazilian friends who were visiting Lisbon for the first time and they thought everything was beautiful and fantastic, and I just thought: “But these buildings are all falling down, I don’t understand!”. At that time, not only was the construction of most of the center of Lisbon old and falling down, but there were also far fewer people than there are now. I remember the arrival of modern shopping malls around the city and the center was completely deserted on the weekends. On a Sunday night, for example, it was inexplicable: everything was deserted! No people, no movement, no life.
At that time, Lisbon did have tourists, but we had to wait until June and July. In August, the Portuguese went on holiday, so the few tourists there complained that everything was closed! In the winter, everyone deserted, even in the Algarve.
What changed?
Well, in a quick answer: practically everything and nothing. Everything has changed because Lisbon has become fashionable and what used to go completely unnoticed is now a delight for those who visit us. With more people coming and going, the city centre has gained hotels and trendy restaurants, Bairro Alto has even more people than before, and there are buildings under reconstruction wherever you turn. Lisbon airport never stops and it was the low-cost airlines that gave a huge boost to air traffic. Then, Lisbon gained revitalised squares, forgotten streets now have people talking about them and so many tourists walk around with cameras in hand to capture places and angles that can only be found here. In that respect, it seems that everything has changed. The modernity of Parque das Nações, in the eastern part of Lisbon, now contrasts with Chiado, but there is room for everything. Of course, with all this “movement”, prices have also risen. Lisbon is still one of the cheapest cities in Europe, but it is no longer what it used to be. Portuguese people like me still know how to get around to find good places to eat and drink, but tourist money is becoming increasingly attractive.
What hasn't changed?
When I think of Lisbon, I immediately think of light. They say that the city of light is in France, but it is here that it shines in a way that cannot be explained. The light in Lisbon is unique and natural. The light of the houses in light colours, the reflection of the immense Tagus River before it flows into the Atlantic and the sun that does not shine much here make the light of a unique intensity and brightness. And then there is the rising and falling. The famous seven hills. If you want to visit Lisbon properly, it is not even worth wearing those little shoes because here you need something comfortable to feel like the superman and superwoman of the Portuguese sidewalks. And the loud talking of the people, the honking cars, the coffees and cakes and countless other things that I simply love (others not so much!) have not changed. Lisbon is in fashion, but this is my version, certainly less touristy, of my Lisbon.