It's It's hard not to be charmed by Lisbon. Sprinkled over seven hills on the bank of the River Tagus, the city is one of Europe's oldest and most beautiful. It vibrates to the echoes of history while thrusting into the future with infectious optimism.

Its hills, trams, thriving gay scene and Irving Morrow-designed bridge earn comparisons with San Francisco, yet Lisbon's soul is uniquely Portuguese. A stroll will take you from medieval ramparts through cobbled alleyways lined with family-run restaurants and drinking dens, and past crumbling buildings adorned with street art three storeys high. You'll find the Praça do Comércio, the size of five football pitches, ringed with monumental architecture. Finally, you'll reach the riverside clubs where revellers dance all night, energised by the prospect of a prosperous future.

The undulating mosaic streets that weave through Lisbon have never been so popular. Portugal's battered economy has bounced back from the Eurozone crisis, and foreign investors are flocking here, transforming neighbourhoods such as Intendente, Mouraria, Alfama and Marvila into the city's hottest quarters.

Yet among all this impending change, the luminosity of old Lisbon still flickers. Look up from those pretty pavements and you'll see the last abandoned floors crowning some of the shabbier Pombaline buildings. Wake early and you'll ride the canary-yellow Tram 28 without much of a queue. Wander long enough through the labyrinthine streets and you'll find serene squares and benches lined with Lisboetas of all generations.

Exploration is a pleasure as the sun shines more often than not here on the edge of Europe (a Lisboeta would say the centre), illuminating vistas from rooftop bars and miradouros (public viewpoints), encouraging dining, drinking and dancing outside, and warmly nudging you to peek around just one more corner.

What you find in Lisbon may reveal the sense of the Portuguese word "saudade". There is no direct translation but its essence is of a bittersweet longing, like that of a woman who marries a man who goes to sea. Whatever you're yearning for, Lisbon is a good place to come and find it - or have so much fun that you'll forget you ever wanted it.