Municipalities

Lugano is the largest city of Italian-speaking Switzerland, on the northern shore of Lake Lugano. A financial centre and a university town, it lives on banking, culture — the LAC arts centre, summer festivals — and the lake: tourism runs the year from spring to the Christmas markets.

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, on the Tagus estuary: about 550,000 residents in 24 parishes and 2.9 million in the metropolitan area. Tourism, the tech scene of the Web Summit years and the port drive the economy — and the housing pressure that comes with them is the city's first political question.

Cascais is the Atlantic municipality west of Lisbon, between the mouth of the Tagus and Cabo da Roca: four parishes — Cascais e Estoril, Carcavelos e Parede, Alcabideche, São Domingos de Rana — and more than 240,000 residents, far more in summer. Beaches, the marina, the Estoril casino and international schools; European Capital of Democracy 2026.