Laine Cunningham

Linger in Lisbon Laine Cunningham

As one of the oldest cities in the world, Lisbon blends ancient grit with modern glamour for an unparalleled travel experience.

São Jorge Castle, built on a site that was fortified as early as the 1st century BC, flies the Portuguese flag. From its walls, the Alfama district tumbles down to the Rio Tejo, or Tagus River. Because it survived the devastating earthquake of 1755, Alfama is the oldest district in the city.

The Jerónimos Monastery, richly decorated in the Manueline and Plateresque styles, offers a quiet stroll beneath arches carved from golden limestone. King Manuel I ordered the monastery constructed to serve Portuguese explorers.

The Rossio, or King Pedro IV Square, is located in the Pombaline Lower Town. Popular since the Middle Ages, modern citizens prefer to meet there. Perhaps the best view is from above, where visitors can look down and see wide streets cutting through the maze to this central spot.

Continue the tradition of exploration in one of the world's oldest cities with the color photos in Linger in Lisbon: From Belém Tower to the Tagus River (a Travel Photo Art book).

In the Travel Photo Art series, traditional tourism panoramas mix with arthouse aesthetics. These slim, passport sized productions are your passport to new perspectives on famous places. Peer around corners and discover a unique way to interact with monuments and memorials you thought you knew.

This popular series includes titles that mix text with the pictures. Books like Notre Dame Cathedral: Our Lady of Paris, featuring photos taken months before the 2019 fire, become keepsakes associated with a specific site. Titles like Lidice Lives and Terezin and Theresienstadt are deeply meaningful for families touched by the Holocaust.

Laine Cunningham, a three-time recipient of The Hackney Award, writes fiction that takes readers around the world. Her debut novel, The Family Made of Dust, is set in the Australian Outback, while Reparation is a novel of the American Great Plains. She is the editor of Sunspot Literary Journal.