This is a handy pocket-sized guide, with a certain amount of useful information, and the sort of map that looks good until you actually come to use it. The photography is eye-catching, and Ms Walker's gushing torrent of purple prose had us all in stitches throughout the holiday. It seems to be aimed mostly at those who want to spend their days buying clothes and their nights clubbing, so it's perhaps unkind to complain that the information about museums and the like is a bit thin, and there is not very much in the way of practical information about things like public transport.

If you're visiting Lisbon, there might be something to be said for taking this along for its entertainment value, together with a more detailed guide you can read for background and leave in the hotel during the day. If you are the sort of indefatigable shopper and clubber that the ineffable Kerry envisages, I don't see how you're going to have any time for guidebooks at all... ( )