Page 21 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2023 LISBON EDITION

Our month in Lisbon gave us the opportunity to We didn’t know when we booked our Airbnb
explore this energetic and thriving metropolis in that major construction was ongoing in the
depth, at least as well as two Californians who building directly across from our seventh-floor
don’t speak Portuguese can. We quickly discov- apartment.
ered a silver lining of the sleepy Salazar years: The building boom reflects Portugal’s new
Though most historic buildings suffered from found tourism celebrity, which, we learned,
neglect, they did not tear them down and re- comes with significant downsides. Locals are be-
place with bland post-war construction. Today, ing forced out of their downtown apartments by
many are being restored to their original splen- rapidly rising rents. Entire buildings are being
dor. The skyline is filled with cranes and the air turned into Airbnbs and condos for tourists, dig-
reverberates with the sound of jackhammers.

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