Lisbon.

Seven hills, one rickety yellow tram, and custard tarts worth the airfare alone. Lisbon glows — literally, locals brag about the light — and everything good here ends with wine and someone singing fado.

Lisbon spills down seven hills to the Tagus, all pastel facades, azulejo tiles, and miradouro viewpoints begging for a slow afternoon. Explore the city with a private driver-guide or rumble through its lanes in a vintage jeep, tasting petiscos and local wine along the way. By night, settle in for a fado dinner show. Then range farther: Sintra's palaces and the Cascais coast, the shrine at Fátima, Évora and Arrábida wineries, even Porto or the Algarve's Benagil Cave on a full-day private trip.