Armored car hire in Lisbon

Lisbon's airport is unusually close to the centre, so arrivals are short. Avenida da Liberdade, with its hotels and boutiques, runs down to the old town, where Chiado, Baixa and Alfama climb the hills on narrow, often cobbled streets.

Many of these streets are too steep or too narrow for a heavy vehicle, and some are closed to general traffic. The driver plans set-down points that work and keeps the walk short. Where a street is closed or too steep, the nearest practical set-down point is agreed with you before the day, so you know where the car stops and how far you walk.

West of Lisbon, the coast road and the motorway lead to Estoril and Cascais, where many international families have settled. Sintra, in the hills behind, is known for its palaces and its private estates hidden in the forest.

These are settled residential areas, where daily routines, school runs and dinners follow patterns that a heavier vehicle and a careful driver can vary.

Residents on the coast can book for specific weeks rather than all year: the first weeks after arrival, a period of heightened attention, or the weeks when visitors stay with them.

South across the Tagus, Comporta has become a retreat of low-built villas among the rice fields and dunes. The drive crosses one of Lisbon's bridges and continues through open country.

To the east, the motorway leads to the Spanish border and on to Madrid or Seville. The vehicle can cross with you, which makes combined Portugal and Spain programmes possible in one booking.