Lisbon is the capital and the largest and oldest cities in Portugal, and one of the oldest in Western Europe and also in the world, predating other modern European capitals such as London, Paris, and Rome by centuries. Lisbon is recognized as an alpha-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education, and tourism. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus.

Tourism in Lisbon is the most popular. The city of Lisbon and the Lisbon metropolitan area attracts a significant number of tourists each year, drawn to its historical and cultural offerings. Also rich in architecture like Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque, Modern and Postmodern. There are several substantial museums in the city. The most famous ones are the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art), the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian (Calouste Gulbenkian Museum), containing varied collections of ancient and modern art, the Museu Nacional do Traje e da Moda (National Museum of Costume and Fashion), the Museu Nacional dos Coches (National Coach Museum, containing the largest collection of royal coaches in the world), the National Museum of Natural History and Science, and the Lisbon City Museum. Lisbon's Opera House, the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, hosts a relatively active cultural agenda, mainly in autumn and winter. Other important theatres and musical houses are the Centro Cultural de Belém, the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, and the Teatro Camões.

Lisbon has a Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and warm to hot, dry summers. The average annual temperature is 17.4 °C (63.3 °). In the coldest month – January, the highest temperature during the day typically ranges from 10 to 18 °C (50 to 64 °F), the lowest temperature at night ranges from 3 to 13 °C (37 to 55 °F). In the warmest month – August, the temperature during the day and night typically ranges from 25 to 32 °C (77 to 90 °F) and 14 to 20 °C (57 to 68 °F).

The Lisbon Metro connects the city center with the upper and eastern districts and also reaches some suburbs that are part of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, such as Amadora and Loures. It is the fastest way to get around the city and it provides a good number of interchanging stations with other types of transportation. From the Lisbon Airport station to the city center it may take roughly 25 mins. Humberto Delgado Airport is located within the city limits. It is the headquarters and hub for TAP Portugal as well as a hub for Easy jet, EuroAtlantic Airways, White Airways, and Hi-Fly.

In the city, there are 3 public universities and a university institute in Lisbon. The University of Lisbon, which is the largest university in Portugal, was created in 2013 with the union of the Technical University of Lisbon and the Classical University of Lisbon (which was known as the University of Lisbon). The New University of Lisbon was founded in 1973, is another public university in Lisbon and is known internationally by its Nova School of Business and Economics (Nova SBE and Medical Science). The ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute (founded in 1972), a university institute (Medical Science).

The Lisbon region is the wealthiest region in Portugal and it is well above the European Union's GDP per capita average – it produces 45% of the Portuguese GDP. Lisbon's economy is based primarily on the tertiary sector. Most of the headquarters of multinationals operating in Portugal are concentrated in the Grande Lisboa Subregion, especially in the Oeiras municipality. The Lisbon Metropolitan Area is heavily industrialized, especially the south bank of the Tagus River (Rio Tejo).