Lisbon has a special place in my travel memories. It's where my feet touched European soil for the first time, where I first sipped wine and bit into bread that didn't come sliced from a package.

I was there only a day, off a ship that had brought me from New York, but it was packed with adventure: Being invited to lunch at the home of a Portuguese family I'd never met; buying chocolates by the kilo, and not having a clue just how big a kilo was; being befriended during a futile search for an American Express office by a dapper little man who turned out to be the Brazilian ambassador to Portugal; and falling up to my knees in a mud-filled sidewalk hole on the main boulevard.

I've been back twice since then, and have always found Lisbon one of Europe's more charming capitals.

Canadians visiting Portugal tend to spend most of their time along the heavily developed Algarve, on the south coast. Pity, because the country has so much more to offer.

Next month, Signature Vacations will start flying from Toronto to Lisbon for the first time as part of an extension of its new Portugal program.

The tour operator will use Skyservice 767s for departures every Monday in early May, and every Friday starting May 27. Round-trip fares begin at $749, plus taxes. A choice of six optional hotels is offered.

Signature says all are centrally located, and within walking distance of museums, shopping, public transportation and nightlife.

Excursions are also available, starting at about $50. These include a city tour, a visit to the seaside resort Estoril or the famous shrine at Fatima, and a night on the town featuring the mournful fado music.

Brochures are available from travel agents; and more information can be found at signaturevacations.com/portugal.

Other leisure travel news:

- Three cruise itineraries have been added to World of Vacations' Italia Bella 2005 program on Costa Cruises vessels, including Costa's newest ship, Costa Magica.

The tour operator has also released its new The Sunshine in You/The Florida in You summer brochure.

The Sunshine program includes more than 70 all-inclusive resorts in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama. Florida vacations include Cocoa Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood Beach, Miami, Orlando and St. Petersburg. For copies, see your travel agent.

- Golden Package Plus is the newest venture in Paris for Transat Holidays. It includes a flight from Toron-to, transfers, seven nights accommodation, daily breakfast, two lunches, two dinners, a one-day subway/bus pass in Paris and sightseeing excursions and admission fees.

The tour operator guarantees five monthly departures from May to September. Visit transatholidays.com or see a travel agent.

- Starting May 19, Air Transat will fly from Toronto to Hamburg, Germany, every Thursday until Sept. 29. Accommodation and car rentals will also be available. Air Transat's other German destinations are Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.

- Cultural Tours has released its Solo Travellers Tours for 2005, a program in which it matches single travellers with a travel companion. A note from Carol McCafferty, sales manager for the Richmond, B.C.-based company, says the program began in 1977 "and has been hugely successful."

Three tours are available: China's Great Waterways, departing May 15; Southeast Asia Explorer, on Sept. 11; and Vietnam & Cambodia, leaving Nov. 11.

Travellers preferring single occupancy can pay a supplement. Couples are also welcome. Call 800-663-4160, see culturaltoursca.com or e-mail info@culturaltoursca.com.

- Sky Camp is a new "eco-camp" on an alpine lake in British Columbia's interior that guests reach by float plane. Guided activities include mountain hikes, lake paddles, optional rock climbing and biking on forest trails.

All-inclusive trips leave from Vancouver each week from June 15 to Sept. 15.

Call 866-455-1601 or visit aoa-adventures.com.